Current
Event: The Treatment of Women in
Afghanistan
Explanation
Today’s
current event on “Feminist Musings” is the continued deteriorating treatment of
women in the nation of Afghanistan.
Today I included two articles, one from NBC, and one from
Aljazeera. Both of these sites and news
articles talk about how the conditions of life for women in Afghanistan are
getting worse and violence is increasing.
As
I did a little background research into the current condition I found that
conditions for women have not always been as bad as the two articles explained. I admit not knowing this because I simply
just did/do not know a lot about the history of Afghanistan. In my research I discovered that life and
conditions for women were similar to many countries in the West. They wore western style of clothing, went to
school, and had good jobs like doctors and politicians. This life style existed prior to US CIA
intervention that ultimately led to Taliban rule where they rigidly enforced
Islamic extremism especially upon women.
Women,
after the rise of power of the Taliban, are now forced to wear clothing head to
toe, were fired from their jobs, are not allowed to get an education or hold
political office, and many are raped, severely beaten, and murdered. I decided to place this information on my
Blog to illustrate that the fight for women’s rights must be a global struggle;
women in Afghanistan must know that they are not alone in their struggle. The world must show the women of Afghanistan
that it collectively desires to free them from oppression. Meaning ALL human beings are connected, we are
one species not many, we must look after each other. We all must unite to work against extreme
treatment of women the world over. The
terrible treatment of women in Afghanistan must not be tolerated and MUST be stopped.
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Afghan women in
the 1970s before the CIA-led intervention
|
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A member of the
Taliban's religious police beating an Afghan woman in Kabul on August 26, 2001.
|
Articles:
KABUL – Women’s rights in Afghanistan have regressed in the
past year, increasing worry about what the future holds, according to a Human
Rights Watch report released Thursday.
As the country faces a large-scale troop withdrawal by the
end of 2014, the organization expressed concern that, “with international
interest in Afghanistan rapidly waning, opponents of women’s rights seized the
opportunity to begin rolling back the progress made since the end of Taliban
rule.”
The comprehensive global report outlines actions it says
Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s government has taken to specifically undermine
rights for women and girls.
Among those actions was a parliamentary attempt to appeal the
groundbreaking law on the “Elimination of Violence Against Women,” which was
passed by presidential decree in 2009.
Although the law remains valid, its enforcement is weak, the
report states. A brief debate on the law “heralded, and perhaps triggered, subsequent
attacks and setbacks within the government during the year,” said the Human
Rights Watch report.
Another setback was the reduction of parliamentary seats
reserved for women from 25 percent to 20 percent, triggering concern that
female representation may even wane further in years to come.
Also, the Ministry of Justice — with parliamentary approval
— revised the criminal code, adding a provision that bans family member
testimony in criminal cases. This, the report argues, “makes it extremely difficult
to prosecute domestic violence and child and forced marriage.”
During 2013 there was also an uptick in violence against
high-profile women in positions of authority. Targeted assassinations included
the shooting of a member of parliament, Roh Gul, as she was traveling through
Ghazni province with her family in August. She survived the attack but her
8-year-old daughter and driver were killed.
Meanwhile, world-renowned author Sushmita Banerjee was also
found murdered in September. Her dramatic memoirs about marrying an Afghan man
and escaping the Taliban were turned into a Bollywood movie, “Escape From the
Taliban,” before she moved back to Afghanistan.
And the highest ranking police officer in Helmand Province,
Lt. Nigar, who was known by just one name, was killed just months after her
predecessor’s assassination.
Beyond attacks on women’s rights, the report outlines other
general examples of “declining respect for human rights” across the country.
“Impunity for abuses was the norm for government security
forces and other armed groups,” it states, which raises concerns about the
“fairness of the upcoming presidential election.”
Last updated: 22 Jan 2014 11:52
Afghanistan’s human rights situation has regressed in key
areas during 2013, increasing uncertainty about the country’s future, Human
Rights Watch has said.
The 2014 deadline for the withdrawal of international armed
forces and continued debate over the presence of US troops beyond 2014 have
negatively affected the Afghan government's policies on human rights, HRW
reported.
An extensive world report by HRW found that the Afghan
government under President Hamid Karzai had made a series of decisions in 2013
that undermined human rights, particularly those of women and girls.
"There was continued instability and declining respect
for human rights in the country over the past year. This was reflected in
attacks on women’s rights," the report said.
"Impunity for abuses was the norm for government
security forces and other armed groups."
Taliban fighters continued their campaign of targeted
assassinations of government officials, including women, during the year and
high ranking women in the security forces also became targets.
“Afghan women are all too aware that international donors
are walking away from Afghanistan,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human
Rights Watch. “Unfortunately, those who want to curtail women’s rights realise
this too.”
Political setbacks also came to the fore in 2013 as
parliament reduced the number of seats set aside for women on the country's 34
provincial councils.
In addition, the Ministry of Justice added a provision to
the criminal justice code banning testimony from family members, making it
difficult to prosecute for domestic abuse and in cases of child marriage or
other forms of forced marriage.
The report found that opponents of women’s rights took
advantage of waning international interest in Afghanistan to begin rolling back
the progress made since the end of Taliban rule in 2001.
It cited a May parliamentary debate on the groundbreaking
Law on the Elimination of Violence Against Women (EVAW Law), passed by
presidential decree in 2009.
The debate was halted after 15 minutes to block numerous
calls for the law’s repeal, during which many people spoke out against legal
protections for women and girls.
The law remains in place, but enforcement is weak.
Physical assaults
A string of physical assaults in 2013 against high-profile
women, including murders, highlighted the danger to activists and women in
public life.
On August 7, upper house parliamentarian Rooh Gul was shot
as she travelled by road through Ghazni province. While she survived her 8-year-old
daughter was killed.
Later in the year, on September 16, Lieutenant Nigara, the
highest ranking female police officer in Helmand province, was shot and killed
on her way to work less than three months after the July 3 assassination of her
predecessor, Islam Bibi.
“The severity of Afghanistan’s human rights crisis in 2013
demands urgent action by both the government and the country’s foreign donors,”
Adams said.
“The failure to make human rights a priority during the year
of a presidential election, and the backlash resulting from diminished
international attention and support, threaten much of the progress that has
been achieved.”
Videos:
A member of the Taliban's religious police beating an Afghan woman in Kabul on August 26, 2001.
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