The Coalition for Peace and Unity in Afghanistan (CPAU) supports the Farza Peace Council to deal with the day to day disputes of local conflict and to stop them escalating into violence in this volatile country. Whilst these disputes may appear small in comparison to what is reported in the news from Afghanistan, the absence of such high levels of violence is partly due to the council not allowing smaller disputes to escalate to blood feuds. This stability is important to resist the encroachment of armed militias into areas nearer Kabul.
Examples of the achievements the Farza Peace Council have made in recent months include:
- Funding and development
Previously funding had been shared between the five peace committees in Farza for electricity generation, funding bakeries and gas sellers. The Peace Council has advocated pooling the remainder and so far land has been bought for the construction of a school.
- Resolving marital dispute:
A conflict arose over an engagement as the bride had originally been betrothed to another individual who had been killed in an unrelated incident in the village of Khak Shaheedan. The families involved approached the Peace Council to mediate and a local mullah was invited from amongst the religious leaders in the neighbourhood to officiate the mediation. The Peace Council was able to mediate a resolution to the marriage without further violent conflict and the engagement between the individuals was allowed to proceed with the acceptance of the family who had opposed it. The dispute over the death has now been referred for resolution in the formal justice system and the local district governor is addressing it.
- Resolving neighbourhood dispute:
In the village of Hassan Dara there had been bad relations between two people for over 20 years, which had had a negative impact of livelihoods in the village. Recently the conflict flared up again around the school and the local Peace Committee was asked to intervene and invited the elders of the protagonists village to attend. The elders took the individuals to task over their continued disputes, particularly that it threatened Farza’s growing reputation for being a peaceful district. The protagonists were encouraged to address each other’s concerns and forgive each other publicly.
