Women in Afghanistan: Miles to Walk before Equality is Achieved (original) (raw)
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Achieving Gender Equality in Afghanistan By 2020
Women form 50 percent of the Afghan population and the stability of this nation will be best reflected only by an improvement in their condition since they have always been subjected to any change, turmoil and cultural and religious norms prevailing in the country. Gender equality refers to a concept that all men and women, are free to develop according to their personal capabilities and can also make their choices irrespective of the hindrances posed by traditional gender rules, prejudices etc. Therefore, gender equality deciphers an equal level of consideration for all human needs and aspiration. However, in the case of Afghanistan, achieving gender equality is a target that needs tons of effort to realize.
Afghans lived in Afghanistan for thousands of years. Of all of the ethnic groups, the Pashtuns are the largest followed by Tajiks, Hazaras, Uzbeks and others. Throughout the 20th century, Afghanistan continued to be a country dominated by tribes and men continued to have ultimate control over women. But it is true that from the 19th century and through the twentieth century many rulers of Afghanistan attempted to lessen women's restrictions in the country. Until the 1970s, the 20th Century had seen relatively steady progression for women's rights in the country. Afghan women were first eligible to vote in 1919 -only a year after women in the UK were given voting rights, and a year before the women in the United States were allowed to vote. In the 1950s purdah (gendered separation) was abolished; in the 1960s a new constitution brought equality to many areas of life, including political participation.
The Women of Afghanistan: Past and Present Challenges
Journal of Social Science Studies, 2017
Women face tough challenges in developing countries which usually enforce strong traditional stereotypes. Afghanistan is a good example where women have experienced both radical and moderate changes. Some of the changes have ameliorated their position in society whereas for the most part the changes endured have kept them from fulfilling their potential roles in a traditional patriarchal structure. This article attempts to highlight the various fluctuations that have occurred in the 19 th and 20 th centuries, paying special attention to the period during and after the Soviet invasion of 1978. Afghan women possess legal rights which are on a par with other developed states but it is the implementation of these rights which leaves much to be desired. The impact of culture and history cannot be minimised when trying to explain the obstacles faced in improving Afghan women's rights.
The Emancipation of Women in Afghanistan imminent
From a global perspective the Beijing policy and other various international instruments used to promote the position of women still need to translate into positive changes in people’s daily lives, especially in developing countries. Women still remain at the lowermost of the social hierarchy with reduced access to land, credit, health and education. Although some of the covenants the Afghani government have sanctioned preserve property and inheritance rights, women are still deprived of those actual rights. Compounding the condition are setbacks such as war which is destroying the lives of women, preventing some of the development improvements women may attain. As a result, poverty in Afghanistan continues to clothe a woman’s face, which is disturbing that 20 years after Beijing and other international instruments, Afghani women are much poorer. Strategies recommended include empowering women to positions of authority, improving girl’s education, reinvesting the current economic policy and dealing with patriarchy, including the war and displacement. At large, the government needs to work hard in making emancipation of women an actuality, since women are still talked as minors.
The situation of Afghan women during the Western military presence in Afghanistan
In the period between 2001 and 2021, Afghan women gained new experiences in the field of human rights and social activities. In 2021, they lost all their political and social rights with the re-emergence of the Taliban. The situation of Afghan women, especially women who mobilized for the development of their political and social rights, is extremely dire. Women enjoy traditionally fewer rights than men. The Afghan society, being conservative and predominantly rural, still follows the patriarchal rules of family clans. Afghan society, being conservative and predominantly rural, continues to follow the patriarchal rules of family clans. For example, women who defy convention and seek divorce are often disowned by their families and excluded from Afghan society. Over the decades, leaders and ethnic groups in Afghanistan have debated what women should do and how they should behave, creating tension and differences of opinion. Positively, the Afghan Constitution law between 2001 and 2021 recognized women’s right to education and to participate in elections both as voters and as candidates (Mann, 2010). Despite poverty, women earned a salary comparable to that of men . Moreover, they comprised the majority of the teaching and health institutions staff across the country. However, this led to inequalities increases between women living in urban areas and those residing in the countryside (Ibid.).
Citizen Support for Gender Equality in Afghanistan
Citizen support for gender equality in Afghanistan is fragile and multidimensional: varying by ethnicity, geographical region, over time and across issues. Evidence from the 2011 Survey of the Afghan People shows that recent modernizationresulting in greater openness to external news media, growing economic prosperity and democratization-has led to some transformation in public attitudes towards gender equality. How robust the transformation is remains to be seen. This is because policies promoting gender equality challenge entrenched historical patterns of state-society interaction concerning the organization of the economy; religious doctrine and codified cultural traditions. This makes course reversals more likely should social and political conditions alter. The survey shows that 35 percent of respondents think women should not be allowed to work outside the home, up from 28 percent in 2007. Those opposed to women's representation in parliament stood at 45 percent up from 43 percent in 2007. Opposition to women's representation in parliament is highest in the East (56 percent) and South East (53 percent). On a more positive note, the survey reveals strong support for equal opportunity for women in education in 73 percent in Central/Hazarajat (73 percent) and Central Kabul ( 63 percent) and North West (56 percent). This is consistent with the surveys finding that illiteracy and lack of education is the most pressing problem facing Afghan women across all regions of the country. The main message of the 2011 survey is that for gender equality to be more than a "top-down", elite driven technocratic exercise, more needs to be done to change the attitudes of those opposed to an egalitarian society.
2003
In this paper, through the history of women in Afghanistan, I want to locate the position of women in the future by lessons learnt from the past. Given Afghanistan's current situation of poverty, political disenfranchisement and social disarray, I argue that these very deficiencies could be maneuvered to favor the empowerment of women by redefining her role in the family and the community. Afghanistan's social development can only be ensured through democracy and the reduction of poverty, the success of both being assured through full participation of women, especially in rural Afghanistan. In this paper I would like to trace the history of women in Afghanistan for three main reasons. One, to show that women in Afghanistan were not always oppressed by fundamentalism as occurred under the Mujahideen and the Taliban. Second, to go back into history and reflect on regimes and politicians to show that women's issues were an integral part of national construction agendas even...
Women’s Rights in Afghanistan: From Muslims’ Perspective
American International Journal of Social Science Research
Considering the logic of evolution of societies, the calamitous situation of women can be both changed and controlled. With the emergence of Islam, issue of women was more deeply raised in religious and intellectual discussions. At a time when having a daughter considered a shame on Arab families, a religion emerged after which assigned key social, political and even economic rights for women. Holy Quran says there is no superiority of nations over nations, races over races and men over women unless by divine piety and good action. One of the emphatic rules of Islam is that acquiring knowledge is an obligatory act for both men and women. On the issue of education secondary data shows that most people believe Islam and Shari'a not only emphasize that girls and women should acquire Islamic education (98%), but they allow women and girls to study all levels of formal educational system. Unfortunately said, in Afghanistan, more women are scarified by men’s decisions.