A critique of a decade of support for women
Armanshahr’s 104th Goftegu public debate – a bridge between the elite and the citizens – marking Woman’s Day, was held in collaboration with the French Institute in Afghanistan and Roya Film House in the hall of Esteqlal School on 4th March 2013. The meeting, attended by nearly 100 people, was addressed by Mr Nooreddin Alawi (sociologist), Ms Homeira Ghaderi (writer and women’s rights activist), Ms Sahar Motallebi(women’s rights activist), Ms Diana Saqeb (filmmaker and women’s rights activist), and Mr Khodadad Besharat (executive director of Afghanistan Human Rights and Democracy Organisation).
There were difficult questions to be discussed: Have we thought about and dealt with the roots of violence against women? Have the activities directed at achieving women’s rights in the past few decades, and in the last decade in particular, brought about any advances? What have we done, what are we doing and what shall we do?
Excerpts from the address made by Mr Alawi:
Inthe past, in China, India and other Asian countries, they exchanged women with cattle. We note the sacrificing of the women every day in exchange for blood and other physical and psychological violence in Afghanistan. Is stoning a rational decree in our time? We need to seriously review our understanding of our religion, philosophy, sociology and culture. If this is done on the basis of academic standards, we may obtain a clear understanding of women’s status and feel human freedom in our society.
Excerpts from the address made by Ms Ghaderi:
As long as there have been women, they have been viewed as commodity in Afghanistan. After the arrival of the international forces, the priority was given to security and it prevented serious attention to women.
Unfortunately, we do not have women in Afghanistan who can be compared to leaders of women’s movements in other parts of the world. In the past 10 years, we mainly noted the effects not the causes. We occasionally engaged in political issues, at other times in cultural and social issues, but never in production of ideas and thought.
There has never been a political will to achieve women’s rights. The government of Afghanistan spends all its power on security, which we have not achieved yet. The Ministry of Women’s Affairs is an organisation on paper.
We are facing sexual apartheid in Afghanistan. With their actions, the Islamists have pushed us away from genuine Islam. We could never oppose them and did not dare do it. 20% of women live in the cities and the rest in the countryside. They always have a child on their back or in their belly. They work at home and in the farms.
Attention to women’s issues in the past 10 years has been limited to a few pamphlets and a few workshops. However, we need political, cultural, economic and social determination to achieve sexual awareness.
Sahar Motallebi, the other speaker, said: “In my opinion, stating the problems reminds us of the suffering of women. We should consider the changes where women played a role. There is more development and national income where women’s participation is higher. The other issue is that we have always waited for the government to enforce the laws it passed. However, 90% of the people who violated women’s rights are ordinary men not the government. More education should be provided to the children and the young people.”
Excerpts from the address made by Ms Diana Saqeb:
The women’s institutions were active mainly from 2001-2006 and the people had more hope for improvement. Since 2006, there has been more disappointment and we are heading for Talebanisation.
The massive funds that arrived in Afghanistan in the past 10 years made the women’s issue profitable. Many people rushed to have institutions registered for that purpose. Thus, we remained at the surface and forgot the foundations and the rotting cultural pillars. The workshops did not bring any solution and the projects never became processes.
Women have problems concerning literacy, economy and political leadership. We were happy with positive discrimination that allowed us to elect 25% female MPs, but we never considered that those 68 women would unwittingly sign documents that would destroy women’s lives. They were mostly women in parliament who defended the Shiite Personal Status Law. Women posed also the biggest problems regarding the Marriage Law, the Children Law etc. As long as I can achieve something for being a woman, nothing will be achieved for women. All the restrictions on women should be lifted and that can be achieved only through sustained education.
Excerpts from the address made by Mr Besharat:
Women entered the social, cultural and political arenas for the first time under Amanullah Khan, but they were defeated by hardline groups who always opposed women. The peak came under the Taleban. The same forces have opposed women in the past decade.
Women have occupied important positions in the past 10 years. Women’s participation worldwide is 17% on average, but that ratio is 28% in Afghanistan. Nevertheless, they have a simplistic view of their own issues. Women have never viewed the existence of extremist forces as a problem. A strategy is missing within all women’s organizations.
The problem with the international community is that they concentrated on a number of women and their NGOs and ignored the majority of women. On the other hand, the Afghanistan government lacks commitment to women. The government leadership has made instrumental use of women. On the one hand, they have tried to appease the extremists and, on the other hand, to win aid from foreigners. The government has sought to win assistance, but it has lacked a moral and ideological commitment.
