IFES’ projects in Afghanistan, implemented through the CEPPS (Consortium for Electoral and Political Process Strengthening) and STEP (Support to the Electoral Process in Afghanistan) programs, have, as one of their main objectives, the goal of increasing the participation of women in politics. This is being done by helping women find their political voice and encourage their friends and relatives to also participate in the political process. IFES-Afghanistan has seen two important developments in this mission.

The first development is a series of workshops to empower women in the political arena. The workshops have been put together through the Public Outreach Campaign of the CEPPS Project which aims to promote issue-based elections.  Its activities include regional workshops for activists, round table radio discussions, brochures, posters, public service announcements and TV spots.

The first workshop took place in December in the eastern city of Jalalabad. The CEPPS Project partnered with Nangarhar Province's Director of Women's Affairs and a local NGO, Afghanistan Women's Network, to arrange and conduct it.

The workshop was attended by 43 well-educated women who expressed a strong interest in using the political process to advance the welfare of women. The participants included university lecturers, school directors, teachers, members of the Directorate for Women's Affairs, NGO representatives, and a member of parliament.

It began with a conversation of what women want from their political leaders and government. The participants were given an overview of the draft declaration presented to President Karzai by 500 women at the most recent First Women's Council. Four of the workshop participants had attended the Council. They talked about the content of the declaration and then encouraged the participants to deliberate on the points covered and add their own insight.

Another important component of the workshop was a discussion on women's power to influence public policy. A professor from an Afghan university began this discussion by going over the stipulations made by the Quran and the Afghan Constitution on this matter. The group also talked about the responsibility that women have to use this power on behalf of their gender. The participants agreed that neither their religion nor the law present any impediment to women's involvement in political life.

Since voter registration started in Nangarhar province a few days before the CEPPS workshop, the last session was dedicated to encouraging women to take responsibility for increasing voter registration among women. Two representatives from the Independent Election Commission spoke about the registration process and explained how women can get others to participate. At the end of the day, thirty-one participants submitted a report stating ways in which they personally could increase women’s registration.

Similar provincial workshops will be held in Bamiyan, Herat, Balkh, and Kandahar in early 2009. The focus of these workshops will be to develop a list of priorities to present to candidates who are running in the national and provincial elections.

The second important step in IFES' goal to increase the participation of women in politics took place through the STEP program during a conference on November 2, 2008 entitled  "Elections for the Islamic Point of View", held by the Afghanistan Independent Election Commission (IEC). A number of high-ranking mullahs and religious scholars attended this conference with the aim of issuing a unified statement in support of the elections.

The issue that took center stage throughout the conference was the participation of women in the elections. The IFES STEP Gender Specialist and the Independent Election Commissioner Momina Yari brought this issue to the forefront by moderating a discussion that resulted in the conclusion that women's participation needed to be endorsed by the religious leaders in Afghanistan.

At the closing of the conference the religious leaders and IEC presented a statement of support. Included in this statement were the following points:

• "Following Allah's order (inserted is a verse from the Holy Quran) the conference requests all Afghans to actively participate in the voter registration and the next year's election."
• "The conference participants request all women to stand beside their brothers and actively take part in the voter registration and election according to the instructions of Islam and fulfill their religious and national responsibilities regarding the reconstruction process and ensuring peace in the country."
• "As elections are not against the Islamic provisions, there is no problem regarding women's participation if Islamic values are observed. The participants request all men not to prevent women's participation in the election processes. Instead they should encourage and support women to participate."
• "The conference participants request IEC to provide appropriate facilities for the participants especially for women (according to the provisions of Islamic Sharia) to take part in the voter registration and election so that they can register their names and cast their votes without any difficulty."

This show of support by prominent religious leaders not only encourages women to participate without fear but also discourages other religious leaders from denouncing the elections.