Women's rights in Afghanistan

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Women's rights in Afghanistan
Women of Afghanistan.jpg
Women of Afghanistan in 2006
Gender Inequality Index
Value0.712 (2012)
Rank147th
Maternal mortality (per 100,000)460 (2010)
Women in parliament 27.6% (2012)
Females over 25 with secondary education 5.8% (2010)
Women in labour force16% (2014) [1]
Global Gender Gap Index
ValueNR (2012)
RankNR out of 149

Women's rights in Afghanistan have been a subject of international concern since the 1990s. [2] Through different temporary rulers such as the mujahideen and the Taliban in the 1990s, women had very little to no freedom, specifically in terms of civil liberties. Ever since the Taliban regime was removed in late 2001, women's rights have gradually improved under the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]

Womens rights rights claimed for women and girls worldwide

Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide, and formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the nineteenth century and feminist movement during the 20th century. In some countries, these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behavior, whereas in others they are ignored and suppressed. They differ from broader notions of human rights through claims of an inherent historical and traditional bias against the exercise of rights by women and girls, in favor of men and boys.

Afghanistan A landlocked south-central Asian country

Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in South-Central Asia. Afghanistan is bordered by Pakistan in the south and east; Iran in the west; Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan in the north; and in the far northeast, China. Much of its 652,000 square kilometers (252,000 sq mi) is covered by the Hindu Kush mountain range at the western end of the Himalayas, separating the Amu Darya and Indus valleys. Kabul is the capital and largest city.

Islamic State of Afghanistan 1990s state in Central Asia

The Islamic State of Afghanistan was the interim government of Afghanistan, established by the Peshawar Accords on 26 April 1992 by many, but not all, mujahideen Afghan parties, after the fall of the communist government. From 1996, it existed alongside the Taliban-ruled Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, until the Taliban regime was overthrown by the United States in 2001 during the War in Afghanistan.

Contents

Overview

Afghan women in the 1920s. Women of Afghanistan in 1927.jpg
Afghan women in the 1920s.
Afghan women in Kabul during the 1950s 1950s Afghanistan - Public transport in Kabul.jpg
Afghan women in Kabul during the 1950s

Afghanistan's population is roughly 34 million. [12] Of this, 15 million are males and 14.2 million are females. [13] About 22% of the Afghan people are urbanite and the remaining 78% live in rural areas. [14] As part of local tradition, most females are married soon after completing high school. Many live as housewives for the remainder of their life. [15]

Demographics of Afghanistan

The population of Afghanistan is around 37,135,635 in 2019, which includes the roughly 3 million Afghan citizens living as refugees in both Pakistan and Iran. The nation is composed of a multi-ethnic and multilingual society, reflecting its location astride historic trade and invasion routes between Central Asia, Southern Asia, and Western Asia. Its largest ethnic group is the Pashtun, followed by Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, Aimak, Turkmen, Baloch and a few others.

Urban area Human settlement with high population density and infrastructure of built environment

An urban area, or urban agglomeration, is a human settlement with high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities, towns, conurbations or suburbs. In urbanism, the term contrasts to rural areas such as villages and hamlets and in urban sociology or urban anthropology it contrasts with natural environment. The creation of early predecessors of urban areas during the urban revolution led to the creation of human civilization with modern urban planning, which along with other human activities such as exploitation of natural resources leads to human impact on the environment.

Rural area geographic area that is located outside towns and cities

In general, a rural area or countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. The Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services defines the word rural as encompassing "...all population, housing, and territory not included within an urban area. Whatever is not urban is considered rural."

Rulers of Afghanistan have consistently attempted to increase women's freedom. For the most part, these attempts were unsuccessful. However, there were a few leaders who were able to make some significant changes. Among them was King Amanullah, who ruled from 1919 to 1929 and made some of the more noteworthy changes in an attempt to unify as well as modernize the country. [16]

Amanullah Khan King and Emir of Afghanistan (1919-1929)

Amānullāh Khān was the sovereign of the Kingdom of Afghanistan from 1919 to 1929, first as Emir and after 1926 as Malik (King). After the third Anglo-Afghan War, Afghanistan was able to pursue an independent foreign policy free from the influence of the United Kingdom. His rule was marked by dramatic political and social change, attempting to modernize Afghanistan on Western designs, which he did not fully succeed in, due to an uprising by Habibullah Kalakani and his followers. On 14 January 1929, Amanullah abdicated and fled to neighbouring British India as the Afghan Civil War began to escalate. From British India he went to Europe where after 30 years in exile died in Zürich, Switzerland, in 1960.

