|
|
For
A Better Homeland
Diva Haque (22) eagerly awaits
the daily extended lunch hour in her NGO office. After a quick bite, she
rushes out of her well-guarded office in Kabul's posh Sher-e-Now area and
walks to an institute where she teaches English language to school
students. This walk is special to Diva, for it symbolizes freedom. It's
the only time when no male member of the family - brother, father, cousin
- escorts her.
"When I was in Peshawar, where my family had taken refuge, I used to go to
work alone. But since we returned to Kabul 18 months ago, life has
changed. It is not considered safe to venture out alone," she says.
Diva considers herself lucky. For most women in Afghanistan, life after
the ultra-conservative Taliban rule ended is still full of restrictions -
on movements, expressions, clothes, education and employment
opportunities.
In many areas, fundamentalist groups continue to impose supposedly Islamic
rules on women and girls. Local warlords, who still wield considerable
clout in the north and western part of the country, issue repressive
diktats reminiscent of the Taliban era.
One such diktat forbids women from working for NGOs and foreign
organizations. In Herat province, women have been forced to wear the
burqa (veil). Girls seen with strange men are severely reprimanded.
The situation is relatively better in Kabul, where the presence of the
International Peace-Keeping Force (ISAF) offers some security. But
elsewhere, local warlords control daily life.
"Some international funding agencies suggested we start projects on
women's empowerment in Herat and Ghazni provinces. But we don't feel safe
outside Kabul and would rather work here," says Miriam Zada, whose NGO
runs health, nutrition and income generation projects in the outskirts of
Kabul.
On a recent visit to their project site, unidentified men chased the
vehicle carrying Miriam and her NGO staff and attacked the driver. "We
managed to reach a police picket and were saved," she recounts. In other
provinces, there is no security system in place and they cannot take such
risks, she asserts.
Despite such challenges, in the past two years, over 30 NGOs working on
women's issues have come up in Afghanistan. During the Taliban era, not
more than five women's groups were allowed to operate. "This is indicative
of the strong desire among women to assert themselves," says Shukriaya
Haikal Kazimi of the Afghan Women's Network (AWN), an umbrella
organization for women's groups in Afghanistan.
Post-Taliban, women have attempted to make a clean break from the past.
"Earlier, there was no question of us attending schools or colleges. If we
stepped out wearing a burqa which was not long enough or a head
gear that was not conservative enough, we were stopped on the road,
bullied and punished by Taliban men," recalls Husnia Narez, who works for
an NGO in Kabul. Narez is one of the few women who continued to struggle
even during the repressive years. "We would conduct classes at home for
women and girls. If anyone came to inquire, we claimed we were giving
religious education. "
Naudia, who assists her husband run an NGO helping destitute women in
Kabul, says post-Taliban she has found a new meaning in life. Trained as a
journalist, Naudia's forced confinement at home during the Taliban regime
made her lose confidence in her own abilities. But today she has found a
new focus in helping educate and empower other women. Her NGO reaches out
to nearly 750 destitute and beggar women, helping them learn to read and
write. It also gives training for income generation.
In fact, once the Taliban regime fell, women and girls returned to schools
and universities across the country. "Education is the only way women can
be aware of their rights and seek employment and a better life for
themselves and their families," says Heba Tarzi, program coordinator for
AWN's radio unit.
Awareness about their rights has also encouraged women to pursue a more
active role in the country's political process. In the Afghan Interim
Government, out of a total of 30 members, two are women - heading the
ministries of women affairs and public health. The UN-appointed 21-member
special independent commission for the convening of the emergency Loya
Jirga has three women members.
"But representation by itself is not enough. The Constitution must reflect
women's needs," says Kazimi, whose network recommends women-friendly
changes to the new Constitution.
Several women's organizations have urgently demanded the establishment of
a legal marriage age for girls. Often, families marry off their girls
before they reach the age of nine. Similarly, the current Constitution
allows the in-laws of a widow to marry her off to her husband's brother.
AWN has proposed that such a marriage should be sanctioned only if the
woman is willing, and that she is not forced to do so.
For Afghan women it is a long road to empowerment. But they seem
determined to walk till the very end.
– Geeta Kumria Sharma
May 4, 2003
By arrangement with
Womens Feature Service
Top
|
|
