from Neo-Liberal Weekly

A liberated nation, except for women

Nov 14th 2002
From The Economist print edition


Even the burqa remains

EPA


Time for caution

RAMADAN brought unexpected news to the women's ward at a Kabul prison. On November 10th, 20 women were freed, pardoned by President Hamid Karzai. Their “crimes” had been walking out on their husbands, refusing forced marriages or being named as adulterers, all of which contravene Afghanistan's strict social code. Leaving rat-infested cells, which some have shared with their children, should be a relief. But for one 19-year-old, prison may be safer than the outside world: her uncle has promised to kill her for leaving a violent marriage. And Kabul's chief of police has said he will continue to arrest women who break the code. A year after the fall of the Taliban, life for most women is hardly getting any better.

The state of medical care is another hazard. An Afghan woman will, on average, give birth to seven children. But with few clinics and staff in rural areas, and poor roads, Afghanistan is one of the worst places to be pregnant. In the remote province of Badakhshan, a man we will call Mohammed walked for five days in the snow to reach a health worker. By the time he came home, his pregnant wife had died. Surveys conducted by UNICEF and the United States' Centres for Disease Control and Prevention have revealed that Afghan women are more likely to die as a result of pregnancy or childbirth than in most other countries in the world. Yet almost nine out of ten maternal deaths could be prevented.

Women suffer too as a result of political rivalry. In northern Afghanistan around the town of Mazar-i-Sharif, clashes between Uzbek, Tajik and Hazara militias tend to end up with sexual violence against local women. There is an increasing number of reports of gang rapes and the exchange of women as payment in the settlement of feuds.

Even in less troubled areas, hopes that the end of the Taliban would bring freedom for women are being crushed by local warlords. In a report to be published next month, the American-based Human Rights Watch gives warning of increasing restrictions on women imposed in the western province of Herat by Ismael Khan, the local strongman. Pressure is being put on local women not to work for foreign NGOs. The enveloping burqa has once again become obligatory in some places, and a woman seen alone with a man, even the driver of her taxi, faces detention.

Most professions are closed to women, and many say that they are once again scared to go out of their homes. The central government has limited authority outside Kabul, and according to Rachel Wareham of Medica Mondiale, an NGO that works with women in conflict areas, it has in any case shown little interest in making life better for women.

Most Taliban edicts have not been repealed. The judicial commission, which is supposed to look into legal reform, is up against those clinging to tradition. The new constitution will set the tone for women's rights—the 1964 constitution granted equal rights to men and women—but Islamic law is backed by a strong lobby. Moves to re-establish girls' schools, closed by the Taliban, run into opposition. Four girls' schools were badly damaged by fire last month in the central province of Wardak. Even in Kabul, where women's lot is probably the best in the country, girls are often harassed on their way to school.

Medica Mondiale is helping women to improve their feeling of independence by learning to drive. By the end of the year, 100 or so will have learnt the theory. Getting used to the nerve-shattering traffic of Kabul will take longer. At present the NGO has only one car to practise with.