8 MARCH 1998: "A FLOWER FOR THE WOMEN OF KABUL"

Brussels - Rome - Moscow, 20 February 1998. In the context of International Women's Day, the Radical Party upholds the campaign "A flower for the women of Kabul" launched by Ms Emma Bonino, European Commissioner, to support Afghan women which will take place in Brussels, Rome and Moscow on 8 March 1998.

The Women of Afghanistan are the symbol of discrimination, of oppression and of violence that the women of so many nations still endure. "A flower for the women of Kabul" is an expression of solidarity and a message of hope for all women across the world as well as an appeal demanding that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and in particular the rights of women be respected.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which solemnly proclaimed the equality of rights between men and women will be 50 years old in 1998. With this Declaration the United Nations began a process defining and reaffirming the rights of women in a great number of texts. In particular, the Vienna Declaration of 1993 affirms that Women's rights are an unalienable, integral and indivisible part of Human Rights. The Pekin platform in 1995 confirmed with force that the rights of women constitute universal rights and that no motif of religious, cultural or tradition could justify their violation.

Despite of these declarations, this principle is violated and ridiculed on a daily basis in Afghanistan. Since September 1997, when the Taliban took over Kabul, women of all ages, including little girls, are the victims of a regime of segregation inscribed in law.

Women do not have the right to express themselves, to enjoy the same health care as men, to work or study. Obliged to wear a "burka" and deprived of all fundamental rights, they become invisible, ghosts deprived of an existence and of the right to chose.Furthermore, they are forbidden indiscriminatory access to humanitarian aid, which represents the only means to survival is forbidden to them. We are confronted with a moral problem, an apartheid founded on gender, which has nothing to do with religion. This situation demands a mobilisation of all those who believe in the principles of equality and liberty.

This is why we invite you to join us in demanding the United Nations, the Member States of the United Nations, and all the international organisations:

- not to recognise the regime of the Taliban as long as long as a gender based discriminatory regime is imposed on the country,

- to ensure that the utmost is done to make humanitarian aid accessible, without discrimination, to all afghan women,

- to exercise all types of pressure, direct or indirect, to ensure that the Declaration of Human Rights and particularly the rights of women are respected in Afghanistan.

As responsible citizens, as men and women, in the name of political parties, we hope that you will not remain insensitive to this appeal and that you will be numerous to participate in this demonstration of solidarity.

For these reasons, we would like to invite you to participate in this demonstration, as part of a world-wide campaign for solidarity with the women of Kabul. This will take place on Saturday 8 March in front of the United Nations offices in Brussels, Rome and Moscow.

In Moscow the demonstration will take place at 12 am in front of the UN Representative Office in Russian Federation:

Pereulok Obukha 6 (metro station "Kurskaya")

Best regards,

For the Transnational Radical Party

Olga ANTONOVA Anna ZAYTSEVA

For all further information, please contact:

Anna Zaytseva

Tel/fax: +7 095 9239127

E-mail: rpmoscow@glasnet.ru

___________________________

TRANSNATIONAL RADICAL PARTY

Moscow Office

rpmoscow@glasnet.ru

http://www.agora.stm.it/pr

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