Inter Press Service December 29, 2011 Rebecca Murray Activists voice concern that Afghan women's rights continue to be marginalised, and nowhere is gender inequality more starkly illustrated than in the country's flawed justice system. Yasmin's case is one. Although the legal age for female marriage is 16 years, she was only eight when her family, in a remote area of Nangarhar province, arranged her marriage to a 60-year old man. After four unhappy years, Yasmin fled with a man she was in love with from her village. When the couple was arrested for running away and marrying again, she was pregnant. Having her baby in prison, Yasmin has since been released. She has moved to a Kabul shelter, fearful that her family and first husband, now 70, will kill her to protect their honour. "The first step we are planning for her is to get a divorce - she is 18 and has that right," says Huma Safi, programme manager for Women for Afghan Women, an organisation that provides female shelters, legal and family counseling. "The second step is to arrange a proper marriage with the second husband who she loves. This marriage will decrease her husband's sentence also. Then she will go and live with him." When the second Bonn Conference on Afghanistan convened on Dec. 5, Afghan women fought for a voice at the table, exactly one decade after the international community initially gathered in the German city to plan Afghanistan's institutional road map with an emphasis on civil rights. The priorities of Bonn II, within the context of a 2014 deadline for the withdrawal of international coalition forces, is the security transition, peace talks with the Taliban and future regional relationships. The World Bank has warned of Afghanistan's dependency on international aid - more than 90 percent of its 17.1 billion dollar national budget - and Bonn II is a marker for cuts in donor cash. Afghan women advocates worry their projects will be some of those hard hit. Selay Gaffar from the Afghan Women's Network (AWN), a national coalition of women's organisations, had just three minutes at the conference to urge continued support of women's rights. Bonn II's concluding statement briefly linked gender equality to the Afghan constitution in governance and with peace negotiations. Female activist have made an impact raising awareness of gender rights, and improving access to education and healthcare, mostly in urban areas. Women's shelters have also been established, including for those released from prisons and now stigmatised from returning home, but the women in them say they don't feel safe or have freedom of movement. Despite these advances, a Thompson-Reuters poll released in June 2011 ranked Afghanistan as the world's most dangerous country for women due to violence, poverty and lack of healthcare. "From 2001 to about 2003 there was a lot of attention on women's rights, and then it decreased," says Huma Safi. "Our main concern is that we don't want to go back to the situation we had 15 years ago. Not only during the Taliban, but also before the Taliban. "During the Mujahedeen's civil war a lot of women were raped," she explains. "People then were so tired from war and we were forgotten by the international community." On the eve of Bonn II, President Hamid Karzai pardoned Gulnaz, a 21-year-old rape victim sentenced by an Afghan court for adultery, who bore a child in prison from the rape. But the presidential pardon in the high-profile case of was an anomaly; the majority of the roughly 700 women in Afghanistan's variously overcrowded and squalid prisons are convicted for crimes of adultery or "zina" (sex outside marriage), usually their punishment for running away from forced marriage or chronic abuse. Many have their children jailed with them. "There are two main types of cases, with plenty of variation, you hear over and over again," explains Heather Barr, a researcher with Human Rights Watch. "One is usually young girls about to be forced into a marriage against their will who run away to avoid it. Sometimes on their own, or sometimes with a man who helps them, but not who they are romantically involved with. "Another category are women who have married someone almost always against their will, and there is abuse at home," she says. "Usually physical abuse, sometimes just cruelty, and they run away. These often turn into zina cases because there might be a man accompanying them." Barr says that while all the women she interviewed had defence attorneys, the quality of representation appeared poor, and the trials lack investigation and proof. "Sometimes a man manages to bribe his way out, but the woman does not," she adds. "Zina is in the penal code, but running away is not. When I talked with judges or lawyers about this, they say that by running away the woman are at risk for zina." A large part of the population still relies on traditional mechanisms within communities to resolve disputes outside of the formal court system, Human Rights Watch says. In 2009 President Karzai signed the Shia Family Law, which included provisions for 14-year-old girls to marry, and for married men to forcibly have sex with their wives. After an outcry by civil society and the international community, the Shia legislation has been amended. The same year, the Afghan government enacted the Elimination of Violence Against Women (EVAW) law which criminalised acts like early or forced marriage and rape. A United Nations analysis of its implementation last month says, "Judicial officials in many parts of the country have begun to use the law - but its use represents a very small percentage of how the government addresses cases of violence against women." Female victims like Zuhra continue to get blamed. Living in Kabul, she was 12 years old when she was married to an older man who already had three wives. He forced her into a daily living of prostitution until their house was raided. After her arrest and two-year prison sentence, she is now 17 and living in a shelter. "We got her a divorce, but now she wants to marry again. We are trying to make her understand she has time, there is no rush," says Huma Safi. "I cannot blame her when you are out of prison, the only option they are thinking is if you have a husband you are protected." Names of women have been changed to protect their identities. Copyright © 2011 IPS-Inter Press Service Original link | Ander Nieuws week 2 / Midden-Oosten 2012 | _______________________________________________________________________________________________ |
Green Scarves
The 7th October 2011 is the 10th anniversary of western intervention in Afghanistan. This is a key date where people will be taking stock – looking at the impact of intervention over the last 10 years. Given “women’s rights” was central to the rhetoric used at the time of invasion we need to use this date to talk about the rights of women in Afghanistan, past, present and future.