He, along with other rulers following him, promoted freedom for women in the public sphere in order to lessen the control that patriarchal families had over women. King Amanullah stressed the importance of female education. Along with encouraging families to send their daughters to school, he promoted the unveiling of women and persuaded them to adopt a more western style of dress. [17] In 1921, he created a law that abolished forced marriage, child marriage, bride price, and put restrictions on polygamy, a common practice among households in the Afghanistan region. [17] Over time these restrictions became nearly impossible to enforce.

Polygamy is the practice of marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at a time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is married to more than one husband at a time, it is called polyandry. If a marriage includes multiple husbands and wives, it can be called a group marriage.

Modern social reform for Afghan women began when Queen Soraya, wife of King Amanullah, made rapid reforms to improve women's lives and their position in the family. She was the only woman to appear on the list of rulers in Afghanistan and was credited with having been one of the first and most powerful Afghan and Muslim female activists. Queen Soraya, along with her husband's, advocacy of social reforms for women led to a protest and contributed to the ultimate demise of her and her husband's reign in 1929. [18]

Soraya Tarzi Afghan queen

Soraya Tarzi, known mostly as Queen Soraya, GBE was the first Queen consort of Afghanistan in the early 20th century and the wife of King Amanullah Khan. Born in Syria, she was educated by her father, who was the Afghan leader and intellectual SardarMahmud Beg Tarzi. She belonged to the Mohammadzai Pashtun tribe, a sub-tribe of the Barakzai dynasty.

Successors Mohammed Nadir Shah and Mohammed Zahir Shah acted more cautiously, but nevertheless forged for moderate and steady progress of women's rights [19] Throughout the 20th century, men continued to have ultimate control over women. Following the election of Mohammed Daoud Khan as Prime Minister in 1953, social reforms were increasingly being encouraged to give women a more public presence. [20] [21] One of his main focuses was to break free from the ultra-conservative, Islamist tradition of treating women as second-class citizens. During his time he made significant advances towards modernization. [22] Small number of women were able to hold jobs as scientists, teachers, doctors, and civil servants, and they had a considerable amount of freedom with significant educational opportunities. [23]

Mohammed Nadir Shah King of Afghanistan (1929-1933)

Muhammad Nadir Shah was King of Afghanistan from 15 October 1929 until his assassination in November 1933. Previously, he served as Minister of War, Afghan Ambassador to France, and as a general in the military of Afghanistan. He and his son Muhammad Zahir Shah, who succeeded him, are part of the Musahiban.

Mohammed Zahir Shah monarch, last king of Afghanistan (1933-1973)

Mohammed Zahir Shah was the last King of Afghanistan, reigning from 8 November 1933 until he was deposed on 17 July 1973. He expanded Afghanistan's diplomatic relations with many countries, including with both Cold War sides. In the 1950s, Zahir Shah began modernizing the country in line with Turkey. His long reign was marked by peace and stability that was lost afterwards.

Mohammed Daoud Khan politician, first President of Afghanistan (1973-1978)

Mohammed Daoud Khan or Daud Khan was the 5th Prime Minister of Afghanistan from 1953 to 1963 and the President of Afghanistan from 1973 to 1978. Born into the royal family, he overthrew the Musahiban monarchy of his first cousin Mohammed Zahir Shah and declared himself as the first President of Afghanistan in 1973 with Soviet backing. He would hold this position until his assassination in 1978 during the Saur Revolution led by the communist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) after he fell out of favor with the USSR. Khan was known for his progressive policies, efforts to improve women's rights, Pashtun nationalism, irredentist claims to land in northwest Pakistan, and for initiating two five-year modernization plans which increased the labor force by about 50 percent. The 1978 coup and assassination plunged Afghanistan into an ongoing civil war.

