On Wednesday 9th July, the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Women, Peace and Security (APPG-WPS) hosted a discussion and screening excerpt of the documentary The Sharp Edge of Peace chaired by Baroness Hodgson, co-chair of APPG-WPS.

Directed by Roya Sadat, the film is a powerful and revealing documentary following four Afghan women delegates–Dr. Habiba Sarabi, Fawzia Koofi, Sharifa Zurmati, and Fatima Gailani–as they participate in the 2020 Doha Peace Negotiations. These talks, brokered between the Taliban and the United States, intended to end America’s military presence in Afghanistan, but included only four women delegates. The film captures their courage and determination as they risk their lives navigating the hard road to peace with a group of men historically committed to denying their most basic rights.

The well-attended event featured two of the key negotiators on the Afghan Doha talks, Fatima Gailani, former President of the Afghan Red Cross Society, and Fawzia Koofi, former Afghan Member of Parliament, along with Christina Lamb, Chief Foreign Correspondent of the Sunday Times, and Zohra Joya, Editor in Chief of Rukhshana Media. Film producer Leslie Thomas introduced the excerpt.

The panelists explored the significance of women’s involvement in peace processes and the high stakes of their exclusion. They also shared personal insights into the Doha negotiations and the continued erosion of women’s rights under Taliban rule.

Recommendations from the ensuing discussion included creating additional opportunities for Afghan women and allies to gather and formulate strategies along with the need for identification of key goals that a wide variety of rights advocates could focus on during advocacy opportunities.