On the occasion of International Women’s Day (8th March)
A l’occasion de la journée internationale des femmes (8 mars),
….. and
The presentation of four new Armanshahr Publications: Women’s Conditions in Afghanistan and Tajikistan, Justice for Women in War and Peace, Political regimes and Social Justice & for the first time in Afghanistan: George Orwell’s 1984,
Armanshahr Foundation*, in collaboration with the French Institute of Afghanistan and Afghanistan Women’s 50% Campaign is pleased to invite you to its 86th (year VI) public debate GOFTEGU.
Present and Future of Women in Afghanistan:
Challenges in safeguarding rights
Speakers: Parliamentarian Fawzia Koofi (Head of Human rights and Women’s conditions Committee), Professor. Seyyeda Mojgan Mostafavi (Deputy minister of Women’s affairs) Ms. Jamila Omar (Head of Research and Defense of Human Rights Organisation), Ms. Homaira Ghaderi (Writer), Mr. Zia Moballegh (Director of Rights and Democracy NGO), Moderator: Rooholamin Amini
Discussant: Jawad Darwaziyan
*Member of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
Dimanche/Sunday 11 February. 2012, 14:00 H. (Debate in Dari), French Institute of Afghanistan (Lycée Esteqlal), Tel: 0779217755 & 0775321697, E-mail: armanshahrfoundation.openasia@gmail.com,http://armanshahropenasia.wordpress.com
Present and future of women in Afghanistan: challenges in safeguarding rights
The 86th (6th year) Goftegu, a bridge between the elite and the citizens, of Armanshahr Foundation, marketing 8 March, women’s day, was held in cooperation with the French Cultural Institute of Kabul in the Institute on 11 March 2012 with the title of “Present and future of women in Afghanistan: challenges in safeguarding rights.” Most participants were women.
The speakers were: Ms. Fawzia Koofi (MP; Head of Parliament’s Human Rights and Civil Society Committee), Ms. Seyyeda Mojgan Mostafavi (Deputy Minister of women’s affairs) Ms. Jamila Omar (Head of Research and Defence of Human Rights Organisation), Ms. Homaira Ghaderi (Writer), and Mr. Zia Moballegh (Director of Rights and Democracy NGO). Rooholamin Amini and Jawad Darwaziyan, from Armanshahr Foundation, were the moderator and the discussant, respectively.
The programme started by screening a part of a play that Armanshahr Foundation had staged on 19 September 2007 with the title of “Two women, two poetesses: in praise of Makhfi Badakhshi and Mahjouba Herawi.” Mr. Amini congratulated the Women’s Day and reminded that the meeting was originally scheduled to be held on 3 March 2012 but it was postponed owing to security issues.
The first speaker, Ms. Fawzia Koofi (MP), addressed the concerns of women at present time: “Afghanistan is presently going through a politically and socially sensitive period. Women have always been the first victims of political developments.”
Referring to the recent resolution of the Ulema Council, she said: “This resolution is an example of political retreat. We were under the impression that many problems had been resolved, e.g. the mingling of men and women at work, but they are taking us back to their tribal traditions and norms. Unfortunately, there is no structural system to protect women under the present conditions. Even those who claim to be intellectuals, take the same positions aising from the views in the Ulema Council’s resolution. The only support for the women of Afghanistan is the Constitution. However, there is no punishment for the violators of the Constitution, even though one would be brought to trial if they violated the civil code or the penal code.”
Ms. Koofi went on: Many cases of violence against women in Afghanistan are rooted in our history and fundamental and long-term plans are needed to resolve them. However, some of the problems are rooted in 30 years of war. The endeavour towards justice for women is the third or fourth priority in the country. We will not go forward and even move back so long as we do not have an active and independent civil society and the state institutions are not bound by important instruments such as the Constitution and the 10-year plan for women. Another storm is on the way and women will surely be the first victims of it.
Ms.Seyyeda Mojgan Mostafavi (Deputy Minister) said: We have a solid plan today, based on which we formulated the Violence Elimination Act and the Family Law. Today 425 women’s NGOs have been registered in the Ministry of Women’s Affairs.
In response to the moderators question about the president’s repeated support for women as well as his support for the Ulema Council’s resolution and the attitude of Ministry of Women’s Affairs to the issue, she said: “We are a part of the government and we follow its policies and the policies of Mr. Karzai. There are different opinions in our society and we cannot decide for all the people based on the opinion of a few people. You are stating the opinions of a number of people who have returned from the West. Look at the media. Women appear in the worst possible forms. The people want their women to cover themselves. All the people want to live under the Islamic sharia, not under the international conventions.”
Ms. Jamila Omar said: “In our country, perhaps even the women cannot accept to be present in the society as human beings. Otherwise no council or individual would dare talk about women as secondary subjects. Our problem is living from day to day. We believe in women’s rights today, but not tomorrow. We do not approach the issues in depth. Superficial approach is not a lasting one. In our country, fleeing home is a crime, because this could occasionally be followed with moral offences, even though it is a right. The other issue concerns cover. Nobody has the right to cover women; nobody has the right to undress women. However, we have born witness to both in this country. If women do not sit at the table face-to-face with the opposition to arrive at a conclusion, there can be no negotiations about peace based on popular values.
Ms. Homaira Ghaderi discussed misogyny in historical literature and the female poets who lived in secret. She asked: Why could women not occupy a higher position throughout the history? One of the answers is that they lack sufficient living experience. When a man says ‘home is the best place you can be in’, how can one achieve various experiences?
Mr. Zia Moballegh, referring to the resolution of the Ulema Council, said: “Unfortunately, they put forward an interpretation that deprives everybody from stating the opposite, i.e. the man is the principal and the woman is secondary. This is the most dangerous step in the direction of an official reading of religion. People should consult the Koran themselves to see if the Koran says what these people say. Why have they monopolised the understanding of the Koran? This indicates that we are moving towards a dictatorial system. If an official reading of religion, based on article 3 of the Constitution, is brought into practice in this country, it will be a catastrophe.”
Ms. Najia Ziwari, representing the women’s section of the UNAMA, said: “I wish to state the support of UNAMA in respect of the resolution of the Ulema Council, where they offer good protection. We believe this is a good opportunity for all Moslem woman living in an Islamic society under the Constitution they accepted. Moslem women, living in a country, are subject to some of the laws, which have not been imposed on them and they have accepted them.”
“Our message is that we should take as good omen parts of this resolution of the Ulema Council and try to discuss some parts of it with the great Ulema. The position of the UN is that all issues should be discussed jointly. The UN has established the Institute of Studies on Women and Islam as a place to discuss and research the women’s issues. We have talked to institutions such as the University of Kabul about this.”
In conclusion, the discussant and the participants asked questions and the speakers responded to them. The discussant asked Ms. Mojgan Mostafavi: Although Mr. Karzai may not have directly addressed the women’s issues, what does his support for the Ulema Council’s resolution mean and why have his subordinates issued a directive about the hijab of women who work in the television stations?
Mostafavi replied: when I am in favour of the statement of the Ministry of Information and Culture about hijab, I cannot view the issue from the Western point of view. Women in the western societies are commercial items. Women marry women and men marry men. We cannot tolerate this in Afghanistan. We are much better than them. The media must be stopped. They have destroyed our society. People do not accept the media in the villages. I do not want my own child to give birth before getting married lawfully. The media promote prostitution and vice nowadays and they must be stopped. I do not want the afghan women to appear on the media like colour dolls.
Invitation to 86th Goftegu Public Debate: On the occasion of International Women’s Day – 8th of March