The 1964 Constitution of Afghanistan granted women equal rights and universal suffrage, and they could run for office. [24] However the majority of women lived as housewives and were excluded from these opportunities, as these reformed Afghan judiciary laws were mostly effective in the cities only. [19] The countryside was a tribal society that were deeply patriarchal. [25]

In 1977, the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) was founded by Meena Keshwar Kamal. Her office was moved to Quetta in Pakistan, where she was assassinated in 1987. [26] RAWA still operates in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region. [27]

Afghan Women's Council

A teacher at a college in Kabul in 1987 Teacher 1987 Kabul.png
A teacher at a college in Kabul in 1987

The Afghan Women's Council (AWC) (also known as the Women's Council) was an organization under the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (1978–87) and the Republic of Afghanistan (between 1987-1992). Until 1989 the leader of the organization was Masuma Esmati-Wardak. [28] The organization was run by Wardak and a staff of eight women. In 1978, under Nur Muhammad Taraki, the government gave equal rights to women. This gave them the ability to choose their husbands and careers. [29] The membership of the AWC was around 150,000 and had offices in nearly all the provinces. Most of the women in Kabul resisted the Mujahideen because of their retrogressive laws concerning women. [28]

The AWC provided social services to women in Afghanistan, in the fight against illiteracy and vocational training for those in the Secretary, hairdressing and workshop fields. Many feared the sacrificing of the AWC in the national reconciliation talks which started in 1987. [29] It is claimed that in 1991 around seven thousand women were in the institution of higher education and around 230,000 girls studying in schools around Afghanistan. There were around 190 female professors and 22,000 female teachers. [29]

Mujahideen and Taliban era

In 1992, the government under Mohammad Najibullah transitioned to the Islamic State of Afghanistan. [30] War in Afghanistan continued into a new phase when Gulbuddin Hekmatyar started a bombardment campaign against the Islamic State in Kabul. [31]

The restrictions imposed when the Islamic State was established were "the ban of alcohol and the enforcement of a sometimes-purely-symbolic veil for women". [32] Women, however, remained in the workplace and the liberal provisions of the 1964 constitution were largely upheld. Women began to be more restricted after Hekmatyar was integrated into the Islamic State as Afghan Prime Minister in 1996. He demanded for women who appeared on TV to be fired. During the violent four-year civil war a number of women had been kidnapped and some of them raped. During this period the Taliban made their way to take control of Kabul. [16]

Taliban religious police beating a woman in Kabul filmed by RAWA on 26 August 2001. Taliban beating woman in public RAWA.jpg
Taliban religious police beating a woman in Kabul filmed by RAWA on 26 August 2001.

Like their leader Mullah Omar, most Taliban soldiers were poor villagers educated in Wahhabi schools in neighboring Pakistan. Pashtuns of Pakistan also began joining the group. The Taliban declared that women were forbidden to go to work and they were not to leave their homes unless accompanied by a male family member. When they did go out it was required that they had to wear an all-covering burqa. Under these restrictions, women were denied formal education. [17] Women were usually forced to stay at home and paint their windows so that no one could see in or out. [23]

During the Taliban's five-year rule, women in Afghanistan were essentially put under house arrest. Some women who once held respectable positions were forced to wander the streets in their burqas selling everything they owned or begging in order to survive. The United Nations refused to recognize the Taliban government, with the United States imposing heavy sanctions on them, similar as those placed on North Korea. This led to extreme hardship on all the citizens of Afghanistan.

Because most teachers had been women before the Taliban regime, the new restrictions on women's employment created a huge lack of teachers, which put an immense strain on the education of both boys and girls. Although women were banned from most jobs, including teaching, some women in the medical field were allowed to continue working. [23] This is because the Taliban required that women could be treated only by female physicians. [17] Moreover, for several reasons, it was difficult for women to seek medical attention. Even when a woman was able to make it to a hospital she had no guarantee that she would be seen by a doctor. Women were not banned from driving unlike Saudi Arabia.

Several Taliban and Al-Qaeda commanders ran a network of human trafficking, abducting women and selling them into forced prostitution and slavery in Pakistan. [33] Time Magazine writes: "The Taliban often argued that the brutal restrictions they placed on women were actually a way of revering and protecting the opposite sex. The behavior of the Taliban during the six years they expanded their rule in Afghanistan made a mockery of that claim." [33]

21st century

A group of Afghan women visiting the Gardens of Babur in Kabul. Afghan women in Kabul.jpg
A group of Afghan women visiting the Gardens of Babur in Kabul.
Female news presenter of TOLOnews TOLOnews Studio .jpg
Female news presenter of TOLOnews

In late 2001, a new government under Hamid Karzai was formed by the United Nations, which includes women like in pre-1990s Afghanistan. [11]

