by Marta Allevato

In a round table conference organised by the Italian Foreign Affairs Ministry, Afghan women who leaders in political and civil society talked about the progress achieved since the fall of the Taleban: free elections, literacy and women’s development. At the same time, many objectives remain distant dreams. The women called on countries with a presence in Afghanistan to work more on security, an indispensable requisite to guarantee development and democracy.

Rome (AsiaNews) – Five years after the fall of the regime of Mullah Omar, which had relegated women as victims of unpunished abuse between the four walls of the home, their conditions are improving in Afghanistan, although the future of the country appears to be “in the balance”. Up against this development, there are still high rates of illiteracy, death at childbirth and domestic violence. Women in blue burqas in the streets of Kabul are now not only a symbol of Taleban oppression but of the difficult transition to modernity of Muslim society, which is felt especially in the sphere of women.

On 16 February in Rome, in the wake of a vote on refunding the Italian mission in Afghanistan, representatives of Afghan civil society and politics – MPs, journalists, businessmen, lawyers – told of the “enormous” steps ahead taken in the enjoyment of rights and indicated the way ahead for the future. The meeting organised by the Italian Foreign Ministry focused on the theme “Afghanistan democracy, justice and development: the role of women”.

Poverty, education and health are the “top priorities” to be faced, said Shukria Barakzai, MP in the Wolesi Jirga (Lower House of Parliament). Afghanistan is one of the poorest countries in the world: “60% of the population lives below the poverty threshold, work is lacking and underpaid.” She continued: “This is why corruption and trafficking in narcotics flourish, especially among judges who undertake a risky but badly paid job.”

Barakzai said: “We are fighting against a medieval society and guaranteeing education is crucial”, although schools and teachers are targeted by fundamentalists especially in more remote areas. Today, however, literacy is on the rise, even among women. According to UN estimates, 40% of women go to school, a statistic that increases to 50% in elementary classes and drops to 32% at university level.

Afghanistan ranks second worldwide in deaths at childbirth. Hangama Anwari, Commissioner of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, said: “Women have a life expectancy of 44 years, they do not have guaranteed access to health care and the conditions of detained pregnant women are terrible.”

Anwari continued: “The human rights situation is still disastrous. Women do not have a place in the justice system and they are not guaranteed de facto equality of rights... There are no women in justice bodies and very few have the courage to file reports.” In the framework of its commitment in Afghanistan, Italy is the country charged with reform of the justice system. “But the weaknesses of the legislative system are still many,” said Anwari. “The laws on divorce and the family need to be reviewed. Discrimination and abuse form part of a firmly rooted mentality and rates of domestic violence and suicide are still high.”

She urged “international donors and other Muslim countries to help us to interpret the law in a more modern way”.

But significant steps have been made in political and economical spheres. Twenty-seven per cent of seats in parliament are occupied by women although only one is a minister (for women’s affairs). At government level, few other posts are covered by women. “It is a good result but it is not enough,” Fawzia Koofi, deputy president of the Wolesi Jirga told AsiaNews. “The biggest difficulty is the traditionalist mentality: we live in a country dominated by men where politics has always been considered to be solely a  male domain.”

Women are more present in the economy too. Habiba Sarabi talked about this; she is the first woman governor of Bamyan. “In our province, women have small income-generating activities and they run shops in public markets together with men.” She suggested “studying ways to legitimize the contribution of women to the family and to the economy of the family”. Many women, in fact, work in field, but none can manage the income of farming activity.

Businessman woman Shahla Nawabi said: “Afghans appreciate international aid but insecurity is increasing and now it is necessary to create trust among the population in the government. Unfortunately, people are not seeing the fruits of reconstruction. Many do not have electricity and infrastructures are lacking.” Nawabi said the international community also has “the task of ensuring that aid is managed in the right way.” But Shukria Barakzai is convinced and confident: “As women we are changing traditions and breaking old taboos. I am very optimistic about our future at all levels: economic, social and political. We have the support of people, of those who believe Afghanistan can change, that there can be justice and that a peaceful society can exist. There are problems which need a long time to be resolved but we are fighting more for our children than for ourselves.”

• AFGHANISTAN
• ISLAM
• women
• development
• democracy
• war
• TERRORISM
• ECONOMY
• rights
• human