"Detour
is not an option!" reads the Afghan Women's Charter, which was
presented to the media last week in Kabul in the presence of some of
Afghanistan's leading women of the post-Taliban decade. The Charter
enumerates Afghan women's demands of the 11 presidential
candidates competing in the April vote, the third presidential election
since the US-led military intervention that ousted the Taliban in 2001.
This
charter, unlike most documents of this nature, was initiated by a small
group of Afghan women, with no assistance from outsiders. The fact that
the authors refused to seek international assistance or funding makes
the effort a symbol of breaking the vicious cycle of aid dependency. It
is a message that women have consciously decided to convey at a time
when international engagement is about to wind down.
Women activism
The
women of Afghanistan have come a long way in the past 12 years. The
post-Talban Afghan Constitution assures them equal rights and freedoms,
access to education, healthcare, employment opportunities, political and
social activities. Affirmative action has allowed them to occupy about
27 percent of the seats in the country's Parliament and there are three
women cabinet ministers. The governor of Bamyan province, head of the
Afghan Independent Human Rights Commision and president of the country's
Red Crescent Society have all been prominent women.
At grassroot levels, from the nearly 8 million Afghan children that attend schools, 2.4 million are girls. And according to government figures, the number of women pursuing higher education rose by 30.4 percent in 2011-2012.
In this year's presidential tickets, however, women figures are not as conspicuous as
in the past two elections. This seems to be compensated by the
increased activities of women activists such as the Afghan Women's
Network (AWN), an umbrella organisation that boasts membership of over 100 women's institutions and 5,000 individuals, Equality for Peace and Democracy
and dozens of other organisations that are conducting awareness and
registration drives, human rights training sessions, and town hall
meetings with candidates, etc.
The Afghan Women's Charter
has now begun its journey in the media and through Afghanistan's
provinces, with volunteer provincial organisations and individual
activists promoting it and gathering consensus on the demands of the
document.
Three women have emerged in the presidential tickets this year. Dr Zalmai Rassoul, mostly regarded as President Hamid Karzai's pick as his successor, has chosen Habiba Sarabi,
former governor of Bamyan province, as his second vice presidential
candidate. A hematologist by profession, she has a dignified personality
and comes from an ethnic Hazara family whose prominence goes back to pre-war Afghanistan.
Being
the first woman governor in the administrative history of Afghanistan,
Sarabi is one of the very few high officials of the Karzai government
whose name was not attached to corruption accusations all through her
eight-year tenure. In some circles of women activists, though, Sarabi is
criticised for acquiescing to the status quo rather than risking
activism for change.
Safiya Siddiqi is
running as second vice president on Hedayat Amin Arsala's ticket.
Though this team is not seen as likely to win, Siddiqi has emerged as an
outspoken member of the Arsala presidency campaign. The dynamic Siddiqi won a seat in the Parliament in 2005 with the third highest vote count during that parliamentary election. Having
returned from her Canadian exile, she is well-rooted in Eastern
Afghanistan, partly due to her family's influence among Pashtun tribes
of that region and recently, due to her tireless grassroots work.
Daoud Sultanzoy, another presidential candidate in this year's
vote, has picked Kazimia Mohaqiq as his vice presidential candidate.
Mohaqiq has a Masters degree from Iran and has been teaching political
science and law at one of Kabul's private universities.
Lack of political will
All
this is not to say that Afghan women have reached an ideal stage. Nor
are there any guarantees that the course of progress will steadily
continue. So far, Afghan women have bravely journeyed along a bumpy and
winding road, evading obstacles and potholes. Most of the progress in
ameliorating the lot of Afghan women has come, for the most part, thanks
to the international community's pressure and as part of the overall
aid package. On the other hand, this donor-driven process has reduced
women's causes to small, short-term pet projects, rather than a
comprehensive and sustainable national movement.
In
women's rights, as in other issues in the greater conservatism versus
modernism discourse, Afghan women - and especially the young generation -
have demonstrated a remarkable eagerness and willingness for change.
Afghan politicians and statesmen, however, seem to lag well behind.
Instead of understanding society's need and readiness for progress,
instead of acknowledging the necessity of women's participation for
economic, social and political progress of the country as a whole,
political leaders have continued to pay lip service to the conservative
and traditional elements of society.
Weak
political will, perhaps lack of true belief in women's rights among
leaders of state institutions and politicians, has prevented the cause
to reach farther destinations.
Lack
of political will is justified by "prioritisation of the country's
issues", as one politician claiming to be a proponent of women's rights
apologetically told me a few years ago, further elaborating that for the
sake of stability, we should put women's issues on the backburner or
deal with it in small increments.
Washington's
overtures to terrorists for a negotiated peace since 2009 has prompted
the Afghan government and opposition leaders to rush into a race to be
the first party to strike a deal with the Taliban. Consequently, women's
causes were sacrificed as part of their appeasement strategy.
With
that history, it is surprising to see that support for women's rights
figures so prominently in the speeches and programmes of all
presidential hopefuls for the April election. Three of the tickets have
women as vice presidential candidates and all are going through lengths
to assure women that they will protect their rights.
But
precisely because of that history, Afghan women and the international
community must be vigilant and distinguish between true belief in
women's rights and demagoguery. Candidates, their running mates, their
political attachments and support bases must be scrutinised.
Through
the Charter, engaging candidates in debates, awareness campaigns, calls
for the formation of a united front and female voter registration
drives in all corners of Afghanistan, women activists have waged an
indigenous fight for the preservation of their gains and to further
their achievements.
Whether the presidential contenders' lofty promises and the unprecedented attention they appear to be giving to women voters will
translate into real action the day after the new president is sworn in,
is uncertain. All prominent candidates have assumed a flexible posture
towards the Taliban, leaving the door open for negotiations and possible
power sharing arrangements as a means to reach peace and stability.
Women's rights and the Taliban clearly present an oxymoron that no
politician, however skilled, can reconcile.
Therefore,
with all the progress of the past decade, the emerging activism of
Afghan women and the attention given to women voters, it remains to be
seen if the slogan "detour is not an option", will hold in the aftermath
of the Afghan election.
