Our Op-Eds

Despite the Challenges, Donors Must Continue to Support Struggling Nonprofits in Afghanistan (The Chronicle of Philanthropy)

Following the Taliban takeover, a large number of civil-society leaders, particularly women, were forced to flee the country, and a severe lack of funding and a repressive operating environment led many organizations to shut their doors.

What Happened in Afghanistan Isn’t Staying in Afghanistan (Common Dreams)

To prevent the forever war turning into war forever, instead of an arms race and trillion-dollar defense spending, now more than ever we need to stand for and practice the principles of universal human rights, justice, and pluralism.

Where are the Women Peacemakers? (Le Monde Diplomatique)

Who should be but isn’t at the peace talks table for the many wars afflicting the daily lives of millions? Women. They do the work on the ground but are cut out of negotiations for peace.

Why Don’t Afghan Lives Matter? | Opinion – Sanam Naraghi Anderlini (Newsweek)

Afghanistan’s country code is +93. My phone lights up—day and night. I cannot bear to answer, knowing I have no answers. I cannot bear to ignore them. “I hope you are not tired,” they say. “Sorry to bother you,” “Thank you for thinking of us,” and “If they find me, they’ll rip me apart, please take my children.” Their graciousness, dignity, apologies for disturbing our lives, to help save theirs, are humbling and haunting.

To Address Extremisms In The New Decade, Do What The Women Say

ICAN’s Senior Program Officer, Rosalie Fransen provides a gendered analysis of emerging trends and threats in the CT and P/CVE landscape.

Women, Peace and Security in the Time of Corona

An op-ed by Sanam Naraghi Anderlini about the gendered impact of COVID-19, and the relevance of the WPS agenda.

US WPS Agenda: Not Just a Foreign Policy

Stacey Schamber discusses the potential of US Women, Peace and Security Act to transform the US’s role in the world and stresses the need to widen the lens of the WPS policies and the Act to include the domestic US context.

The War Whisperers, Their Successful Iraq War, And The Targeting Of Iran

An op-ed by Sanam Naraghi Anderlini addressing the Iraq war and the targeting of Iran through the lens of regional geopolitics.
“The U.S. should be wary of these [war] whisperers, for while it foots the bill and the world pays for unknowable and uncontainable consequences, others will reap the reward.”

Did a Backlash Against Trump Trigger Historic Highs for US Women in Politics?

Thalif Deen discusses the reasons behind the dramatic increase in US women legislators voted into office last November and the historic high of women candidates for the 2020 presidential elections, with comments from ICAN’s ED Sanam Naraghi Anderlini.