Articles
WRMEA, August 2010, Pages 57-58
Human Rights
Perspectives of Afghan Women Leaders
AT A JUNE 17 event entitled "In the Midst of Milestones: Perspectives from Afghan Women Leaders," held at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC, panelists Huria Samira Hamidi and Najla Ayubi discussed their efforts to ensure gender equality during Afghanistan's recent National Consultative Peace Jirga (a traditional Pashtun mechanism for resolving disputes). Exactly how women would receive better treatment under the Afghan government was "unclear to civil society" at the beginning of the peace process, according to Ayubi, a representative of the Organization of Strategic Studies and Research and a former member of the Independent Election Commission. Women's rights groups originally were not consulted, she noted, but thanks to international influence—namely pressure from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton—the government gradually began including more women in the conference.
"Why doesn't President [Hamid] Karzai listen to us, but he listened to Secretary Clinton?" asked Hamidi, a representative of the Afghan Women's Network.
Women were chosen for inclusion in the peace process based on lists of members from previous jirgas and the level of influence the women had in their provinces.
Ayubi was ousted from the jirga after speaking out publicly about abuses of women's rights in Afghanistan. Her specific grievances included the fact that "women cannot get to the formal justice system." Furthermore, she said, 80 percent of conflicts in rural areas are addressed through an informal justice system that excludes women. Women are underrepresented in the police force, as well: of an 8,200-member police force, there are only 600 policewomen.
Hamidi drew attention to the successes of the jirga. One of its biggest achievements, she said, was that women sat and talked face-to-face with members of the Taliban. Some men involved in the jirga explained to the other members that "from an Islamic and traditional point-of-view," the women's perspective is a valuable asset to reconciliation discussions. However, Hamidi added, "they [the Afghan government] have been using [increased rights for] women as a symbolic representation for the international community," when in fact women still do not have access to real resources to improve their status.
Asked to elaborate on what Afghan women truly want from a cultural context, Ayubi explained the efforts underway to separate culture and religion. "We are trying to be flexible in accepting some of the positive social and cultural values," she said. However, women's rights groups are also trying to separate religion from culture, and informing women about the differences between the two.
—Karina Kainth
