BRIEFING WOMEN S RIGHTS IN AFGHANISTAN

BRIEFING WOMEN S RIGHTS IN AFGHANISTAN

WOMEN S RIGHTS IN AFGHANISTAN Executive Summary Having first arrived as part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in 2001, UK troops are due to withdraw from Afghanistan by the end of this year after a controversial 13-year engagement. As of 26 th April 2014, when a helicopter crashed near Kandahar Air Base, 453 British service personnel have been killed during the conflict, and many more wounded. In the meantime approximately 21,000 Afghan civilians have also been killed. 1 Under the Taliban, women had very few legal and political rights and many experienced serious challenges and hardships in everyday life. Concern for women s rights was one of the reasons for the UK s original participation in the Afghan conflict, and some significant progress has been made towards the goal of gender equality. Despite this, much work remains, and it is vital that the UK should utilise its position of influence with the next Afghan government to make sure that improvements to women s rights are safeguarded. To that end, LCHR recommends that a future Labour Government should: Prioritise support and protection for Afghan women, including community leaders and other local partners, who are on the front lines promoting women s rights. Put human rights at the heart of the UK s international development policy, prioritising the rights of women and girls. Keep pressure on the Afghan Government to protect women s rights, working through the Tokyo Mutual Accountability Framework (TMAF) and subsequent agreements to ensure that Afghan women s can participate in the peace making process in a meaningful way. Remove obstacles for communities to secure funding and support. Making laws that infringe on women s rights red lines for the UK. 1 Anon (2013) Afghanistan: At Least 21,000 Civilians Killed http://costsofwar.org/article/afghan-civilians 1

Background The Taliban regime that ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001 was one of the most oppressive in the world in terms of women s rights. So-called honour killings were frequent and there were no legal protections for women who were victims of forced marriages and domestic violence, including rape, which was not recognised as a crime within marriage. Women and girls access to education and health care were also severely restricted under the Taliban. Education for girls was banned until they reached the age of 8, at which point only strict religious education was permitted. Women also had great difficulties in accessing medical treatment due to a shortage of female doctors and rules against women being seen by male doctors unaccompanied. Women were also banned from voting or otherwise participating in public life, and they were not permitted to work either. Progress Following the fall of the Taliban in 2001, significant improvements began to be seen. A new constitution in 2004 restored gender equality in law, and women voted that year for the first time in decades. As of 2011, the 10 year anniversary of the invasion, an Oxfam report 2 noted that 2.4 million girls were by then in school, compared with just a few thousand under Taliban rule. Access to health care has also greatly improved and women are once again permitted to work in a variety of professions, including as doctors. Quotas stipulate that at least 20 per cent of members of the provincial councils, and 27 per cent of the national legislature, must be women. There is also increasing representation for women in the security services the Afghan National Security Force (ANSF) and the local police forces. Of more than 2 million people who registered to vote in this year s presidential election, around 630,000, roughly 30 per cent of the total, were women 3. The Elimination of Violence Against Women Act (EVAW), passed in 2009, criminalised rape and forced marriages for the first time. It has been one of the signal achievements in women s rights over the last decade. Challenges Despite these improvements, significant challenges remain. The EVAW law, for example, has proved controversial, and there are conservative politicians in the national legislature who have threatened to repeal it. Even if the law remains on the books, there is evidence that implementation has been patchy in light of a failure to implement a reliable nationwide court system to replace the local councils that traditionally administered justice. A United Nations report in December 2013 4 found that, although reports of domestic violence had increased dramatically, the number of successful prosecutions remained low. For instance, the year 2012-13 saw a 28 per cent increase in the number of reports but only a 2 per cent increase in the number of successful prosecutions. In addition to threats to repeal the EVAW law, there have also been moves to legislate to undermine women s rights in other ways, for example by restricting the right of relatives to testify in domestic 2 Jackson, A et al (2011) High Stakes: Girls Education in Afghanistan Oxfam and others http://www.oxfam.org/sites/www.oxfam.org/files/afghanistan-girls-education-022411.pdf 3 Anon (2013) In first visit to Afghanistan, UN official urges safeguarding of advances made for women ReliefWeb 8 October 2013 http://reliefweb.int/report/afghanistan/first-visit-afghanistan-un-official-urges-safeguarding-advances-made-women 4 Anon (2013) A Way to Go:An Update on Implementation of the Law on Eliminationof Violence against Women in Afghanistan, United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan & United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights http://unama.unmissions.org/portals/unama/documents/unama%20report%20on%20evaw%20law_8%20december% 202013.pdf 2

