Memorandum submitted by WOMANKIND Worldwide
WOMANKIND Worldwide is an international women's
rights and development charity working partnership with organisations
around the world.
Our aim is to enable women in developing countries
to voice their concerns and claim their rights and to work globally
for polices and pratices which promote equality between women
and men.
The main focus of our work is to:
— Advance women's status and wellbing,
though increasing their political and civil participation.
— Reduce violence against women.
— Inform and influence policy and practice
at local, national, regional and international levels.
WOMANKIND Worldwide has been working in Afghanistan
since 2003. We currently provide technical and financial support
to three partner organisations including the Afghan Women's Network,
Afghan Women's Educational Centre and Afghan Women's Resource
Centre.
We focus on promoting women's equal participation
in govnernance, building awareness among civil society and policy
makers of women's human rights, as well as providing educational,
health, community and psyco-social support to those women affected
by violence and conflict.
WOMANKIND Worldwide welcomes the International
Development Committee's new inquiry into Development Assistance
in Insecure Environments: Afghanistan. Our response focuses in
particular on DFID's work to promote gender equality and women's
human rights in the region, as we believe this must be at the
heart of any plans to reduce poverty and promote peace and justice.
KEY RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Make gender equality and women's rights
an explicit goal in Afghanistan and set clear targets and indicators
to measure progress on gender equality and women's rights in all
areas.
2. Accelerate efforts to tackle violence
against women.
3. Strengthen accountability of the Afghan
National Government by supporting civil society and particularly
women's organisations.
4. Ensure gender issues are mainstreamed
within Provisional Reconstruction Team efforts.
5. Actively promote implementation of UN
Security Council Resolution 1325 in Afghanistan.
6. Recognise the impact of deteriorating
security on the NGO sector and provide increased resources to
decrease NGO vulnerability.
1. MAKE GENDER
EQUALITY AND
WOMEN'S
HUMAN RIGHTS
AN EXPLICIT
GOAL OF
DFID'S POLICY
IN AFGHANISTAN
Whilst there have been some legal, civil and
constitutional gains for women in Afghanistan since 2001, there
remain a great number of serious challenges to women's safety
and protection, realisation of civil and political rights, and
social and economic status that need to be urgently addressed.
[171]Denied
education under the Taliban, women's literacy rate currently stands
at only 15% and economic dependence on men interact with notions
of patriarchy, seclusion and honour to further limit their ability
to take part in the social, political and civil life of the country.
Those women that do take a public role can end up paying a heavy
price. [172]
As DFID has itself acknowledged, most recently
in its 2006 White Paper and the 2007 Gender Equality Action Plan,
gender equality and women's empowerment are essential pre-conditions
for eliminating world poverty. Yet, despite the dire needs of
women in Afghanistan, DFID has failed to prioritise gender equality
and women's rights as a strategic goal in the country. [173]
DFID should make the promotion of gender
equality and women's rights an explicit goal of its programmes
in Afghanistan and set clear targets and indicators to measure
progress on gender equality and women's rights in all areas.
This would bring this policy framework in line
with the Afghan government's commitments to gender equality as
enshrined in the constitution and DFID's Gender Equality Action
Plan 2007-09. It would be consistent with existing commitments
made by the UK and Afghan government on gender equality and women's
rights, in particular the Convention for the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Beijing Platform for
Action and UN Security Council Resolution 1325.
2. PROMOTE EFFORTS
TO TACKLE
VIOLENCE AGAINST
WOMEN (VAW)
VAW, including physical, sexual and psychological
violence, is pervasive in Afghanistan and affects an overwhelming
majority of women and girls. Honour crimes are on the rise;
an estimated 60—80% of all marriages are forced; 57% of
girls are married before the age of 16; women and girls are exchanged
in marriage as restitution for crime, debts or disputes between
households; and women and girls are trafficked internally and
abroad for forced labour and sexual exploitation. [174]Self-immolation
cases have been rising dramatically in Western Afghanistan since
2003, mainly as a result of abusive and forced marriages imposed
on women, from which they have little escape. Moves made by the
Supreme Court to enact a new Marriage Contact[175]
have yet to be implemented.