In December the international community will meet at Bonn in Germany for a Peace conference where governments will make statements about their expected levels of both aid and military involvement for the next 10 years. This is a key time to make sure that women’s rights are not neglected in the exit strategy.
The Afghanistan has its own vibrant women’s movement and women are campaigning and mobilising to make sure that the international community doesn’t forget the promises that it made to Afghan women. The women’s movement in Afghanistan has long used green scarves in their campaigning to symbolise their movement – so we in partnership with the Afghan Women’s Network are calling on people to wear green scarves in solidarity with the women of Afghanistan as part of a photo petition that we will deliver to William Hague before he attends the Bonn conference. These images will also be made into a solidarity photo wall which will be taken to the Bonn Conference and erected outside the event as a visual reminder of the rhetoric of intervention and a global display of solidarity with Afghan women.
Help us to spread this message of solidarity with Afghan Women and help us to make sure that when the media talk about 10 years since western intervention in Afghanistan that they talk about the rights of Afghan women and including the women of Afghanistan in rebuilding their country.
march 2011
To the
Legislative Body
The Ministry of
Justice of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan,
The Afghan Women’s Network ( AWN), a legally registered entity*under Afghan law and Afghanistan’s
largest and longest serving women coordination network is an umbrella network
of 80 member NGOs and 3500 individual members, who work for women’s and
children’s rights. In this regard, on behalf of our members, we hereby present
our opposition to any law that gives recognition to the informal justice system
The Islamic
Republic of Afghanistan from the beginning of the interim period has faced a
number of problems and challenges, one of which has been the creation and
implementation of legislation protecting the rights and livelihoods for fellow
citizens, especially for women and children. The Afghan Women’s Network has
long focused on the existing laws and the creation of new legislation that
benefit women and children and also to bring changes for who have women who
have been living on the edges of society.
The Respected
Ministry of Justice is in process of giving recognition to the informal justice
system and a committee has been created for this purpose.
People approach
informal systems of justice for the resolution of their legal disputes and
criminal matters. The decisions of these councils are shaped by powerful people
in the country and in the local areas, visible cases in the community reflect
decisions made by these councils and Jirgas that are not based in the law and are contrary to
religious principles. As a result, innocent people, especially women and
children become the victims. Consequences of these council decisions result in
women being forced into marriage and used as a commodity in exchange in the
custom of baad dadan.
It is imperative
that court decisions have a legal basis.
In order to
clearly understand the Constitution, and that the recognition for the informal
justice system does not exist, under Article 120 of the Constitution, and
Article 3 of the Law on Creation of Judiciary Jurisdiction (Jurisdiction of
Courts includes all cases which come from real and individual persons and are
presented before courts and under Article 122 of the Constitution and Article 4
of the Law on Creation of Judiciary Jurisdiction indicate this):
“No law can in any
way or under any condition force a case from under judicial jurisdiction and
bring it under the authority of another body acting as judiciary.
However, this
ruling does not prevent the formation of special courts.” The law on the informal justice system
must be legislated. This means that along with formal courts, the informal
courts must also be regulated so that they follow standards in line with the
national laws and judicial requirements.
The Afghan Women’s
Network asks from the Respected Ministry of Justice the application of respect
to Islamic values and human dignity through the implementation of a
comprehensive law that will serve as a foundation to removing customs and
traditions that are contrary to the law and cause negative social problems.
This will serve the people of this suffering nation better.
By sending this
letter, the Afghan Women’s Network announces its opposition to any law that
gives recognition to the informal justice system. We want the attention of the
Respected Ministry of Justice on this matter.
