School bells from bombshells - women in Afghanistan

UN Chronicle, March-May, 2002 by Maha Muna

Information about Afghanistan--its history, its people and the combined effects of war and drought, particularly on women and children--is available today more than ever before. Yet, the media, policy papers and programme agendas fail to capture the power of the Afghan woman. Instead, they are often portrayed as victims of circumstance or government policy, or both. The Afghan mother who has carried her family through refugee flight is absent. So, too, is the Afghan woman who has built a local non-governmental organization (NGO) capable of managing annual budgets of hundreds of thousands dollars for humanitarian assistance. A trip to refugee camps in Pakistan reveals both types of women. Their work is the basis for optimism for a future of reconstruction, peace and security in Afghanistan.

As the world focuses attention on Afghanistan, with the aim of destroying a terrorist network within, eliminating a repressive regime notorious for human rights violations, including against women, and rebuilding the country, commitments made in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and in United Nations conventions and resolutions should inform decisions on women's rights and their role in post-conflict reconstruction. Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) on women, peace and security, passed unanimously, calls for heightened protection for women during armed conflict, their greater participation in peace negotiations and peace-building, as well as gender equity and the integration of gender perspectives in UN policies and programmes.

Women have already played a key role in peace-building in Afghanistan. Three women actively participated in the Bonn meeting that elected the Afghan Interim Administration, which includes two women in ministerial posts (for health and women's affairs). Three women NGOs attended the recent Ministerial Conference on the Reconstruction of Afghanistan, held in Tokyo, Japan. However, there is still room for improvement. For example, only two women have been nominated to serve in the 21-seat Loya Jirga, mandated to pave the way for the new government of Afghanistan. In a recent interview, the Minister of Women's Affairs, Dr. Sima Samar, suggested 50 per cent of the Loya Jirga be women, but noted that since that was unlikely, at least 25 per cent would be preferable. The Beijing Platform for Action has established a precedent for at least 30 per cent representation by women. Along with Dr. Samar, Afghan women's organizations and international women's groups are monitoring these issues as true tests of international commitments.

Everyone--adult, adolescent and child--will play a vital role in reconstruction. In a meeting with World Bank staff held in Peshawar last December, Afghan women NGOs made it clear that they were prepared to manage education, health and community development projects in Afghanistan. They advocated for a strong NGO sector, but stressed that an even stronger government was essential. The NGOs called for a clear government development plan, one that they could feed into and would ensure professional standards for humanitarian assistance. It was clear that the government plan would enable NGOs to hold the Government accountable during the coming stage of financing and aid.

Afghan women NGOs emerged in the 1980s in response to humanitarian needs in Afghanistan. In the 1990s, women's groups formed and grew in the Pakistan refugee camps, often at great personal risk to those involved in running the aid programmes. In 1990, an Afghan nurse working in Pakistan, considered by some to be an "activist", was killed, mutilated and delivered to her family in a box [Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children delegation report, Afghan Refugee Women: Needs and Resources for Development and Reconstruction, 1990]. Links to western-led assistance were a threat to women leaders, and therefore there was an even greater imperative to develop and strengthen their own management and programme capacities. With international donor and organizations' support, Afghan women's organizations managed their programmes and ensured delivery of services for refugee women and children. Notable success was made in the area of education, where school attendance for girls quickly increased from only hundred s in the 1980s to tens of thousands a decade later. They also gained greater access to secondary education.

In the future, women will continue to face security risks and any reconstruction package for Afghanistan must therefore take into account the security concerns of local women's organizations. Mainly Pushtun, Tajik and Hazara, some of the most successful women leaders emerged out of the powerful family and clan traditions which existed in Afghanistan before the refugee flight. As refugees return to Afghanistan to take part in national reconstruction, the women NGOs can play a vital role to support reintegration. Local groups offer access to the most vulnerable people and to networks that can enhance conflict resolution, which will, in turn, increase security throughout the country. Some women NGOs are already beginning to plan for offices in Kabul and in their native provinces. Their efforts should be assisted, particularly to ensure a channel of outreach for and support to the Ministry of Women's Affairs, and also to support the work of sector ministries, such as health, education and justice.