Women who are suffering violence in Afghanistan
have almost no formal legal protection or support available to
them. Formal courts are failing to protect women under Afghan
and international law, and cases where the victim is a woman are
unlikely to make it past resolution in a local jirga (tribal
council) to one of the very few family courts'. [176]There
is a general lack of data collection on this issue or responsive
programming for victims of VAW and very few shelters are available
to meet the needs of survivors. Full support needs to be given
to the initial moves to develop a new Violence against Women Law
in Afghanistan to stop the systematic impunity for such crimes.
Violence denies women their most basic rights
and undermines the social and economic development of communities
and whole countries. It undermines good governance by preventing
women's participation in decision-making at all levels and deprives
women and girls of their education, healthcare, self-determination
and social mobility.
DFID should actively promote efforts to make
tackling VAW in all its forms an integral part of its economic
and social development programmes in Afghanistan. It should promote
a personal, household and community level analysis of such issues
and acknowledge the role VAW and gender inequality plays in the
perpetuating violence at each and every level of society.
3. STRENGTHEN
ACCOUNTABILITY OF
THE AFGHAN
NATIONAL GOVERNMENT
BY SUPPORTING
CIVIL SOCIETY
AND PARTICULARLY
WOMEN'S
NGOS
Whilst we appreciate that a functioning and
accountable government is crucial for Afghanistan's long-term
development and effective rule of law, there are serious issues
relating to DFID's current policy of providing 80% of its current
assistance directly to the Government of Afghanistan. [177]There
are very real concerns that financial support to governments to
the detriment of NGOs, particularly in transitional and post-conflict
states such as Afghanistan, may lead to a loss in service provision
where the state does not have the capacity to spend and/or distribute
funds, a lack of representation for marginalised groups (such
as women) and a decline in democratic accountability at every
level. Our partners in Afghanistan for example—designated
women's human rights NGOs—receive none of their funding
from the Afghan government and are entirely reliant on INGO support.
Women's organisations on the ground have proven
their ability to address women's needs and rights effectively
and their contribution, voice and experience have been valuable
resources to processes of governance and accountability. Women's
participation in drawing up the constitution and in the 2005 elections,
in advocating for and contributing towards needed legislative
reform, as well as their role in preventing human rights abuses[178]
have all contributed towards long term development in Afghanistan.
Yet during the last 10 years, women's organisations across the
globe have seen a reduction of their funding creating obstacles
both to the delivery of long term programmes and their organisational
sustainability. Furthermore, new aid modalities and in particular
the move towards Direct Budgetary Support, have not yet been able
to significantly address gender inequality and women's disempowerment
and these issues are often sidelined in national development plans
and poverty reduction strategies. In these cases it is women's
rights NGOS that play a key role in holding governments to account
on women's issues and in pushing for needed reforms. This
is particularly the case in Afghanistan, for instance, where it
is women's rights NGOs that are playing a pivotal role in promoting
women's rights within an extremely conservative, traditional and
male-dominated government.
DFID should also recognise NGOs as a crucial
resource in providing advice, analysis and background studies
within and ensure the local NGO sector, and in particular women's
organisations, are consulted on policy and governance issues and
allowed the time and space to input on such matters. DFID can
also play a role in influencing and encouraging other development
actors such the G8 and EC, and other donors, such as the Asian
Development Bank and World Bank, to make gender equality and women's
rights a priority in Afghanistan and crucially provide increased
funding for work to promote gender equality and women's human
rights.
