AFGHANISTAN WOMEN KEY TO STABILITY
Washington, DC—Afghan
women can play a vital part in tempering religious extremism
and building democracy in the war-torn country - two goals
of the recently announced strategic partnership between the US
and Afghanistan. However, women’s potential to act as a
moderating force in Afghanistan depends on increased support
for women’s empowerment from the Afghan government and
the international community.
“From Rhetoric to Reality: Afghan Women on the Agenda
for Peace,” the latest report on the contributions of women
to peace processes from Inclusive Security:
Women Waging Peace (Waging), finds that parliamentary elections will be critical
to the consolidation of women's political empowerment. The report
calls on the Afghan government to support women’s emancipation
through voter education, training for women politicians, and
an increase in female poll workers and election security. At
the same time, the international community must direct a greater
share of reconstruction funds to women’s organizations,
which can play a larger role in delivering goods and services
on the ground.
“Afghan women are liberal voters, progressive in their
views,” says the Afghan Ambassador to the US, Said Tayeb
Jawad, because they were the prime victims of political violence
and extremist interpretations of Islam before and during the
Taliban regime. By allowing Afghan women to make greater contributions
to the peace process, Afghanistan’s government is “undermining
the extremists and the spoilers,” says Jawad.
The report shows how women have increased their political presence
since late 2001. In the October 2004 presidential election, women
outnumbered men in at least three provinces and accounted for
40 percent of the voters. And quotas have ensured women a foothold
in formal governing structures of Afghanistan - 25 percent
of the seats in the lower house of parliament and almost 17 percent
in the upper house are guaranteed to women.
However, the report notes that while the status of women has
improved in some place, in many others it has not changed significantly.
Since the ouster of the Taliban, conservatives have re-instituted
security constraints, and national governmental authority and
commitment to women’s empowerment is not shared nationwide,
especially in rural areas. While 35 percent of the students enrolled
in school are girls, virtually no rural, school-age girls are
in school in the south and south-central regions of the country.
At the same time, a lack of security continues to endanger women
and restrict their participation in politics and civil society.
“Afghan women are key to creating a stable and religiously
moderate society,” says Masuda Sultan, author of the report. “Only
with the full participation of women will Afghanistan become
a judicious Muslim country,” says Masuda.
To translate the political presence of women into power, the
Afghanistan government must implement a two-pronged approach:
(1) Senior level political commitments, and (2) intensive action
on the ground. Commitments to empowerment at the most senior
levels need to be matched by resources. For example, without
extensive programs to educate and inform women throughout the
country about their rights, empowerment will not become a national
reality and the political presence of women will not translate
into power. For more information on this report, please refer
to www.womenwagingpeace.net.
Inclusive Security: Women Waging Peace
Inclusive Security: Women Waging Peace (Waging),
an initiative of Hunt Alternatives Fund advocating full participation
of
all stakeholders, especially women, in peace processes around
the world. Waging is conducting a series of case studies to
document women’s contributions to peace processes across
conflict areas worldwide. The cases studies are available online
at: www.womenwagingpeace.net.
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