Women's Right, Justice and Equality

“Women don’t need to find their voices, they need to be empowered to use it and people need to be urged to listen.”- Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex

A few weeks ago there was a horrific attack on a hospital in Afghanistan by militants believed to be Taliban.  For many of us Afghanistan was not on our news radar until after 9/11 when President George W. Bush launched an attack on the country in response to the attacks on the United States of America. The reprehensible news which emerged from the attack on the maternity ward of the hospital was dwarfed by the ongoing pandemic and the attention the global community has been paying to this ongoing crisis. Regrettably, not much was said by the United Nations in response to the actions of these militants who continue to kill innocent women and children.  A BBC investigation last year found that, on average, 74 men, women and children were killed every day throughout the month of August. Sadly, it is not uncommon to hear of suicide bombings and attacks on various public buildings in Afghanistan. The usual international outcry regarding such a vile action was muted. It appears that it is business as per usual in  this violence plagued society where women and girls are routinely murdered. The Taliban are known for many horrible associations; one of which is their hatred of women’s empowerment.  In the past they have burned schools linked to girls’ education and they have also killed women and girls who dare to defy their interpretation of Islam. The Taliban insists that females wear the Burqa or the Niqab in public to cover most of their face. According to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), the attack on the maternity ward left 24 women, children and babies dead. The attackers had walked straight past a number of other wards, all closer to the entrance of Kabul's Dasht-e-Barchi hospital, and made straight for the maternity unit. "What I saw in the maternity demonstrates it was a systematic shooting of the mothers," Bonnot, Head of Programmes for Médicins Sans Frontières (MSF) in Afghanistan, said. "They went through the rooms in the maternity, shooting women in their beds. It was methodical.  "They came to kill the mothers." Yet, while the country is in shambles, the president appears to be only interested in power as he is viewed by many as helpless in securing peace and safety for the citizens. The BBC reports further states that, inside the walls of the hospital, three gunmen were moving through the 55-bed maternity unit, which has been run by MSF since 2014.  A total of 26 mothers and mothers-to-be were inside at the time. The BBC reporter, Flora Drury was rather comprehensive and graphic in her report. “Three of the 16 mothers were shot and killed in the delivery room, along with their unborn babies. The gun battle between the militants and Afghan security forces went on for four hours as many of the maternity unit's patients and staff took cover. The gunmen were all killed. “

Worst Place in the World to Be a Woman

A survey compiled by the Thomson- Reuters Foundation ranked Afghanistan as the worst place in the world for a woman.  Among the indicators: are the high maternal mortality rate, limited access to doctors and a lack of economic rights by women. Afghanistan has been ravaged by decades of wars. The society is one in which women are disproportionately discriminated against. With a population of just over 35 million, it is estimated than two-thirds of Afghan girls do not attend school. The situation will get worse given that schools have been closed in an attempt to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus; unfortunately, with the resumption of school many desks will be empty as girls will not be allowed to return to school.  According to TIME Magazine 87% of Afghan women are illiterate; while 8 of every 10 girls are forced into marriage to much older men before age 16.  Women in Afghanistan are treated like third class citizens. It is estimated that 80 percent of all suicides are committed by women.  The 2008 Global Rights survey found that 90 per cent of Afghan women have experienced domestic abuse.  There is no such thing as women’s rights in Afghanistan. The country is ranked among the most corrupt by Transparency International. Anand Gopal theorized that there are three causes for women’s predicament. First, Afghanistan was and is a rural society, and in the south and east dominated by tribes. This tribal society is deeply patriarchal, with women commodified into a resource to be bartered, sold and fought over. Hence the Pashtun man is honor-bound to defend zan, zamin and zar (woman, gold and land).  She added that various Afghan leaders including some kings and the Communist government tried in vain to modernize the countryside. The second reason according to Gopal is how ineffective and weak the central state has been resulting in unsuccessfully enacting reforms throughout the country.  She declared that even as the central state made such attempts, other actors were actively working to undermine women’s interests in the country. The third reason for the situation today is foreign intervention, especially by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United States. The US and its allies supported the mujahedeen fundamentalist, misogynist warlords against the Soviets in the eighties. The mujahedeen transformed an extremely reactionary interpretation of Islam into the national standard, and in many ways were even worse than the Taliban. They burned down schools and libraries, killed women in public positions, enforced the burqa in areas under their control. They raped and killed thousands.  