4. ENSURE GENDER
ISSUES ARE
MAINSTREAMED WITHIN
PROVISIONAL RECONSTRUCTION
TEAM (PRT) EFFORTS
The role of PRTs in Afghanistan remains problematic
due to the role that "quick impact projects" have played
in blurring the lines between military and development efforts[179]
and in introducing projects for political purposes[180]
that lack community input and capacity building. [181]If
PRTs are to be used in DFID's strategy, then moves should be made
to ensure their good practice, including recognising the role
of local civil society and consulting with them in relation to
gender mainstreaming within development projects; increasing the
number of women represented in PRTs to enable them to interact
with local women; and prioritising assisting women at risk of
abuse or injustice by working with and supporting local NGOs,
maintaining lists of services to make referrals for women at risk
and supporting such services where possible.
There needs to be a clear and consistent
gender focus throughout the work of PRTs which adequately
recognises that women are amongst the most vulnerable in times
of insecurity, but also are key actors on prevention and mitigation
efforts.
5. PROMOTE IMPLEMENTATION
OF UN SECURITY
COUNCIL RESOLUTION
1325 IN AFGHANISTAN
DFID should prioritise the implementation of
UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and the UK Government's own
National Action Plan on 1325 and match this with adequate resources
in Afghanistan. Whilst DFID recognise that "although women
often play a major role in preventing conflict and building peace,
their contributions are overlooked and underestimated",[182]
more needs to be done urgently to ensure their representation
within police and formal justice sector institutions; ensure the
Afghan Governments complies with its CEDAW obligations; [183]reinvigorate
the National Action Plan on Peace, Reconciliation and Justice
and ensure crimes of sexual violence are excluded from amnesty
provisions; take special measures to protect women and girls from
gender-based violence (see VAW above); sensitise the Afghan National
Army and Police to women's human rights and their equality under
the Afghan constitution; ensure security sector reform prioritises
human security for women in relation to their access to formal,
participatory and representative judicial mechanisms; and ensure
an appropriate budget is allocated and appropriate pre-deployment
training is provided for gender mainstreaming and promotion of
women's human rights within NATO and ISAF.
Development efforts in Afghanistan should therefore
be implemented in accordance with UN SCR 1325 to ensure women
are protected, their rights promoted and that they are fully participating
in post-conflict peace settlements, reconstruction and development
initiatives.
7. RECOGNISE
THE IMPACT
OF DETERIORATING
SECURITY ON
THE NGO SECTOR
AND PROVIDE
INCREASED RESOURCES
TO DECREASE
NGO VULNERABILITY
Threats against NGO staff from armed opposition
groups (AOG) in Afghanistan have been growing steadily since 2003.
Since the beginning of 2007, NGOs have been directly targeted
or impacted in 70 separate crime and conflict-related incidents,
with the number of incidents escalating each month[184].
The pace and volume of attacks in June 2007 are almost double
those of 2006 and the Afghanistan NGO Safety Office (ANSO) assesses
that direct contact between NGOs and Taliban is likely to increase
further in the coming year due to an improvement in the manpower
capacity of AOG and an increase in the number of offences by International
Military Forces. The use of suicide bombs and more powerful "projectile"
devices is growing and although NGOs may not be a direct target
of attacks, there is a clear need for enhanced preparation for
emergency situations arising from being caught up in cross-fire.
It is also worth noting that there are an increasing number of
abductions and killings of national NGO staff across the country.
Women in Afghanistan remain particularly vulnerable,
as can be seen by the attacks on and threats to female journalists,
female MPs, girls' schools and those working on women's education
and empowerment projects. [185]As
our partners form the linchpin of the women's movement in Afghanistan
by providing services to women and girls, as well as being outspoken
on women's human rights issues, there is an urgent need to address
their personal and organisational security. [186]
Although little can be done by DFID specifically
to reduce the current direct and indirect threats in Afghanistan
to NGOs from AOG, vulnerability can be reduced with the right
training and support. As such, DFID should urgently make resources
available for NGOs to enable them to build capacity to identify
and assess security threats and vulnerability and to control these
risks in Afghanistan.
