I. Summary

After the fall of the Taliban everyone wanted to come and work for women’s rights, they were proud to say they were here to help Afghan women. Slowly, slowly this disappeared. Maybe the international community saw that we had two or three women in the cabinet, and thought, it’s ok, now they have their rights. But we have lost everything, from those cabinet positions to the donor attention. Women are not a priority for our own government or the international community. We’ve been forgotten.

—Shinkai Karokhail, member of parliament, Kabul, June 4, 2009

Women’s issues are off the radar. Interventions are cosmetic, and don’t really deal with how conservative Afghanistan is. The nice statistics are misleading. Thousands of teachers are trained, schools are built, so what? Can the teachers actually teach? Will a family send girls to school if they don’t see the employment benefits? Or if you haven’t tackled the employment constraints, like mixed work places? Women’s development begins and ends at the level of compassion–it’s not being translated into good policies.

—Susana Paklar, former country director, Medica Mondiale, Kabul, May 3, 2009

We welcomed [the international community’s] words on the Shia law–really–they said many beautiful things, as they did in 2001. We have the promises of the world. But still we wait to see what more they will do.

—Wazhma Frogh, activist, Global Rights, Kabul, April 14 2009

The US and its allies cited the defense of women's rights as one of the primary reasons, after the need to root out al Qaeda and defeat the Taliban, for their 2001 invasion and subsequent commitment to rehabilitate Afghanistan. Eight years after the fall of the Taliban, and the establishment of the Karzai government, Afghan women continue to be among the worst off in the world. Their situation is dismal in every area, including in health, education, employment, freedom from violence, equality before the law, and political participation.

Despite the rhetorical commitment to women’s rights and women’s empowerment, and despite the millions already spent on women’s rights and development projects, women have not been a central priority for the government or for international donors, whose focus is primarily on the armed conflict rather than the broader concept of civilian security and rule of law.

The diminishing status of women’s rights in Afghanistan came back into focus in March 2009 when the Shia Personal Status law, which was riddled with Taliban style misogyny, was passed by parliament and signed by President Hamid Karzai. The law regulates the personal affairs of Shia Muslims, including divorce, inheritance, and minimum age of marriage, but, as detailed below, severely restricts women’s basic freedoms. US President Obama called the law “abhorrent,” and leaders from the United Kingdom, Canada, France, and NATO all joined the condemnation and reaffirmed the importance of respect for women’s rights.

Afghan women’s rights activists were galvanized and mounted a successful campaign to force the president to revise the law, aided by the outspokenness of countries like the US, Canada, and various European nations. Unfortunately, the final outcome fell far short of expectations, apparently because President Karzai was intent on maintaining the electoral support of Shia fundamentalists. A month before the presidential election he issued by decree an amended version of the law which still includes articles that impose drastic restrictions upon Shia women, including the requirement that wives seek their husbands’ permission before leaving home except for unspecified “reasonable legal reasons.” The law also gives child custody rights to fathers and grandfathers, not mothers or grandmothers, and allows a husband to cease maintenance to his wife if she does not meet her marital duties, including sexual duties.

The furor over the Shia law highlighted the fragility of the gains made by Afghan women, human rights activists, and reform-minded politicians. The dominant political factions of Afghanistan remain ideologically hostile to many of the rights that many women have started to enjoy since the fall of the Taliban, such as freedom of movement, freedom to work, and the right to education. Many of the women interviewed for this report observed that the space for them to work as activists for change has diminished over the past few years, as the government has come to increasingly rely on conservative factions to maintain political control.

In the wake of the Shia law controversy, with the world looking closely again at the status of women in Afghanistan, many inside and outside the country are becoming aware again of just how few and fragile the gains have been and how steep the challenges remain. Whereas the trend had clearly been positive for women’s rights from 2001-2005, the trend is now negative in many areas. This is not a commentary on the many courageous women and men who risk their lives through acts big and small—such as teaching at a girls’ school or running as an independent woman for parliament. Rather, it is a reflection of the power of conservative leaders who want to deny women their basic rights. The Shia law, in which the previously moderate Karzai traded women’s rights for political support for his re-election, is only the most visible example of this trend. With the prospect of deals with the Taliban and other insurgent groups firmly on the political agenda, fundamentalist actors may be able to expand their influence in coming years.

In this report, we focus on five key areas of concern:

• Attacks on women in public life;
• Violence against women;
• Child and forced marriage;
• Access to justice;
• Girls’ access to secondary education.