In March 2012, President Karzai endorsed a "code of conduct" which was issued by the Ulema Council. Some of the rules state that "women should not travel without a male guardian and should not mingle with strange men in places such as schools, markets and offices." Karzai said that the rules were in line with Islamic law and that the code of conduct was written in consultation with Afghan women's group." [34] Rights organizations and women activists said that by endorsing this code of conduct, Karzai is endangering "hard-won progress in women's right since the Taliban fell from power in 2001. [35] The BBC reported that a number of women have reacted to the endorsement with humor. [36]

The overall situation for Afghan women has improved in the last decade, particularly in the major urban areas, but those living in rural parts of the country still face many problems. In 2013, a female Indian author Sushmita Banerjee was killed in Paktika province by militants for allegedly defying Taliban diktats. She was married to an Afghan businessman and had recently relocated to Afghanistan. Earlier she had escaped two instances of execution by the Taliban in 1995 and later fled to India. Her book based on her escape from Taliban was also filmed in a Bollywood film. [37]

A 2011 government report found that 25 percent of the women and girls diagnosed with fistula were younger than 16 when they married. [38] [39] In 2013, the United Nations published statistics showing a 20% increase in violence against women, often due to domestic violence being justified by conservative religion and culture. In February 2014, Afghanistan passed a law that includes a provision that limits the ability of government to compel some family members to be witnesses to domestic violence. Human Rights Watch described the implementation of the 2009 Law on the Elimination of Violence Against Women as "poor," noting that some cases are ignored.

Under Afghan law, females all across the country are permitted to drive vehicles. [40] [41] [42] [43] [44] [7] [45] They are also permitted to participate in certain international events such as Olympic Games and robot competitions. [46] Human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch [47] [48] and the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom [49] have expressed concern at women's rights in the country. Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security ranks Afghanistan as one of the worst countries for women. [50]

Violence against Afghan women

Like in other countries, violence against women has also been reported in Afghanistan. [51] In March 2015 Farkhunda Malikzada, a 27-year-old Afghan woman was publicly beaten and slain by an angry mob of radical Muslims in Kabul on a false accusation of Quran desecration. [52] [53] A number of prominent public officials turned to Facebook immediately after the death to endorse the heartless lynching. [54] It was later revealed that she did not even burn the Quran. [55]

Many women in Afghanistan experience some form of abuse. Some have been imprisoned for minor offenses. [56] [57] [58] The perpetrators are often the families of the victim. [59]

In 2009, the Elimination of Violence Against Women (EVAW) was signed into law. The EVAW was the creation of multiple organizations as well as prominent women's rights activists in Kabul (namely UNIFEM, Rights & Democracy, Afghan Women's Network, the Women's Commission in the Parliament and the Afghan Ministry of Women's Affairs. [60]

In Afghanistan, customs and traditions influenced by centuries-old patriarchal rules prevail, the issue of violence against women becomes pronounced. The high levels of illiteracy rates among the population further perpetuates the problem. A number of women across Afghanistan believe that it is acceptable for their husbands to abuse them. Reversing this general acceptance of abuse was one of the main reasons behind the creation of the EVAW. [61] In 2018, Amnesty International reported that violence against women was perpetrated by both state and non-state actors. [62]

Honor killing

In 2012, Afghanistan recorded 240 cases of honor killings. Of the reported honor killings, 21% were committed by the victims' husbands, 7% by their brothers, 4% by their fathers, and the rest by other relatives. [63]

In May 2017, United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan concluded that the vast majority of perpetrators of honor killings were not punished. [64]

Politics and workforce

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton standing with Afghan female politicians, which includes Sima Samar to her left, Fauzia Koofi(with the green headscarf) to her right, and Selay Ghaffar to her farest right. Hillary Clinton with Afghan female politicians in 2011.jpg
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton standing with Afghan female politicians, which includes Sima Samar to her left, Fauzia Koofi(with the green headscarf) to her right, and Selay Ghaffar to her farest right.

A large number of Afghan women serve as members of parliament. [3] Some of these included Shukria Barakzai, Fauzia Gailani, Nilofar Ibrahimi, [65] Fauzia Koofi, and Malalai Joya. Several women also took positions as ministers, including Suhaila Seddiqi, Sima Samar, Husn Banu Ghazanfar, and Suraya Dalil. Habiba Sarabi became the first female governor in Afghanistan. She also served as Minister of Women's Affairs. Azra Jafari became the first female mayor of Nili, the capital of Daykundi Province.