September 2007
171 See WOMANKIND Worldwide (2006), "Taking
Stock: Afghan Women and Girls Five Years On", available from
http://www.womankind.org.uk/takingstockdownloads.html Back
172
See endnote 114 below. Back
173
DFID currently focuses its development assistance on: Building
effective state institutions; Improving economic management and
the effectiveness of aid to Afghanistan; Rural livelihoods; Counter-Narcotics;
And work in Helmand Province via PRTs (see DFID, "Afghanistan:
Development in Action", p 4-5 & DFID Factsheet: http://www.dfid.gov.uk/pubs/files/afghanistan-factsheet.pdf Back
174
See WOMANKIND Worldwide (2006). Back
175
The Nikah Nama has the potential to end child marriages
and empower women's legal status. The contract calls for the registration
of marriages and fixes the legal age of marriage for girls at
16, yet this has not yet been finalised and there is little awareness
about, or implementation of this new legal instrument. Back
176
Jirga members and court officials generally accept harm to women
as "punishment" for actions viewed as crimes under customary
law, such as infidelity or "zina" (sex outside marriage),
see WOMANKIND Worldwide (2006) for more details. Back
177
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200607/ldhansrd/text/70516w0001.htm
This contribution is estimated to be as large as £107 million
in 2007-08. Back
178
Women's NGOs have contributed to the prevention of human rights
abuses through their ongoing work including data collection, protecting
individual rights at a community and household level through local
level awareness raising and advocacy, grassroots peace education
work, and their successful work at national level in preventing
the re-establishment of the Department for Vice and Virtue in
Afghanistan. Back
179
PRTs are small joint civil-military teams set up to facilitate
stability, security, reconstruction and development in the areas
they are employed. DFID funds the establishment of PRTs in Helmand
to work on governance, security and justice issues (www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200506/cmselect/cmintdev/923/6032303.htm).
The PCRU has also managed "quick impact projects" related
to irrigation, more reliable power supply and extending reception
of BBC World Service Pashto Service in Helmund (DFID, Fragile
states, Conflicts and Crises). Initial research results from
Professor Jude Howell and Jeremy Lind (LSE) explains that local
Afghans do not understand the distinctions between the many different
international actors in the country. The role that the military
is playing in development through PRTs may have contributed to
this dangerous confusion and placed aid workers at risk (see BAAG,
Evidence for the Defence Select Committee, March 2007). Back
180
As outlined in Save the Children, Provisional Reconstruction
Teams and Humanitarian-Military Relations in Afghanistan (2004),
"Non-governmental humanitarian agencies seek to deliver aid
because people need it and aim to do so in a manner that meets
immediate needs while also maximising long-term prospects. Militaries
undertake such action as a means of winning `hearts and mind',
i.e. on the basis of whether the beneficiaries will be of political
assistance". Back
181
See Lord Malloch-Brown, Lord Hansard Text, 11 July 207 (Column
458). Back
182
From DFID, "Preventing Violent Conflict", 2006. Back
183
Article 9 of 1325 states that, "all parties to armed conflict
respect fully international law applicable to the rights and protection
of women and girls as civilians". The Convention for Elimination
of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), ratified by the Afghan
Government in 2003, obliges them to submit reports at least every
four years on its compliance with it treaty obligations, which
they have not done. They should also be encouraged to ratify the
Optional Protocol to CEDAW, which provides both inquiry and complaints
procedures to improve on existing enforcement mechanisms for women's
human rights. Back
184
See Afghanistan NGO Safety Office (ANSO) "ANSO Quarterly
Data Report (Q.2-07): 22 December 2006-30 June2007". Back
185
Two prominent female journalists were murdered in Kabul in June
07, threats to female MPs such as Malalaya Joya are well documented,
attacks on girls schools in Afghanistan are on the rise according
Human Rights Watch (July 2006) and the murder of Safia Amajan
in Kandahar in October 2006 is a chilling reminder of the threats
to those women who defy Taliban orders not to educate girls and
women. Back
186
There have already been a number of security incidents that have
directly affected our programmes including ordinances outside
youth projects, theft of wages and rent payments from NGO staff,
and a growing climate of impunity around attacks on prominent
women leaders. These incidents contribute to growing levels of
anxiety amongst our partners and local staff. Back
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