violence cases. There have also been proposals to re-introduce stoning as a punishment for adultery 5. Meanwhile, prosecutions for some moral crimes like a woman running away from a husband, continue 6. Turnout of women voters in elections is also low, estimated at 30 per cent of the total against a target of 40 per cent. This may be partially attributable to the risk of suicide bombings and other violent attacks on polling stations, particularly in Taliban strongholds in the south and east of the country. NBC reported last August that women s access to polling stations was likely to be severely restricted by a shortage of the female police officers needed to man polling stations set aside for women and search entrants to the polling stations 7. While women now make up 28 per cent of members of Afghanistan s national legislature, there are only 9 women on the 70 member peace council which was established by President Hamid Karzai and tasked with negotiating peace with the Taliban. Concerns have been raised by some activists and parliamentarians that this is insufficient to stop women s rights from being sacrificed in any potential peace deal 8. Recent high profile attacks on prominent female politicians and police officers may also represent a campaign on the part of radical Taliban loyalists to intimidate women in public life. Why women s rights in Afghanistan are particularly important for Labour It was the Labour Party who started the war in Afghanistan, and once British troops have returned home many will be asking what the legacy of the war will be. One of the reasons cited for the war at the time was the empowerment and emancipation of the women of Afghanistan. It is important therefore to ensure that this issue remains at the top of the agenda for a future Labour Government. Electorally there may be negative consequences for Labour if the situation returns to the conditions under the Taliban. People may ask why British troops died for such little gain. Achieving more rights for women in the country is something that the party can proudly say it accomplished. Labour prides itself on fairness and equality. Having fought so hard to make our own country more gender-equal, it is important that this work is carried on abroad. A commitment to human rights and gender equality is essential for a party which prides itself on these values. The Tories are weak on women s rights at home. They have done little to advance the rights of women, for example on childcare. The cuts have hit women the most and little has been done to alleviate this. Labour can show they are also ignoring women s rights abroad. The way forward for a future Labour Government The following policy recommendations all aim towards a common goal that of assuring the security of Afghanistan in the months and years ahead. Central to our pursuit of this goal must be a recognition that there is no meaningful security without equality if 50 per cent of the population live without guarantees of their safety, security for the country as a whole is unlikely to last. Women's rights are not a separate issue to security, health, education or justice. Each of these areas are interlinked and have a gender dimension. 5 Crilley, R Afghanistan 'plans to reintroduce public stoning as punishment for adultery' The Telegraph, 25 November 2013 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/10472518/afghanistan-plans-to-reintroduce-public-stoning-aspunishment-for-adultery.html 6 Anon (2013) Afghanistan: Surge in Women Jailed for Moral Crimes Human Rights Watch http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/05/21/afghanistan-surge-women-jailed-moral-crimes 7 Donati, J, Arghandiwal, M. (2013) Afghan women may be denied vote because of female security force shortage NBC http://www.nbcnews.com/news/other/afghan-women-may-be-denied-vote-because-female-security-force-f8c11024103 8 Afghan women fear losses in Taliban talks, Washington Post, 26 July 2011 3