Female officers of the Afghan National Police. Female officers of the Afghan National Police-2010.jpg
Female officers of the Afghan National Police.
Machine embroidery is very popular in Afghanistan, almost every household owns a sewing machine. Afghan women at a textile factory in Kabul.jpg
Machine embroidery is very popular in Afghanistan, almost every household owns a sewing machine.
Colonel Latifa Nabizada of the Afghan Air Force in 2013. Col. Latifa Nabizada exits the stage.jpg
Colonel Latifa Nabizada of the Afghan Air Force in 2013.
Brigadier-General Khatool Mohammadzai of the Afghan National Army in 2012. Khatol Mohammadzai in 2012.jpg
Brigadier-General Khatool Mohammadzai of the Afghan National Army in 2012.

The Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), which includes the Afghan National Police, have a growing number of female officers. One of the Afghan National Army Brigadier generals is Khatol Mohammadzai. In 2012, Niloofar Rahmani became the first female pilot in the Afghan Air Force pilot training program to fly solo in a fixed-wing aircraft, [66] following the footsteps of Colonel Latifa Nabizada, the first Afghan female pilot ever to fly a military helicopter. Other notable Afghan women include Roya Mahboob, Aziza Siddiqui, Mary Akrami, Suraya Pakzad, Wazhma Frogh, Shukria Asil, Shafiqa Quraishi, Maria Bashir, Maryam Durani, Malalai Bahaduri, and Nasrin Oryakhil.

The most popular traditional work for women in Afghanistan is tailoring, and a large percentage of the population are professional tailors working from home. [67] Since the fall of the Taliban women have returned to work in Afghanistan. Some became entrepreneurs by starting businesses. For example, Meena Rahmani became the first woman in Afghanistan to open a bowling center in Kabul. [68] Many others are employed by companies and small businesses. Some engaged in singing, acting, and news broadcasting. [4] In 2015, a 17-year-old Negin Khpolwak became Afghanistan's first female music conductor. [69]

In 2014, women made up 16.1% of the labor force in Afghanistan. [70] Because the nation has a struggling economy overwhelmed with massive unemployment, women often cannot find work where they receive sufficient pay. [17] One area of the economy where women do play a significant role is in agriculture. Of the number of Afghans employed in the agriculture field or similar occupations, about 30 percent of them are women. [17] In some areas in Afghanistan, women may spend as much time working on the land as men do, but still often earn three times less than men in wages. [17]

In terms of percentage women rank high in the fields of medicine and media, and are slowly working their way into the field of justice. Because women are still highly encouraged to consult a female physician when they go to the hospital, nearly fifty percent of all Afghans in the medical profession are women. [17] The number of women having professions in the media is also rising. It was reported in 2008 that nearly a dozen of television stations had all female anchors as well as female producers. [17] As women are given more opportunities in education and the workforce, more of them are turning towards careers in medicine, media, and justice.

However, even the women that are given the opportunity to have careers have to struggle to balance their home life with their work life, as household tasks are seen as primarily female duties. Since the Afghan economy is weak, very few women can afford to hire domestic helpers, so they are forced to take care of all the household work primarily on their own. [17] Those who choose to work must labour twice as hard because they are essentially holding two jobs.

Education

Female students using the internet at Herat University in the western Afghan city of Herat. Afghan females using internet in Herat.jpg
Female students using the internet at Herat University in the western Afghan city of Herat.
Female school students in Samangan Province (2006) Young female students at Samangan.jpg
Female school students in Samangan Province (2006)

Education in Afghanistan has gradually improved in the last decade but much more has to be done to bring it to international standard. [5] [6] [8] [9] [10] The literacy rate for females is merely 24.2%. [12] There are around 9 million students in the country. Of this, about 60% are males and 40% females. Over 174,000 students are enrolled in different universities around the country. About 21% of these are females. [71]

A biology class at Kabul University during the late 1950s or early 1960s. 1950s Afghanistan - Biology class, Kabul University.jpg
A biology class at Kabul University during the late 1950s or early 1960s.

In the early twentieth century, education for women was extremely rare due to the lack of schools for girls. Occasionally girls were able to receive an education on the primary level but they never moved past the secondary level. [17] During Zahir Shah's reign (1933-1973) education for women became a priority and young girls began being sent to schools. At these schools, girls were taught discipline, new technologies, ideas, and socialization in society. [17]

Kabul University was opened to girls in 1947 and by 1973 there was an estimated 150,000 girls in schools across Afghanistan. Unfortunately, marriage at a young age added to the high drop out rate but more and more girls were entering professions that were once viewed as only being for men. [17] Women were being given new opportunities to earn better lives for both themselves and their families. However, in the after the civil war and the takeover by the Taliban, women were stripped of these opportunities and sent back to lives where they were to stay at home and be controlled by their husbands and fathers.

