Remember Afghan Women

It was only a year ago when United States began its war on Afghanistan, purging the country of Taliban and al-Qaeda forces. While the focus of the U.S. has now clearly shifted elsewhere in the region, turmoil in this exhausted, impoverished nation persists to this day. Unless the U.S. shapes up and commits itself to its promises of peacekeeping efforts, the creation of a democracy in Afghanistan that would ensure liberty for its women will be a lost cause.

When the Taliban regime fell last November, newspapers and television footage were filled with images of Afghan women dancing in the streets, going back to school, and most of all, throwing off their burqas—which implied that women were finally ready to show their faces in public and stop wearing the all-encompassing garment. Their freedom symbolized the freedom of all Afghan citizens from Taliban rule. Unfortunately, these pictures do not represent the realities that most Afghans face today.

Creating better opportunities for women is proving to be just as complicated as combating terrorism in post-Taliban Afghanistan. President George W. Bush said in his June commencement speech at West Point, “A thriving nation will respect the rights of women, because no society can prosper while denying opportunity to half of its citizens.” But America’s commitment to Afghan women is weak at best.

Instead of working for the good of Afghanistan’s people, the U.S has only supported the increasing powers of the warlords. Moreover, it has not aggressively expanded the International Security Forces as promised. While 4,500 troops are stationed within Kabul, an expansion outside the capital could neutralize violent threats and protect the rights of women to vocalize their concerns.

Even First Lady Laura Bush urged Americans in her radio address last November to remember that “the fight against terrorism is also a fight for the rights and dignity of women.” Women activists have constantly complained that warlords and Islamic fundamentalists continue to unfairly wield power, even within the new government. Hundreds of women attended the emergency grand council or loya jirga general assembly last June, but women were discouraged from speaking and only three were elected. According to participants, warlords were given 30 minutes to speak while women were given only five minutes after considerable pressure.

The Afghan defense minister, Field Marshal Mohammed Fahim, attacked the husband of the female presidential candidate, Massouda Jalal, for even allowing his wife to run. Accusations of blasphemy against Islamic law drove Former Vice President Sima Samar from her post as women’s affairs minister. She now heads a newly created human rights commission but recently needed barbed wire protection to be installed around her home in Kabul.

After Karzai was elected president, he announced a permanent government that included Defense Minister Muhammad Qasim Fahim, Haji Abdul Qadir, and Kharim Khalili, all of whom are warlords suspected to be responsible for countless acts of brutalities under the former Taliban rule. Chief Justice Shinwari, who publicly has called for full support of sharia or Islamic law, was reappointed. The majority of the Judicial Commission, which is responsible for reconciling Islamic law with other legal traditions, was educated in religious schools.

These political developments only reinforce Taliban-style sexual policing that still exists in Afghanistan. Women in Kabul and surrounding provinces continue to wear burqas out of fear of reprisals. In recent weeks, four girls’ schools were attacked with explosives, five have been burned down and one was closed down. These were direct actions undertaken by fundamentalists who not only verbally and physically abused women for violating Islamic law but had also spent weeks beforehand passing out pamphlets that threatened parents with violence if they sent their daughters to school.

The failure of the United States to provide economic and military support to the Afghan government has ruined early opportunities for women and undermined the rule of law.

As a result, on Aug. 1, in a rare unanimous, bi-partisan vote, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee allocated $2 billion in reconstruction funds for Afghanistan, including $15 million for the Women’s Ministry and $5 million for the Human Rights Commission. These measures are part of the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act of 2002. As of Sept. 12, the bill was placed on the Senate legislative calendar, but has not come up yet for a vote.

Eliminating terrorism is an indisputable American priority, but it is not enough to achieve what needs to be done in Afghanistan. To set the groundwork for a stable, democratic government, the U.S. must ensure that Afghanistan grants women full political rights and protects their participation in Afghan society. President Bush needs to follow through on his promises and strongly support the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act. If we break our promises to the Afghan government and specifically to the Afghan women, terrorism may never be defeated.

Anat Maytal ’05, a Crimson editor, is a government concentrator in Currier House.