* AWN, established
in 1995, operates under guidance of Islamic and international law and is registered
under reference number 149 in the Ministry of Economy of Afghanistan on
19/08/1384, and reference number 19 in the Ministry of Women’s Affairs on 5/ 5/
1389.,
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Women’s 50% Campaign Statement to Kabul Conference
“Women’s rights are not up for deal”
14 July 20010
We women need peace more than anybody else, because we lose more than men in war. War rubs us of the little rights we have fought for over the long years as well as of the economic, political, social and cultural opportunities. At the same time, we believe that achieving a lasting peace is impossible without realisation of justice, good governance, rule of law and respect for human rights. The core of all those concepts are women’s rights and their real participation in the task of determining the course of the society. The political participation of women depends on macro and micro policy making to create change in the current culture. Equal and qualitative participation of women in all the political, social, and economic areas is the prerequisite for achieving peace, a healthy, humane, and balanced society free of violence, poverty and injustice.
Women have countless needs in the war-afflicted Afghan society. The Kabul Conference cannot be expected to respond to all those issues and the economic, social, cultural and political complexities of this country. We are addressing the people who are reconsidering the macro national politics and the course of action for this country. It should be noted that it is not possible to draw a course for the society out of the crisis plaguing women without a strong presence of the government. It is beyond the capacity of the newly formed civil society and the conventional international and domestic NGOs to provide lasting responses to that great social problem. The women in the 50% Campaign contend that, in the absence of comprehensive planning and determination within the three branches of power as well as extensive investment in education and the right to eliminate illiteracy, it is not possible to claim that dealing with sexual discrimination and deprivation of 50% of the population tops the priorities of the government and the international community.
Activists of Women’s 50% Campaign, however, take this brief opportunity to offer their proposals within the framework determined for the Kabul Conference with a constructive aim and in support of the movement aiming to bring order to the national conditions and to build a just peace for a progressive Afghanistan:
a) Agriculture and rural development
· Expand the technical and vocational training centres for women to build capacities of women in particular in deprived regions;
· Establish rural production cooperatives to improve the economic conditions of women and support women’s work.
b) Economic development and infrastructures
· Work out a budget geared to gender issues and prepare a comprehensive development plan to structure women’s economic affairs;
· Give priority to employment of women heads of family in planning for the labour market;
· Establish a special fund to help widows, women heads of family, female invalids and disabled.
c) Human resources development
· Declare a public mobilisation for literacy and work out comprehensive adult literacy plans in particular for women and girls who have been withheld from education, and allocate the required financial and human resources;
· Give extensive executive powers to the Ministry of Women’s Affairs to fulfil the ministry’s policies;
· Establish schools in villages and deprived regions for women and girls; provide equal opportunities for female students to benefit from scholarships and other educational benefits including secure and good quality dormitories;
· Work out a national family planning scheme, only one aspect of which should be provision of free contraceptives and publicity for using them and attention to women’s health.
d) Governance
· Increase women’s capability to participate in decision making and leadership and promote the increase in share of native women at all decision making and executive levels;
· Establish gender balance in national and international delegations, government committees, administrative and judicial bodies, lists of nominees for election or appointment to UN delegations, specialised agencies and other self-governing organisations of the UN, in particular at senior positions;
· Commit the government to all its national and international obligations, in particular the Constitution, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and other international treaties and agreements in regard to women’s rights and elimination of discrimination against women as well as the UN Resolution 1325;
· Promote and ensure policies and procedures free of discrimination in organisations financed by government credits or donors, to increase the number and promote the status of women in the said organisations;
· Establish clear and definite criteria for decision making authorities and ensure that selection boards are gender balanced.
e) Rule of law and human rights
· Block the presence and influence of perpetrators and suspects of crimes against humanity and war crimes in important government posts, parliament, the judiciary and other national and local elected bodies and dismiss them from their present posts;
· Launch a comprehensive fight against administrative corruption to regain national confidence and legitimise the government;
· Enhance the proceedings of justice for women in the judicial system;
· Recognise women as victims of many decades of war and endeavour to improve their quality of living;
· Establish legal and lawful security for women and endeavour to annul/reform the discriminatory laws and enhance a fair judiciary to provide for societal and economic security and to prevent and eliminate violence against women;
· Recognise the link between impunity and the ongoing violation of human rights that would undermine efforts to reduce poverty and to achieve a fair and enduring social and economic development and create an free political climate;
· End all forms of violence against women and prosecute instances of violence;
· Prevent under-age and forced marriages and punish the offenders.
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Declaration of Human Rights and Civil Society Activist
1st Feb 2011
Afghanistan Government, Parliament, Ulama Council and High Peace Council –
Answer Us!
We do not understand the reason of your silence
Life is a divine grace and natural right of humans. No person shall be deprived of this right.
Every Individual has right to life, liberty and personal security.
Listen
Read phonetically
We, the participants of today’s gathering, present our heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of those innocent country men and women who lost their lives in the most horrific suicide attack on Friday. Our thoughts are with them all.
We believe that the suicide bombings and establishment of local courts in the pretext of defending the rights of men and women of this country is sign of ignorance. It reminds us of a very dark human era of Afghanistan. We strongly condemn this.
