House of Commons - International Development

Select Committee on International Development First Report

VI. GENDER

76. Many pressure groups and NGOs have argued that Afghan women must be given equality but academic perspectives suggest that an approach that addresses women's needs whilst accepting a degree of difference between the sexes may be more helpful.[268] This does not diminish the manifest strengths and abilities of Afghan women nor the importance of equality issues such as those centring around education or political participation and representation. Afghan society remains predominantly rural and conservative with strong traditions relating to the survival of an extended family.[269] During the last 23 years of civil war and unrest Afghan women suffered poverty and violence and, under the Taliban's discriminatory policies, a ban on education and work. But the situation of Afghan women is also connected to their lives in a mountainous, resource-poor and patriarchal country. Policies on gender in Afghanistan have therefore to be carried out with sensitivity to the cultural context and aid work must not be perceived as 'foreign', 'un-Afghan', or 'un-Islamic' and where these have been observed tangible achievements have been made.[270] This is not to deny the enormous amount of work to be done. Work on the constitution and legal reform will be fundamental to ensuring women's rights.[271] But the fear of a backlash means that the pace of change has to be right. DFID has recently voiced concerns about the establishment of a Department of Accountability and Religious Affairs in the Haj Ministry as its reported agenda echoes that of the Taliban Ministry for Vice and Virtue.[272] BAAG's Peter Marsden gave a timely reminder of the dangers of moving too fast for traditional society: "There are significant threats, for example to efforts of families who send their children to school, and many schools have been burnt down and threatening letters sent and so on. History tells us that we should be made aware of the risk of a backlash in Afghanistan if the reform process moves too quickly".[273]

77. The Afghan Transitional Administration has a Ministry of Women's Affairs (MoWA) to take the lead on Women's issues. Womankind have told us in written evidence that MoWA is lacking in resources to establish itself and lacks expertise and a clearly defined role.[274] The importance of mainstreaming gender as a consideration across government has been raised by a number of our witnesses and in published reports and should be a key priority for the MoWA..[275] DFID have reported that there are plans for a national gender strategy and this could assist in development of an integrated approach spanning health, education, and employment.[276] Commentators have also highlighted the importance of a greater female presence and involvement in public and political life and throughout society so that women are involved in decision making at all levels.[277] In October 2002 the UN adopted Resolution 1325 urging the Secretary General to expand the role of women in UN field-based operations but there are no women running major agencies within Afghanistan and the top five UN posts in Afghanistan have been filled by men.[278] We were concerned following press reports of the victimisation of women within the Transitional Administration and emphasise that vigilance is needed and positive initiatives must be fully supported.

78. Womankind highlighted a lack of data about the gender impact of donor funding and called for DFID to report on the breakdown of its contributions to donor programmes and their impact on the rights of women and girls.[279] There has also been talk of a need for "gender auditing".[280] This may involve a review of current projects targeting women's needs as well as an audit of women in high-level public positions. The Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit have called for: "A strategic gender policy review conducted jointly by the ATA, AACA and UNAMA with donor, IFI and NGO participation".[281] As always, care must be taken to ensure that the costs of coordination and review do not outweigh the benefits but in this case a gender audit could help to get mainstreaming off the ground. DFID has a good track record in its commitment to gender issues and could act as an advocate for a thorough gender main-streaming approach within all donor activities and in political dialogue with the government.[282] DFID should ensure that funding is provided for a gender audit.

79. The burkha is generally seen in the West as the symbol of all that is wrong with traditional Afghan attitudes to women. There has been disproportionate media attention given to whether women have stopped wearing their burkhas since the fall of the Taliban. But gender issues in Afghanistan are about more than whether women wear burkhas and are connected to deep-rooted traditions and broader societal problems. Women's family relationships should not be overlooked. On a previous visit to Afghan refugee camps inside Pakistan, burkha-wearing women told us of their primary concerns which were about their husbands being forcibly conscripted by the Taliban and of the lack of education for their children. In the long term, education will be the best strategy for addressing gender issues. Elizabeth Winter, special adviser to BAAG, recounted conversations with Afghan women who had told her that the solution lay in education for all. If Afghan women were educated they would be able find their own solutions to gender issues.[283] These comments echo those of Afghan women who have said "Stop going on about the burkha. That is the least of our problems. Give us peace and we will then fight for our rights".[284] We believe that education to secondary level, for both boys and girls, must be a priority and, in the long-term, will be the best method of addressing gender issues.

268 Ev 133, Report of visit to Kabul (7-14 September 2002), Joan Ruddock MP (UK women's link with Afghan women), Strategic Coordination in Afghanistan, Nicholas Stockton, Afghan Research and Evaluation Unit, August 2002. Back

269 Report of the Rapid Reaction Mechanism Assessment Mission: Afghanistan, gender guidelines, Sippi Azarbaijani-Moghaddam, European Commission Conflict Prevention and Crisis Management Unit, April 2002 Back

270 Ibid. Back

271 For example imprisonment of women for minor offences has been raised as an issue requiring attention. Report of visit to Kabul (7-14 September 2002), Joan Ruddock MP (UK women's link with Afghan women) Back

272 Ev 117 Back

273 Q194 Back

274 Ev 133 Back

275 Ev 133, Q142, Q193, Report of the Rapid Reaction Mechanism Assessment Mission: Afghanistan, gender guidelines, Sippi Azarbaijani-Moghaddam, European Commission Conflict Prevention and Crisis Management Unit, April 2002, Strategic Co-ordination In Afghanistan, Nicholas Stockton, Afghanistan Evaluation and Research Unit, August 2002 Back

276 Ev 15, Ev 117 Back

277 Ev 58, Ev 133, Report of the Rapid Reaction Mechanism Assessment Mission: Afghanistan, gender guidelines, Sippi Azarbaijani-Moghaddam, European Commission Conflict Prevention and Crisis Management Unit, April 2002 Back

278 Q193 Back

279 Ev 133 Back