The role of women
112. Women will be a powerful force for change in Afghanistan.
It was female WFP staff members who convinced the Taliban to allow
bakeries to be established in Kabul run by women for women because
the Taliban's ban on women working would have had a devastating
impact on widows and female-headed households[150].
113. There are an estimated 700,000 war widows in Afghanistan.
In a country where women have few rights, female-headed households
and child-headed households often have to eke out extremely fragile
livelihoods[151]. Whatever
form of government emerges, we must ensure that those in power
will have respect for women's rights and will lead by example.
No side in the current conflict has demonstrated sufficient understanding
of this issue and it will require significant political pressure
from the international community to end decades of oppression.
But change it must, women have a vital role to play in the rebuilding
and reconstruction of a peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan. We
expect that donors including DFID will be working to raise awareness
of the important part that women have to play in the rebuilding
of Afghanistan and to ensure that they are properly represented
in any transitional government.
Risk of Talibanisation of Pakistan
114. There is already evidence of an increasing 'Talibanisation'
of Pakistan and a rise of an increasingly singular approach to
Islam being taught in the madrassas. Clare Short said "Of
course the nightmare of anything going wrong in Afghanistan would
be Pakistan being destabilised and being Talibanised and then
you would have a Taliban government with a nuclear weapon"[152].
The madrassas were able to attract the poor by providing food,
shelter, an education and ultimately a cause. The relationship
between the state and religion is crucial. The Government of Pakistan
needs to be able to check what is being taught to its young people
and monitor the quality of the curriculum. The growth of the madrassas
was symptomatic of a failure to tackle poverty and provide basic
education in Pakistan. Abbas Sarfaz Khan, Minister for Kashmir
Affairs, Northern Areas, SAFRON and Housing Works with responsibility
for Afghan refugees, conceded that, in the 1980s refugee camps
had been the recruiting ground for mujaheedin fighters and that
previous governments had colluded in this. He noted that since
that time, the situation had changed radically and the Government
of Pakistan would now not allow camps to be used as a base for
fermenting extremism. DFID should comment on its plans for
supporting education in Pakistan in its response to this report.
128 Q214 Back
129 Afghanistan
- World Bank Approach Paper, November 2001 Back
130 Q87 Back
131 Afghanistan
- World Bank Approach Paper, November 2001 Back
132 Ev
4 Back
133 Q161 Back
134 Ev
126, [Annex G, Para 6] Back
135 Q180 Back
136 UN
Consolidated Appeal 2001, http://www.reliefweb.int/appeals/2001/afg/AfghanistanAppeal/index.shtml Back
137 Q170 Back
138 Ev
42, [Para 6] Back
139 Ev
78,[Para 2] Back
140 Ev
78,[Para 5] Back
141 Q132 Back
142 Ev
42,[Para 7] Back
143 Ev
81,[Paras 37-38], Ev 43, [Para 10] Back
144 Atmar,
The Politicisation of humanitarian aid and its consequences for
Afghans, Humanitarian Exchange, ODI, September 2001 Back
145 Ev
42,[Para 8] Back
146 UN
Consolidated Appeal 2001 Back
147 UNOCHA,
Financial tracking data from ReliefWeb, Table III Listing of Project
Activities - By Sector Back
148 Ev
82, [Para 42] Back
149 Ev
41; Ev 82, Para 41] Back
150 Q151 Back
151 Ev
44, [Para 20] Back
152 Q213 Back