During the Taliban regime, many women who had previously been teachers began secretly giving an education to young girls (as well as some boys) in their neighborhoods, teaching from ten to sixty children at a time. [23] The homes of these women became community homes for students, and were entirely financed and managed by women. News about these secret schools spread through word of mouth from woman to woman. [23]

Each day young girls would hide all their school supplies, such as books, notebooks and pencils, underneath their burqas to go to school. At these schools, young females were taught basic literary skills, numeracy skills, and various other subjects such as biology, chemistry, English, Quranic Studies, cooking, sewing, and knitting. Many women involved in teaching were caught by the Taliban and persecuted, jailed, and tortured. [23]

The Taliban are still opposed to education for Afghan boys and girls. They are burning down schools, killing students and teachers by all kinds of means, including chemical warfare. For example, in June 2012, fifteen suspects were detained by Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security (NDS) "in connection with the serial anti-school attacks in northern Afghanistan." The NDS believes that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence was behind the idea. [72] During the same period, Pakistan has been refusing to deliver Afghan bound school text books. [73]

In 2015 the Kabul University began the first master's degree course in gender and women's studies in Afghanistan. [74]

Afghan women obtain education in Kazakhstan within the Kazakh-Afghan state educational programme sponsored by the Republic of Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan attaches great importance to empowering women and strengthening stability in Afghanistan. [75] In September 2018, Kazakhstan reached an agreement with the European Union that the EU would contribute two million euros to train and educate Afghan women in Kazakhstan. [76]

Sport

In the last decade Afghan women have participated in various types of sports including futsal, football, and basketball. In 2015 Afghanistan held its first marathon; among those who ran the entire marathon was one woman, Zainab, age 25, who thus became the first Afghan woman to run in a marathon within her own country. [77] this is also followed by soccer and touch with the allowance of cricket.

Marriage and parenting

Mother's Day in Afghanistan 2010 Mother's Day in Afghanistan.jpg
Mother's Day in Afghanistan
Mother with her children on Mothers' Day in Kabul Mother's day in Afghanistan 2010.jpg
Mother with her children on Mothers' Day in Kabul

Marriages in Afghanistan are usually in accordance with Islam and Afghanistan culture. The legal age for marriage in Afghanistan is 16. [78] Afghans marry each other based on religious sect, ethnicity, and tribal association. It is rare to see a marriage between a Sunni Pashtun and a Shia Hazara. The nation is a patriarchal society where it is commonly believed that elder men are entitled to make decisions for their families. [79] A man can divorce without needing his wife's agreement, whereas the opposite is not true. [80]

The country has a high total fertility rate, at 5.33 children born/woman as of 2015. [12] Contraception use is low: 21.2% of women, as of 2010/11. [12]

Arranged marriage is usually the only way in Afghanistan. After a marriage is arranged, the two families sign a contract that both parties are socially and culturally obligated to honor. It is common among low-income families for the groom to pay a bride price to the bride's family. The price is negotiated among the parents only. The bride price is viewed as compensation for the money that the bride's family has had to spend on her care and upbringing. [79]

Forced marriage is also reported in Afghanistan. In almost 50% of cases, the bride is younger than 18 and in 15% of marriages, the bride is younger than 15. Sometimes women resort to suicide to escape these marriages. [81]

In certain areas females are sometimes bartered in a method of dispute resolution called baad that proponents say helps avoid enmity and violence between families, although the females themselves are sometimes subject to considerable violence both before and after marrying into a family through baad. The practice of baad is considered illegal in Afghanistan. [82]

Under the Afghan law, "if a woman seeks a divorce then she has to have the approval of her husband and needs witnesses who can testify in court that the divorce is justified." [80] The first occurrence of a woman divorcing a man in Afghanistan was the divorce initiated by Rora Asim Khan, who divorced her husband in 1927. [83] This was described as unique at the time it occurred, but this was an exception, as Rora Asim Khan was a foreign citizen, who obtained her divorce by assistance from the German embassy. [83]

While it is legal for male citizens to marry foreign non-Muslims, it is illegal for female citizens to do so, and Afghan law considers all Afghan citizens Muslim. [84]

See also

Organisations:

General:

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Uzra Jafari Afghan politician

Azra Jafari was appointed as the first female mayor in Afghanistan by President Hamid Karzai in December 2008. She became the mayor of Nili, a town in Daykundi Province of Afghanistan. Jafari is also a writer, and has published two books so far. She belongs to Hazara ethnic group. Her first name is spelled Azra.