We chose these five areas as exemplars of the wider situation of women, though we know that a strong case could be made to examine other subjects such as access to primary education, maternal mortality, threats to women human rights defenders, and domestic violence. By detailing emblematic cases of ongoing rights’ violations in the five areas, this report highlights the failure of the government in recent years to advance the basic rights of women and girls, and identifies some of the shortcomings in donor priorities and assistance that have contributed to the backsliding.

Attacks on Women in Public Life

The murder on April 12, 2009 of Sitara Achakzai, an outspoken human rights defender and local councilor in Kandahar, was another warning to all women who are active in public life, whether as politicians at the parliamentary or provincial level, or as human rights activists, teachers, health workers, or journalists. She had been receiving threats for weeks or months before her death, and had informed government officials, friends, and colleagues of the risk she knew she was facing. The Taliban claimed responsibility for her death, but friends and colleagues have questioned whether this might have also been a political assassination. No one has been prosecuted for her murder.

Every time a woman in public life is assassinated, her death has a multiplier effect: women in her region or profession will think twice about their public activities. A female police officer interviewed for this report has been in hiding after receiving limited support from her superiors in response to threats from two insurgent groups. She fears she will meet the same fate as Malalai Kakar—the former Police Commander in Kandahar whose murder in September 2008 went unpunished. The government’s repeated failure to bring the perpetrators of these crimes to justice compounds the fear that women feel.

The risk is that the gains that women have made in their representation in public life will start to unravel. The most significant of these gains is that over a quarter of MPs in the lower house are female. But where quotas were not imposed—for instance the number of cabinet seats or deputy minister or civil service positions—these improvements already seem to be in decline. Over the last few years the number of women in the civil service has actually decreased, as has the number of women in the cabinet. There is only one female cabinet minister, who represents the Ministry of Women’s Affairs. All of the women members of parliament interviewed for this report had experienced some kind of threat or intimidation. Most felt that the state could not or would not protect them. So long as attacks against women continue to go unpunished, the culture of fear and impunity will be a strong deterrent to women who consider entering public life.

In the 2009 provincial and parliamentary elections the security of women candidates and voters was addressed as a distinct issue late in the process. It was only through the last minute efforts of women parliamentarians and activists—offering their own cars or financial support—that enough women were persuaded in the closing days of nominations to put their names forward. In some places, such as Kandahar, the security situation was so bad that fewer women ran for office than the number of places that had been set aside for women by law. All of the women candidates in Kandahar campaigned from outside the province. The failure to adequately address women’s security, including last-minute provision of female security checkers for female polling stations, added to electoral fraud in the south and southeast.

Without a strong platform in government and society from which to lobby for their rights, women’s advancement in Afghanistan will grind to a halt. The current political class is riddled with corruption and nepotism. Elections are not fought on the basis of principle or policy, but won through deals and compromises. Power flows through patron-client relationships as much as it does through public institutions. This is a system that is stacked against women. As one woman MP told us:

We are not commanders, we don’t have guns, we don’t have bags of money from whatever places. So we are not the ones whose interests they want to protect.[1]

Violence against Women

Violence against women in Afghanistan is endemic. A nationwide survey of 4,700 women, published in 2008, found that 87.2 percent had experienced at least one form of physical, sexual, or psychological violence or forced marriage in their lifetimes.[2] The forms of violence include rape, physical violence, forced marriage, and “honor killings.” Too often the attitudes of those in government and the police reflect the misogynous views, rooted in cultural traditions—but increasingly rejected by younger generations of Afghans—that underlie some of the violence against women. As Dr. Soraya Sobhrang, Women’s Protection and Development Commissioner of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), told us, “Police and judges see violence against women as legitimate, so they do not prosecute cases.”[3]

In the vast majority of cases women will not seek help because of their fears of police abuse or corruption, or their fears of retaliation by perpetrators of violence. Low social status and social stigmas deter women from going against their families to pursue justice, particularly in cases of domestic abuse. For a woman even to approach the police or courts requires her to overcome the public opprobrium that often still attaches to women who leave their houses without a male guardian, let alone women who seek protection from public authorities. In a 2008 study by the Women and Children Legal Research Foundation (WCLRF), only 15 percent thought that a woman disabled by violence should seek police help. For those who do seek help, many encounter lack of concern, if not outright hostility or abuse.

Rape is not a crime in the Afghan Penal Code. Under the code, rapists can only be charged with “forced” zina, or adultery, which sometimes results in women also being prosecuted for zina. In a major achievement for civil society groups and women’s rights activists, the president issued the Elimination of Violence Against Women law, which makes rape a crime. At the time of writing the law is being considered by parliament. Although the law can be strengthened and clarified, if it is not watered down by the parliament it will serve as a significant foundation stone for changes in the way gender based violence is treated by the state and private citizens.

