The End of the War, the End of Women’s Rights?
 |
October 3, 2011 TheFreshOutlook  |
Two leading British aid agencies have raised concerns for the rights of Afghan women after the withdrawal of military troops.
Oxfam and Action Aid have voiced their concerns that the rights of Afghan women might be sacrificed to secure deals with the Taliban.
Originally cited as one of the justifications for Britain and America’s military intervention, the status of women in Afghanistan has improved dramatically since the war began in 2001. However, with the impending withdrawal date of military troops looming, women still remain left out of vital discussions which will determine their future.
Ahead of Friday’s 10th anniversary of the military occupation in Afghanistan, appeals are being made to ensure that women are involved in all the country’s peace, reconciliation and transition processes, as well ensuring Afghan women representatives are also present at the Bonn conference in December, when the international community will discuss Afghanistan’s future.
PV Krishnan, Action Aid Afghanistan’s country director, said: “If Afghan women are excluded from decision making on the future of their country we risk not only sacrificing the gains made for women over the past 10 years, but Afghanistan will be a less stable society as a result.”
In a recent Action Aid survey of 1,000 Afghan women, 86% were worried about the return of a Taliban-style government which would once again impose strict regulations on women, whilst many of those asked were most worried for their daughter’s education if such a regime would come back into force.
The author of Action Aid’s report ‘A Just Peace? The Legacy of War for the Women of Afghanistan’, Anjali Kwatri, told The Fresh Outlook: “If the worst should happen then I expect many women who have the means would leave the country, but many don’t have that option so they would just have to live under the threat of attack, especially female school teachers – many schools are the target of attacks even now.”
Under Taliban rule, women were heavily restricted and forbidden to attend either work or school, found difficulties in accessing health care, and were only allowed to travel outside the home if they were escorted by a male relative and were wearing a burkha.
With many women unaware of decisions being made in the country’s peace processes, the possibility that these restrictions may return remains a threat to Afghan women’s rights as international troops are planned to have a phased withdrawal from Afghanistan ending in 2014-15, during which time the control will be handed back to Afghan security forces.
By Laura Beard
[Image Courtesy of Michael Foley Photography]
