Laraib Nisar
The long-drawn war in Afghanistan influenced the lives of Afghans greatly. The horrors of war were not confined to the combatants only, civilians including women and children were greatly affected by the consequences of the war. Despite suffering for more than forty years, the Afghan women fought ferociously for equality in the years since the fall of the Taliban regime and have made significant progress. Today Afghan women are serving at high ranks as ministers, governors, judges, police and armed forces personnel, and the state of affairs has improved so much that currently, Afghanistan’s parliament has a higher percentage of women than does the US Congress.
Though statistics show positive trends in women’s engagement as peace makers and stakeholders, the on-ground situation is still somewhat similar to how it was a few years back. The cultural and social makeup of Afghanistan only gives men the opportunity to establish, run, promote and even terminate mainstream narratives. Despite women’s huge role in the successful execution of the peace process and peace talks, their voices are sidelined in the diplomatic process and policy making. Though women were a significant part of the peace process, but their presence in the talks was symbolic, they were present but their point of views weren’t taken into consideration and even if they were made a part of the conversation, they were never involved in the decision-making process.
The traditional security paradigm and patriarchal societal fabric of Afghanistan has promoted the culture of violent killing of any females that try to raise their voice either in policy making or for the safeguard of rights of their fellow Afghan women, which has urged most of highly capable and talented Afghan women to flee their country and seek asylum in other countries. Though Afghanistan formed its first national action plan in line with UNSCR1325-Women, Peace and Security, in 2015, the second phase of which is still in progress, but no real-time implementation is witnessed. And though all Afghan political parties have women on board, but there is lack of resolve to hear their opinions and ideas. In Afghanistan’s political setup, men are considered powerful and hence they have the ability to shrink the voices of the fringes, while women are seen as a vulnerable liability.
Unfortunately, even the Doha Agreement didn’t draw clear lines for women’s role and rights after the conclusion of the long-drawn war on terror. However, it did touch key issues like protection of women but the Taliban’s idea of ‘protection’ is quite different than the real-time protection of women in the country. This is an issue that needs immediate settlement because an Afghanistan without freedom and equal representation of women will surely be a flawed country.
Now with the US troops withdrawal process approaching an end, it is high time that special efforts be made for the protection of Afghan women’s rights. Key stakeholders should ensure real-time women participation in decision and policy making circles, along with the safeguard of their fundamental human rights e.g., the right to live, get education, health, and employment opportunities, and the right to voice their concerns and demands etc.
The religious leadership can play a major role in this safeguarding women’s rights in Afghanistan, as Islam is the religion of peace and promises maximum rights for women, but the process can be complicated, as the issue is quite sensitive and religious extremism is on the rise in the region. A comprehensive peace process isn’t possible without women’s active participation as stakeholders, so all the regional countries and actors should make a pre-requisite that women should get active representation in all dialogues concerning Afghanistan and its future.
The author Laraib Nisar is a Defense and Strategic Studies’ graduate, working as a Project Coordinator at Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), Islamabad.