Prioritise support and protection for community leaders and human rights activists Amnesty International recommends that the FCO should develop a country specific plan focused on providing support for human rights defenders within Afghanistan, especially women. This approach recognises that the most effective form of pressure on the Afghan government to safeguard gains for women s rights will come from within the county. Parliament s International Development Committee issued a report in January 2013, arguing that the Government s action on support for women s rights was not matching up to its rhetoric. The committee recommended that DFID seeks to combat violence against women through support for women s shelters and legal services 9. Labour should press for more specific goals for the targeting of aid to support human rights defenders on the ground in ways like this. Such an approach should also outline what support will be delivered in conjunction with the EU and UN and, following EU guidelines, the UK could appoint a liaison officer to act as a focal point for activists within the country, providing information and case support. The plan should also focus on identifying activists at more immediate risk and providing them with the support they need, such as armoured vehicles, support with relocating within the country and identifying sanctuary sites. Mission staff must be appropriately trained with a particular focus on promoting awareness of gender disparities and the unique challenges faced by women and girls across the country, especially those women on the front lines fighting for human rights. DfID and the FCO must also work to increase the visibility of human rights defenders and identify ways in which funding support can help them promote their work. Put human rights at the heart of development policy Shadow International Development Secretary Jim Murphy MP has emphasised the need to put human rights at the heart of the UK Government s development policy, perhaps by creating a special human rights division within the Department for International Development. LCHR supports this proposal and recommends in particular that the UK s approach to Afghanistan must continue to prioritise efforts to eradicate violence against women and girls. Emphasise our commitment to women s rights in Afghanistan through work in the international community and aid conferences As one of Afghanistan s largest donors, the UK can and must play a role in keeping the pressure on the government of Afghanistan to safeguard human rights. The Tokyo Mutual Accountability Framework (TMAF), agreed to in 2012, solicited commitments from the Afghan government to protect women s rights, specifically with regard to implementation of the Elimination of Violence Against Women law. The UK must work through the TMAF and utilise this year s donor conference to hold the Afghan government to its commitments and demonstrate tangible progress, as recommended by the International Crisis Group in its October 2013 report 10. The International Development Committee s January 2013 report recommended the creation of a joint donor-government plan for women and girls during transition, which would encourage donors to commit to specific programmes and objectives based on evidence and consultation 11. Labour should push for this goal. One way to ensure that women s voices continue to be heard is by guaranteeing their participation in the process itself. To this end, participants in the conference, particularly the Afghan delegation, must include a critical mass of women and meaningful consultation and participation of Afghan women 9 International Development Committee, Sixth Report of Session 2012-13, Afghanistan: Development progress and prospects after 2014, 10 January 2013 10 International Crisis Group, Women and Conflict in Afghanistan, 14 October 2013 11 International Development Committee, Sixth Report of Session 2012-13, Afghanistan: Development progress and prospects after 2014, 10 January 2013, para 172 4

must be sought in the lead up to the conference as well. The Afghan government must know that our support is conditional and must be met with the inclusion of women in the peace building process. This is also essential to UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 12, which sets out obligations regarding women s equal and full participation as active agents in peace and security. Removing obstacles for communities to secure funding support Many of the laws that affect women in Afghanistan are made locally. We should ensure that money from DFID and other UK government sources (e.g. the Tawanmandi fund) is spent on local projects, and that application forms to secure money are written in languages Afghans can understand. We should work on more small-scale engagement with women and men on the ground and use their insight into their communities. Such an approach will ensure that policy and projects in the country are informed by local needs and are done with the support of the local community. A report by Womankind, Worldwide, Action Aid and the Institute for Development Studies 13 found that support from national women's organisations locally has led to many women becoming local leaders, showing how important small-scale engagement can be. Red lines Above all, the UK Government should establish red lines that the Afghan authorities cannot cross as a condition of our continued support. These should include any moves to undermine hard-won gains for women s rights like the EVAW law, and lax enforcement should be met with stern responses from international donors as well. Beyond that, Labour should support the recommendations of Human Rights Watch to push the Afghans to cease prosecutions for so-called moral crimes that remain on the statute book, such as the crime of a woman running away from her husband 14. Final recommendations from the Labour Campaign for Human Rights In summary, the Labour Campaign for Human Rights believes it is important for a future Labour Government to: Prioritise support and protection for Afghan women, including community leaders and other local partners, who are on the front lines promoting women s rights. Put human rights at the heart of the UK s international development policy, prioritising the rights of women and girls. Keep pressure on the Afghan Government to protect women s rights, working through the Tokyo Mutual Accountability Framework (TMAF) and subsequent agreements to ensure that Afghan women s can participate in the peace making process in a meaningful way. Remove obstacles for communities to secure funding and support. Make laws that infringe on women s rights red lines for the UK. 12 UN (2000) Resolution 1325 http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=s/res/1325(2000) 13 ActionAid, Insititue of Development Studies and Womankind From the ground up Country focus: Women s roles in local peacebuilding in Afghanistan http://www.womankind.org.uk/2014/02/country-focus-womens-roles-in-local-peacebuilding-inafghanistan-liberia-nepal-and-sierra-leone/ 14 Afghanistan: Reject Proposal to Restore Stoning, Human Rights Press release, 25 November 2014 and Afghanistan: Reject New Law Protecting Abusers of Women, 4 February 2014; Women's Rights in Afghanistan Must be Steadfastly Respected, 20 March 2014; Afghanistan: End Moral Crimes Prosecutions, 23 June 2014 5