On November 19, the House International Relations Subcommittees on the Middle East and Central Asia and International Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Human Rights held a joint hearing on the protection of human rights in Afghanistan.
In her opening statement, Subcommittee on the Middle East and Central Asia Chair Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) noted that while the proposed Afghanistan Constitution mandates the promotion of women’s education and female representation throughout the government, “women’s rights advocates still have serious concerns regarding the rights of female Afghan citizens.”
Assistant Secretary of State Lorne Craner lauded Afghanistan for the advances that have been made in women’s rights. Educating women and girls was banned under the Taliban, but now enrollment is at an all-time high with over one million girls in school. Many women also are entering the workforce. The Afghan government has established the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, which is headed by a woman. A woman also heads the Ministry of Public Health. President Karzai has decreed that women will comprise 90 of the 500 Constitutional Loya Jirga delegates, which will convene next month to adopt the Afghanistan Constitution. Finally, the draft constitution sets aside a number of legislative seats for women in both the upper and lower chambers of its bicameral parliament, notes the state’s responsibility to devise and implement educational programs for women, and provides assistance to women without caretakers. Assistant Secretary Craner stated, “We are confident that Afghan leaders and delegates to the Loya Jirga will work to ensure that the constitution will be faithful to the highest aspirations of the Afghan people and that these rights will be safeguarded and protected within Afghanistan’s obligations under international law.”
Assistant Secretary Craner also highlighted a number of efforts the United States and its international partners have made to advance women’s rights in Afghanistan. The U.S. has committed $1 million to the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission to protect human rights in Afghanistan, including the rights of women and minorities. The U.S. also will fund the construction of women’s centers in 14 provincial locations to provide health, education, day care, and job skills training to Afghan women. The U.S. is conducting domestic violence awareness campaigns and training for the police and the judiciary. Finally, the U.S. is incorporating women’s issues in many assistance programs, including health clinics, schools, and market centers.
Testifying on behalf of the Office of Religious Freedom at the State Department, Ambassador John Hanford focused his testimony on religious rights in Afghanistan, but made a connection to women’s rights as well. “Much of the oppression of women was driven by the Taliban’s religious intolerance. Today, some of the same voices who seek to restrict Afghan women also seek to deny religious freedom to the Afghan people, including Afghan women. In turn, promoting religious freedom is vital to promoting the rights and welfare of women,” he stated.
T. Kumar of Amnesty International summarized a number of imperfections in the draft constitution. Although Afghanistan ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the draft fails to incorporate a number of the treaty’s provisions, including:
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Mr. Kumar also pointed out that there is no clear definition of “citizen” in the current draft. “The constitution should clearly define ‘citizen’ to mean every Afghan man, woman, and child to ensure that the rights set out in the constitution apply equally to all people in Afghanistan, male or female,” he stated. Finally, Mr. Kumar noted, “Prosecution for violence against women, and protection for women at acute risk of violence is virtually absent. Those women who overcome powerful barriers and seek to access justice are unlikely to have their complaints considered, or their rights defended.”
Mariam Nawabi, a legal advisor to the Constitutional Drafting Commission of Afghanistan, argued that, “to date, many changes in [Afghanistan’s] post-Taliban world have been more symbolic than substantive.” Although many girls now attend school, they lack appropriate facilities, properly trained teachers, textbooks, and other supplies. In addition, women entering the workforce lack marketable skills and job opportunities. The 2004 elections will be the first time that women are registered to vote in Afghanistan, but “the current climate of intimidation, harassment and exclusion from social, economic, and political activities…shows that there are real threats against the opportunity for women to take part in those elections,” Ms. Nawabi stated. She and other witnesses also stressed the high incidence of domestic violence, sexual assault, forced prostitution, forced marriages, child marriages, trafficking of women and children, and honor killings.
Finally, Ms. Nawabi cited the poor health care conditions in Afghanistan, especially for women. “For every 100,000 pregnancies in Afghanistan, about 1,700 Afghan women die in childbirth compared to nine deaths for every 100,000 pregnant women in the United States. Over 50 women die a day related to pregnancy-related deaths, which experts say are preventable,” she lamented. Ms. Nawabi also explained that mental health is overshadowed and ignored in Afghanistan. “A 2001 study by Physicians for Human Rights found that more than 70% of Afghan women suffered from major depression, nearly two-thirds were suicidal and 16% had already attempted suicide,” she stated.