The Shia Personal Status Law, also known as the Shia Family Law, is a law of Afghanistan that was approved in February 2009 with Afghan President Hamid Karzai's signature. A portion of the law pertaining to sexual relations between husband and wife has made international headlines. The United Nations Development Fund for Women, NATO, Canada, United States, Germany and other nations have come forward asking for a review of the law as it is felt that it oppresses Shiite women, taking away many of their rights in a marital relationship. Most controversially, Article 132 specifies that Shia women are required to sexually submit to their husband's demands, and are expected to have intercourse with their husband at least once every four days except in case of illness, in what has been described as spousal rape.

Presidency of Hamid Karzai

The Karzai administration was the government of Afghanistan under President Hamid Karzai, who became the head of state of Afghanistan in December 2001 after the Taliban government was overthrown. Karzai was appointed at the 2002 Loya Jirga as the Interim President of the Afghan Transitional Administration. After the 2004 Afghan presidential election, he became the President of Afghanistan.

Sikhism in Afghanistan Religious community

Sikhism in Afghanistan is limited to small populations, primarily in major cities, with the largest numbers of Afghan Sikhs living in Jalalabad, Ghazni, Kabul, and to a lesser extent Kandahar. These Sikhs are Afghan nationals who normally speak native Pashto, but also speak Dari, Hindi or Punjabi. Their total population is around 1,200 families or 8,000 members.

2012 in Afghanistan Afghanistan-related events during the year of 2012

Events from the year 2012 in Afghanistan.

Qadria Yazdanparast Womens rights/Human Rights in Afghanistan

Qadriya Yazdanparast is an Afghan politician and a commissioner at the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission. Before start working in the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission she resigned from her leadership position of the Jamiaat E Islami Afghanistan in order to fulfill the requirement of a commissioner to be non political. It is to be said that the Jamiaat e Islami is the biggest political party in the history of Afghanistan. She started her career during the Soviet–Afghan War. She studied jurisprudence and political science at Kabul University. Yazdanparast speaks Pashto, Dari, Dutch and English.

According to UNICEF, child marriage is the "formal marriage or informal union before age 18," and it affects more girls than boys. In Afghanistan, 57% of girls are married before they are 19. The most common ages for girls to get married are 15 and 16. Factors such as gender dynamics, family structure, cultural, political, and economic perceptions/ideologies all play a role in determining if a girl is married at a young age.

Fawzia Koofi Afghan politician and womens rights activist

Fawzia Koofi is an Afghan politician and women's rights activist. Originally from Badakhshan province, she is currently serving as a Member of Parliament in Kabul and is the Vice President of the National Assembly.

Rape is a major issue in Afghanistan. A number of human rights organizations have criticized the country's rape laws and their enforcement.

Humira Saqib is an Afghan journalist and women's human rights activist. She is one of the leading activists who through her writings in the magazine Negah-e-Zan and in Afghan Women's News Agency, has been protesting against extreme forms of harassment against women in her radically Islamic country. She pleads that the parliament should enact laws for "Elimination of Violence against Women and enforce it vigorously.... Education, is also a key to changing mentalities around women's roles in society." She is now pursuing her efforts to further women's rights by working for the women's news agency as a writer and editor.

The Afghan peace process refers to both the proposals and negotiations in a bid to end the ongoing war in Afghanistan. Although sporadic efforts have taken place since the war began in 2001, negotiations and the peace movement intensified in 2018 amid talks between the Taliban, which is the main insurgent group fighting against the Afghan government and American troops; and the United States, of which 20,000 soldiers maintain a presence within the country to support the Afghan government. Most of the talks have taken place in Doha, the capital of Qatar. It is expected that a mutual agreement between the Taliban and the United States would be followed by a phased American withdrawal and the start of intra-Afghan peace talks. Besides the United States, Afghanistan's neighbors Pakistan, China and India, as well as Russia, play a part in facilitating the peace process.

Adela Raz is an Afghan politician who currently serves as the Permanent Representative of Afghanistan to the United Nations. She was appointed in December 2018 as the first female to hold the office.

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