The last ten years, though filled with challenges and shortcomings, were years of hope for the people - particularly for the women - of Afghanistan. During the first years of this decade we witnessed many positive changes in the advancement of women’s and human rights. Women’s aspirations for rights and gender equality were realized through their courageous actions and have become part of the new democratic government of Afghanistan. These developments restored the lost dignity of Afghanistan at the international level. These changes wrote new pages in the history of the country’s democracy. But regretfully in the last few years, these hopes and achievements have slowly begun to disappear due to terror, bombing, stoning and gender discrimination.
We emphatically support the rule of law, especially laws which assure rights of women. More than anyone else, we are looking for peace and security, because war and insecurity have always put our rights in danger. We women, more than ever, are tired of fundamentalism, extremism and abuse in the name of religion. The continuation of these trends gives rise to great disappointment in the peace process in Afghanistan. History has shown that it has always been women who have suffered the most from situations such as these.
We have sacrificed the most.
We women, who have lost so much over so many years, have been struggling for the establishment of a democratic government in Afghanistan. During elections we have walked long distances to be able to vote and participate in supporting democracy. We have lost our lives in our quest to combat violence and to bring equality.
Today you, as the elected president of this country, the Parliament and the Judiciary are obliged to protect the rights of the people. You, as Head of State, are accountable not only to insure security, peace and public prosperity, but to promote and respect the rule of law enshrined in the constitution.
We ask, doesn’t this violence and the atrocities in the country put you in fear?
We still believe and accept the constitution of the country as the source of our aspirations and hopes. To this end, we demand that all branches of government work together under the rule of law to:
1. Make an extraordinary struggle to bring peace and to prevent such inhumane and horrible acts as have been witnessed.
2. Prevent legitimizing customary laws which result in the promotion of traditional justice which violates women’s rights, undermines international treaties on ending violence against women ratified by Afghanistan’s government.
3. Put women’s human rights as a nonnegotiable main agenda point in the peace and reconciliation process -
4. Prevent the establishment of illegal parallel institutions with legal entities.
5. Identify and prosecute the perpetrators of the recent attacks.
6. Ensure that new parliament reviews all approved legislations and together, with women in Afghanistan, eradicate the roots of such crimes.
7. Required Parliament to review and monitor all programs and activities of the High Peace Council.
8. To ensure that the High Peace Council does not take any decisions without consultation of Afghan Parliament.
We look forward to strong, rapid and effective response.
In conclusion, we want to thank those religious leaders and Ulamas who condemned the recent stoning, terror and suicide attacks. However, we strongly criticize the silence of Ulama Council, Ministry of Religious Affair and Haj and Parliament of Afghanistan.
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Rabia Elizabeth Roberts (rabiaroberts@earthlink.net or http://pathofthefriend.org/writings/blog-showing-up) wrote:
Afghanistan: Women and Development (3)
This is the third in a series of posts about the necessity of protecting the rights of Afghan women in creating a sustainable peace. I discuss what is involved in that process and what can be done to help. This analysis is based on scores of interviews from two trips to Kabul and on-going communication with women’s organizations in Afghanistan.
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Social and Economic Development
We need to put women and girls at the center of the development process in Afghanistan.The economic implications of gender discrimination are considerable. To deny women the opportunity to work inside or outside the home is to deprive a poor country of labor and talent. Nicholas Kristof, in his influential book “Half the Sky” , points out that the countries in Asia and South Asia that have most successfully developed themselves out of poverty -- i.e. China, Thailand, Malaysia, -- are those that empowered women to work.
Women in poor countries who earn money spend it on different things than the men. Women buy food and medicine for the family. They buy uniforms so daughters can go to school. They may buy goats so they can earn more money by selling milk. They are natural entrepreneurs. Globally the evidence is there that helping women is one of the most successful poverty-fight strategies we have in the developing world today.
The United Nations Development Program summed up the research this way: “Women’s empowerment helps raise economic productivity and reduces infant mortality. it contributes to improved family health and nutrition and increases the chances of education for the next generation”. From my own work in population studies I also know that education and jobs reduce the number of children a woman will have.
Kristof suggests that in addition to gaining women’s earning power, boys and men may be stimulated to perform better because they can no longer think themselves superior by virtue of biology. If they have to earn their community’s respect, they may be more interested in accomplishment and motivated to help their country to develop economically and socially.
In addition, offering women an opportunity to earn money for the family can transform a woman’s life. It changes her status within her family. “Afghan women are traditionally not supposed to leave the house without their husband's permission, but husbands tolerate this when it is profitable”, says Betsy Beaman, director of the Women of Hope Project.