Interrogation of Patriarchy

The enforcement of rigid separation of duties based on one’s sex is the genesis for the ‘sufferation’ of Afghan women and girls.  The country has benefited from $US trillions of dollars in terms of development and humanitarian purposes; yet the intended beneficiaries have not benefited from same.  There is no sense of urgency to disturb or interrogate the patriarchal status quo in the society. In some regards it appears that the country is not on a high priority list by Western donors anyone. This sad state of affairs for Afghan women will be with us for a long time; especially as this pandemic has forced societies to restructure and focus on their own economies and citizens. It is no surprise that Afghanistan continues to struggle in so many different arenas; any society which does not recognize the worth of its women will perpetually find that development is elusive.

Gender Equality

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals #3 addresses the issue of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. Gender equality is achieved when women and men enjoy the same rights and opportunities across all sectors of society, including economic participation and decision-making, and when the different behaviours, aspirations and needs of women and men are equally valued and favoured.  However, in many societies' girls and womens' rights are seen through patriarchal lens and unfortunately womens rights are not viewed as fundamental or human rights. According to the United Nations, women and girls represent half of the world’s population and, therefore, also half of its potential. Gender equality, besides being a fundamental human right, is essential to achieve peaceful societies, with full human potential and sustainable development. Moreover, it has been shown that empowering women spurs productivity and economic growth. Unfortunately, there is still a long way to go to achieve full equality of rights and opportunities between men and women, warns UN Women. Therefore, it is of paramount importance to end the multiple forms of gender violence and secure equal access to quality education and health, economic resources and participation in political life for both women and girls and men and boys. It is also essential to achieve equal opportunities in access to employment and to positions of leadership and decision-making at all levels. According to recent data from some 90 countries, women devote on average roughly three times more hours a day to unpaid care and domestic work than men, limiting the time available for paid work, education and leisure and further reinforcing gender-based socioeconomic disadvantages.  Women continue to be underrepresented at all levels of political leadership. As at 1 January 2019, women’s representation in national Parliaments ranged from 0 to 61.3 per cent, with the average standing at 24.2 per cent, an increase from 19 per cent in 2010. At the local level, data from 99 countries and areas show that women’s representation in elected deliberative bodies varies from less than 1 per cent to 48 per cent, with the median of the distribution at 26 per cent. When legislated gender quotas are adopted, significantly higher proportions of women are elected at both national and local levels.

Gender Justice

We have grown accustomed to seeing demonstrators almost nightly demanding justice on local television. However, very rarely if at all have we seen women demanding gender justice. Perhaps, this stems from a lack of knowledge regarding what is gender justice.

Oxfam is a global organization working to end the injustice of poverty. The organization began in 1942 when a group of Quakers intellectuals, social activists and Oxford academics formed the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief in response to the plight of refugees in Greece.  After the war, Oxfam (a name derived from its postal code abbreviation) continued its work, sending materials and financial aid to groups aiding poor people throughout Europe. As the situation in Europe improved, Oxfam’s attention shifted to the needs of people in developing countries. It is noteworthy that World War 2 began in 1939 and ended in 1945. Oxfam defines gender justice as a human right; every woman and girl is entitled to live in dignity and in freedom, without any fear. Gender Justice is indispensable for development, poverty reduction, and is crucial to achieving human progress. Gender Justice includes sharing of power and responsibility between women and men at home, in the workplace, and in the wider national and international communities. The goals of Oxfam are to contribute to policies and programs that achieve equality between women and men. Oxfam continues to work towards realizing a shift in four key areas, women's and men's consciousness; women's access to and control over resources; formal institutions, laws, policies, and structures; informal cultural norms and exclusionary practices. The discourse surrounding gender equality and gender justice is always problematic. Men are usually excluded from these discussions. It is foolhardy to think that true gender equality can be achieved by the exclusion of men from the negotiation table.

The Winding Road Ahead

One gets the feeling that the political will needed to make the necessary changes to improve the plight of women and girls is absent in Afghanistan. Legislative changes are pivotal; regrettably, very few women are in representational politics in Afghanistan. This hurdle must be overcome with the help of men who are desirous of seeking a better society; a more progressive and equal society for all. The changes Afghanistan so desperately seek will not materialize until the rural and tribal fractions of the society are reorganized thus facilitating women to adjudicate over their bodies and their future.  Maybe, this change will likely have to be part of an outside initiative; given that those inside who currently benefit from the old system are not in a rush to see their power base slip out of their hands. All is not lost. We should not write off Afghanistan or any other country which is plagued by similar issues which places limits on women and girls.

In the words of Hillary Clinton, women are the largest untapped reservoir of talent in the world.

Wayne Campbell is an educator and social commentator with an interest in development policies as they affect culture and or gender issues.

waykam@yahoo.com

@WayneCamo

#gender #Afghanistan #patriarchy #empowerment #culture #socialization #genderjustice #genderequality

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