In this report we highlight three cases of rape where the perpetrators’ power and influence helped them to evade justice, sometimes with the highest sanction of government. Politics was behind a presidential pardon in the summer of 2008 that saw two gang-rapists released after serving just 2 years of an 11-year sentence. In May 2009 the husband of the rape victim was shot dead, just two weeks after the man who ordered the rape was finally imprisoned. In a second case, when the son of a member of parliament who raped a 13-year-old girl was imprisoned, members of his powerful family went to great lengths to try to have him released from prison, efforts which have so far been unsuccessful. They put the victims’ family under pressure to accept a “traditional” settlement, including giving a female member of the perpetrator’s family to the victim’s family in marriage (a practice known as baad, where a woman is given as “compensation” or “retribution” for a crime). In the third case a young girl was raped and forced into prostitution: at the time of writing no one had been prosecuted for the crimes against her, probably because of the fears of retaliation among those who might have pushed for prosecution. As Fauwzia Kufi, a woman MP, told us:

There is a culture of impunity towards perpetrators of rape from the government’s side, because the government doesn’t want to weaken their coalition of supporters by imposing the law. So women’s rights are the first things to go. Politics is everything.[4]

Child and Forced Marriage

Fifty-seven percent of all marriages that take place in Afghanistan are classified as child marriages by UNIFEM (under the legal age of 16), and 70 to 80 percent as forced marriages.[5] These practices underlie many of the problems faced by women and girls, with a correlation between domestic violence and child/forced marriage. Early marriages often contribute to girls dropping out of school and to early childbearing, with the attendant risks of health complications or maternal death.

Prevailing attitudes in rural areas tend to condone the marriage of girls soon after reaching puberty. Bride prices and poor economic conditions increase the prevalence of child marriage. Girls and boys often have little choice within families about their marriage age and partner, with less autonomy for girls, and often less importance placed on their continued education. The response of families and communities to attempts to escape forced marriages can often be harsh, including honor killings.

Although the pending Elimination of Violence Against Women law in its current form addresses some of these issues, including criminalizing child marriage, women’s rights organizations in Afghanistan recognize that changes in the law may lead to only modest improvements. Changing attitudes is paramount, but this will take a long term commitment from government officials, tribal leaders and other influential figures, NGOs, and donors who support civil society organizations involved in this work.

Access to Justice

An underlying problem is women’s access to justice. Police training involves little or no training in gender based violence or women’s rights, particularly as training has been increasingly focused on counter-insurgency and security skills rather than crime prevention, crime solving and community policing. Deeply entrenched cultural prejudices prevent many women accessing the police or the courts because of the fear of being stigmatized a “bad woman.” Women face discrimination and prejudice in police stations and the courts from officials who often do not know the law but penalize women according to customary law, which places great emphasis on notions of female “honor” and chastity. The majority of women in jail are charged with extramarital sex (zina) or with “running away”—something that is not a crime in Afghan law or Sharia but often reflects a conservative cultural view that sees women as property of fathers or husbands.

One widely welcomed policy response to this was the creation of female-staffed “Family Response Units” (FRUs) in police stations. But, as detailed in this report, there are serious problems with the implementation of FRUs, including insufficient numbers of women police officers and inadequate training, mentoring, and facilities.

Girls’ Access to Secondary Education

After the decimation of girl’s schools by the Taliban, it is not surprising that girl’s education has become the most symbolic element of the international donor effort in Afghanistan. Despite significant gains—this year more than six million students enrolled in primary and secondary school—stark gender disparities remain. The majority of girls still do not attend primary school, and a dismal 11 percent of secondary-school-age girls are enrolled in grades 7-9. Only 4 percent enroll in grades 10-12. While the number of both boys and girls attending school drops dramatically at the secondary school level, the decline is much more pronounced for girls.

These bleak numbers bode poorly for girls’ futures in many ways—since enrolling and retaining girls in schools will have a wide impact—from cultivating the next generation of women leaders to reducing infant mortality. Education of girls often reduces the prevalence of child marriage, early childbearing, and the risk of dying due to pregnancy-related causes. Women’s literacy is also linked to increased nutrition among children. Afghanistan’s progress in tackling teacher shortages, improving health indicators, and developing sustainable livelihoods hinges on cultivating a new generation of female teachers, health care providers, skilled workers, and leaders.

Human Rights Watch research shows that a lack of girls’ schools, security, transportation alternatives, female teachers, and adequate government planning all contribute to putting education out of girls’ reach. National surveys have reinforced the finding that many Afghan families wish to educate their daughters, but they must first have the means to do so practically and safely.

