Women in Government and Part of the Political Process

With the Afghan Interim Government, women are beginning to be active in the political process. Of the 30 members of the government, two are women. Dr. Sima Samar leads the Ministry of Women Affairs and also is one of five vice-chairs to President Karzi. Dr. Suhaila Seddiqi is leading the Ministry of Public Health. These two women represent the beginnings of inclusion for women in the political process.

Women are also participating in the UN-appointed 21-member Special Independent Commission for the Convening of the Emergency Loya Jirga, which has three women as members. All together, 160 seats have been reserved for women in the Loya Jirga guaranteeing women at least 11% of the seats. Early reports of regional elections have resulted in an additional twelve women elected from Bamyan, Heart and Kabul.

While these first steps are applauded, more must be done to ensure women’s active participation in the political process. Women must be included in all ministries and gender concerns addressed in all reconstruction talks. The AWN will focus new advocacy efforts to monitor the role women play in the political process and apply pressure to the government when needed. Individual members will become active in the political process to ensure our voices are heard and incorporated.

Security

While the international security force in Kabul offers some security, safety continues to be an issue for women across Afghanistan. According to a recent Human Rights Watch report [http://www.hrw.org/asia/afghanistan.php], "Outside Kabul, the situation is one of acute general lawlessness and insecurity, as there is no ISAF presence and rival warlords control security conditions…Sexual violence by armed factions and public harassment tied to repressive Taliban-era edicts continue to restrict women in their movement, expression and dress." Reuters reported in April that a female teacher in Kandahar was attacked with acid after a local group warned the community not to send daughters to school.

Such threats to their security are severely limiting Afghan women’s rights to freely participate in public life. However, many women are not letting these threats stop them. At a recent election for Loya Jirga seats in Kandahar, a large turnout of women helped to nominate 28 women out of a possible 60 seats despite a woman receiving "a threat pinned to her front door saying that her life could be in danger if she participated in the event," reported IRIN. Also at this election, female police were the event offering security by and for women.

AWN will be monitoring the security situation and working with local, national and international groups to ensure women’s concerns are addressed in future efforts to ensure safety.

Employment

With the growing number of women headed households and the increase of working women, employment opportunities are a major concern for women. In areas it controlled, the Taliban initially forbade women to work outside the home. The Taliban later made exceptions in restricted circumstances for female doctors and nurses and have stated that widows could work outside the home to support their families. On July 6, 2000, the Taliban issued an edict banning women's employment by UN agencies and NGOs. Restrictions placed on women traveling alone greatly effected the economic opportunities of women without male relatives as they were unable to leave the house and work.

Currently, women are beginning to return to the workplace in urban areas such as Kabul. However, much is still uncertain about the future employment opportunities for women. AWN recently conducted a training in Kabul to update management skills of women returning to work. Many returning refugees now possess skills learned abroad that will be crucial for the reconstruction of Afghanistan and they must be incorporated into future rebuilding. The AWN plans to replicate programs started in Pakistan such as computer and management programs as well as income generation projects for women throughout Afghanistan.

Status of Returning Refugees

Since March 1, over 730,000 Afghans have been repatriated through the UNHCR. As of the week of May 27, 35.3 % or some 217,000 returnees have come back to Kabul province and 28.4 %, or 175,000 have returned to Nangarhar. Other big destinations are Parwan, Kandahar and Kunduz. Pashtun are still the largest ethnic group, followed closely by Tajiks.

Most of the refugees are returning to cities such as Kabul because of increased security. Many refugees from rural areas became used to living in urban centers in Pakistan and do not plan to return to their homes. This is causing major cities to become extremely crowded with returning refugees.

This influx of people has created problems in Kabul and other major cities. A shortage of adequate housing in Kabul coupled with the rising prices of rents has meant that few refugees are finding places to live and have set up tent communities on vacant lots. Many people are seen begging on the street to survive.

The rapid rate of return is overloading the humanitarian assistance provided by organizations. The World Food Program recently reported that because of the unexpected numbers of returnees they will soon run out of money and will cease operations. This will mean that the 2,500 returnees from Iran a day will be without assistance. There are already over nine million people in Afghanistan who depend on food aid to survive and the increase in refugees are causing many agencies to run out of money to support all who need help.

The AWN will expand its current operations to continue aiding the returning refugees. Member NGOs plan to start literacy and skills training centers, as well as other income generation projects. The AWN will also expand its advocacy work to include the rights of returning refugees.