IT'S NOT A WOMAN'S WORLD

To be placed above the Democratic Republic of Congo, Pakistan, Somalia and India as the most perilous place for a woman to live is not easily achievable. TRUSTLAW POLL revealed that an Afghan woman is considered to have a better quality of life in the Congo where among the 400,000 women that are raped each year; many of them are as young as 3 years old; are raped with bayonets and are afterwards shot in the vagina. It is impossible to imagine a more harrowing, inhumane and hateful existence...

Due to NATO air strikes, harmful cultural practices, violence and dismal health care; Afghanistan's post-Taliban reforms have barely improved the lives of women. A 2010 report conducted by UNAMA HR found that in 29 out of the 34 Afghan provinces, abuse of women’s rights occurs on a daily basis. The Government is completely inept in fully protecting the rights of women and girls. It is a shocking and unconventional devolution: in 1950s' Kabul, women were students; on their university faculties; worked in respected office jobs and even on construction sites. Under King Amanulla in the 1920s, women first won the right to go to schools and under King Zahir Shah, they walked the streets safely without burqas. In the communist 1980s, women were finally viewed as having the right to be involved in policy forming. Many have died as martyrs in order to fight for women's rights over the years in Afghanistan: Malalai Kakar - a prominent police woman, Safia Ama Jan - Director of Ministry of Women's Affairs and Zakia Zaki - journalist, to name but a few have been murdered and tortured by Afghan men for their progressive ideals. Suraya Parlika is a veteran protestor; a widely respected Nobel Peace Prize Nominee and Upper House member in the Afghan Parliament. She was imprisoned, beaten regularly and had her fingernails removed. It seems that these women’s momentous sacrifice has somehow not transgressed into the 21^st Century.

Hamid Karzai was appointed into presidency in the (poorly-conducted) 2002 Loya Jirga with the ever present Western Big Brother. The Taliban's repressive regime was over and the Afghan Constitution changed. In Articles 22, 43, 44 and 54, more acts of discrimination against women were criminalised and it was asserted that women are equal to men in the eyes of the law. However, the Penal Code from 1976 is still utilised which classifies adultery (or 'zina') as the only punishable crime out of rape, sexual harassment, sex slavery, human trafficking and many others. Even in cases of honour killings, perpetrators are usually given lenient prison sentences of around 2 years. The law takes a selective approach when faced with a law matter involving women: complaints of domestic abuse and child marriages are categorised as "private matters," yet when a young girl flees from a life of abuse, she is imprisoned for intention to commit adultery. In fact, half of the country's female prison population is detained for 'moral crimes' all of which centre on accusations of adultery. Many of these disrespectful, un-Christian and misogynistic acts are also extremely inconsistent with Islamic/Sharia Law (e.g. Holy Quran, Al nisa, Verse 124 and Al Hujurat Verse 13).

There is some light ahead for the brave and suffering in. The Law of Elimination of Violence Against Women (EVAW) has been introduced into Afghanistan, however it is proving difficult to be incorporated into daily life and to penetrate the more conservative and rural areas of Afghanistan. The UNAMA HR is calling for the Afghan Government, religious leaders, communities, civil societies and international donors to take all possible measures to implement EVAW law immediately. This law would criminalise and prohibit sexual abuse and violence on women; child and forced marriages; the buying and selling of women for marriage ('baad' and 'baadal') and on the other hand enforce equality, education and health care for women. International and domestic charities are also very much involved in this uphill battle for equal rights. The Afghan Civil Society organisation strives for literacy programs to be set up for women to try counteracting the effects left on an entire generation from the Taliban rule - the current literacy rate of women is 14%. There is also a special program being set up in Kandahar where female shuras are being created to offer grassroots civic management of women. The idea is to meet twice a month in their respective districts in order to voice their grievances about their community and plan to bulwark against continued discrimination and abuse. A very important achievement is the Women's Income Generation Project which encourages women to learn skills in order to start their own businesses. The Khamak embroidery business is already underway - all profits are returned to the female workers. Without financial independence, women shall never reach equality. For this, we need education, skills, health care and ideally but not necessarily a supportive family.

In the midst of the obstacles faced by various women’s charities, President Karzai is currently negotiating with the Taliban. In 2009, Karzai reintroduced the Shia Family Law which curtails women’s custody rights and their freedom of movement. Karzai’s talks with the Taliban are extremely confidential, yet the situation indicates a possible division of the nation where the South will be ruled once more by the Taliban. Where does this leave the women of Afghanistan? The President does not appear to be a chauvinist – his wife is highly educated and granted many freedoms that many Muslim women in the Middle East could only dream about. Unfortunately, some suspect he is relying on the support of many ‘conservative’ and Taliban-influenced provinces for the 2014 election; of course the vote is more important than the quality of 15 million women’s lives. So, like its predecessors in the run for the “most dangerous place in the world for women,” Afghanistan shows very little real hope in the near future.