In southern and eastern Afghanistan, general insecurity and attacks on schools, teachers, and students remain the primary barriers, with a disproportionate effect on girls. According to data from the Ministry of Education, in the first five months of the Afghan year 1388 (April to August 2009), 102 schools were attacked using explosives or arson and 105 school students and teachers were killed by insurgent attacks (though it is not clear that these were necessarily targeted killings). Although these attacks were against both male and female teachers and students, several poison attacks in 2009 were clearly directed at girls, with 200 students poisoned this year, of whom 196 were female.[6]

In other parts of the country, distance to the closest school is a major barrier. The distribution of secondary schools is concentrated in provincial capitals, and there are large areas without a school. This shortage of schools affects girls disproportionately—there are more boys’ schools than girls’ schools, and the long distances to reach the nearest school often pose heightened safety and security challenges for girls. Human Rights Watch interviewed girls who make journeys to school that require up to six hours of walking a day. While families are concerned about every child’s security, they are especially reluctant to send teenage girls who may be targeted for sexual violence or harassment. Only 19 percent of schools are designated as girls’ schools, with no girls’ schools in 29 percent of all educational districts.[7]

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The plight of women is directly connected to far deeper problems in the Afghan political system. This includes the growing weakness of the government, which has led to an over-reliance on fundamentalist and conservative factions to maintain political support and fight the Taliban, and a correspondingly weakening commitment to providing leadership on women’s rights. The widespread corruption in ministries, where positions are often used for self-enrichment rather than public service, also means that reform efforts across-the-board, including rights-protective policies for women, are not likely to be on the agenda of those in power. Civil servants often see little to gain in pushing for women’s empowerment and development, particularly if doing so risks resistance or worse from powerful factions. The dominance of the executive and absence of political parties tends to further engender a patronage system rather than one where values such as women’s rights are promoted.

This is a critical moment for Afghan women and girls. The worsening security situation places women in public life under increasing pressure. The March 2009 passage of the Shia Personal Status Law demonstrated how vulnerable the hard fought post-Taliban freedoms for women remain. Violence against women remains endemic, and women’s access to justice is severely limited. With fundamentalist factions gathering strength and reconciliation with some elements of the Taliban firmly on the agenda of the government and its main backers, the political climate could become more hostile to women’s rights.

At the same time, some gains are being made. As already noted, the Elimination of Violence Against Women law was drafted by women’s rights activists and officials, and is a source of great pride to many women’s rights activists. The creation of a “5 Million Women Campaign” to encourage women to run as candidates and to vote in the 2009 elections was a positive development. The very fact that women defy their culture through pockets of resistance to everyday brutality —from the demonstrations against the Shia law to the prayer gatherings of thousands of women in the heart of Kandahar— is remarkable. The fearless work of many women activists and human rights defenders is the most encouraging prospect for the future of Afghan women and girls. Their work and their safety must be much more assiduously protected. The Afghan government and its main supporters—the US, UK, EU, and NATO—must make the promotion and protection of women’s rights a key priority, not one to be traded off for short term political gain.

Key Recommendations

• The government and donors should make the promotion and protection of women’s rights a main priority of the country’s reconstruction and a central pillar of their political, economic, and security strategies.
• Parliament should improve the Elimination of Violence Against Women law to ensure that it meets international standards and is drafted in a clear and understandable manner.
• The government, with the support of donors, should embark on a large-scale awareness campaign to ensure that rape is understood to be a crime by law enforcement agencies, judges, parliament, civil servants, and the Afghan public. The campaign should also aim to reduce the stigmatization of victims of rape.
• The government should make marriage registration more widely available and compulsory.
• The President should order the release of, and offer an apology and compensation to, all women and girls wrongfully detained on the charge of “running away from home.”
• The government, with the support of donors, should strengthen Legal Aid Referral Centers for Women and Family Response Units in the police, including by recruiting more women police officers. Police training should include discussions of gender based violence and relevant Afghan and international law.
• The government, with the support of donors, should increase the number and geographic coverage of girls’ secondary classes by building more girls’ secondary schools, converting some boys’ schools into co-ed schools, introducing morning and afternoon shifts, and adding secondary level classes to existing primary schools, and ensure the recruitment and training of female teachers is accelerated.
• The government, with the support of the UN and other donors, should prioritize security for women candidates and voters in planning for the 2010 parliamentary elections.
• International donors and the United Nations, in conjunction with the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, should conduct a full gender audit of all spending in Afghanistan.