to “the principles of Islamic faith.” Only the con-
stitutions of 1977, 1987, and 1990 state explicitly
that “women in the Republic of Afghanistan have
equal rights with men.” The constitution of 1964
formulates this provision as “equal rights” for the
people of Afghanistan “without discrimination.”
During the rule of the Taliban (1996–2001) the
constitutional basis of the state was the Sharì≠a. The
departure of the Taliban paved the way for a con-
ference held in Petersberg (Germany) between 27
November and 5 December 2001 in which repre-
sentatives of the most influential political groups of
Afghanistan took part. The conference decided,
among other things, that a committee would draft
a constitution that would be considered for ap-
proval in a constitutional Assembly to be held in- Until then the constitution of 1964, without
its monarchic components, was to be the legal basis
of the administration governing Afghanistan.
The constitution of 1964 stipulates, apart from
binding legislation to the “provisions of the £anafì
doctrine of Islam” (Art. 2 and 64), that in the fields
in which there are no laws the provisions of £anafì
jurisprudence of the Sharì≠a “shall be considered as
law” (Art. 69). In addition to further stipulations
reflecting its patriarchal foundation, this consti-
tution implicitly favors a movement initiated by
King ≠Abd al-Ra™màn in 1883, aiming at reforming
the legal and social conditions of women. The
movement, although frequently interrupted by the
opposition of the Islamic clergy and by other tradi-
tionalist opponents of the reform, did achieve some
of its goals. The extension of suffrage to women
and the nomination of women as ministers are
some of the measures that were taken before mon-
archy was replaced by a republican state in 1973.
Urged on by the radical and/or communist admin-
istrators of the new republic, the situation of
women improved more rapidly. Offering posts of
minister to women, admitting them to universities,
and protecting those who were willing to unveil
were some of the steps taken by the government,
along with the agitation that accompanied them.
These reforms took place when the opposition to
them was not much weaker than in earlier times.
The increased influence of Islamicists caused by the
Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 and by the
leading role that they played in resisting this inva-
sion impeded the development of the position of
women inside the country. Reaching its culmina-
tion under the Taliban rule, the setback ended after
the Taliban were defeated by international forces.
The situation of women has been improving since
2001: about 200 women took part in the emer-
gency assembly in June 2002 and women were
82 constitutions
given two ministerial posts in the new government.
It remains to be seen whether the new constitution
for Afghanistan will be more favorable to women
than the constitution of 1964.Bibliography
Afghanistan Online, <http://www.afghan-web.com/history/>
(for the Afghanistan constitutions).
F. Azari, Women of Iran. The conflict with fundamental-
ist Islam, London 1983.
C. Benard and E. Schlaffer, Veiled courage. Inside the
Afghan women’s resistance, New York 2002.
ICL – Iran – Constitution, < htpp://www.oefre.unibe.ch/
law/icl/ir0000_.html>.
Feminist Majority Foundation, <http://www.feminist.org/
afghan/intro.asp>.
J.-H. Grevemyer, Afghanistan. Sozialer Wandel und Staat
im 20. Jahrhundert, Berlin 1987.
C. Nölle-Karimi, C. Schetter, and R. Schlaginweit (eds.),
Afghanistan. A Country without a state?, Frankfurt am
Main 2002.
P. Paidar, Women and the political process in twentieth-
century Iran, Cambridge 1995.
M. Ra™ìmì,Qànùn-i asàsì-i îràn va ùsùl-i dimùkràsì,
Tehran 1978.
A. Schirazi, The constitution of Iran. Politics and the state
in the Islamic Republic, London 1997.
A. Tabari and N. Yeganeh (eds.), In the shadow of Islam.
The women’s movement in Iran, London 1982.Asghar SchiraziSouth AsiaThe place of women and the working of gender in
the constitutions of modern South Asian states,
including India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, to vary-
ing degrees reflect the cultures of their sizeable
Islamic populations and have sparked considerable
political contestation.pakistan
Although the successive constitutions of Pakistan
have included some progressive policies for
women, and Pakistani women have drawn on Islam
to demand rights, a history of discriminatory, pur-
portedly Islamic ordinances, reversions to authori-
tarian rule, and persistent judicial failures to
protect fundamental rights have hurt the position
of women. In the early years after the formation of
Pakistan in 1947, women were able to invoke
Islamic law to demand rights to inherit property. In
the wake of additional pressure from women’s
organizations, including the Women’s Voluntary
Service (WVS), later the All Pakistan Women’s
Association (APWA), the 1956 constitution in-
cluded equality of status, some economic rights,
and reserved legislative seats for women. After a
reversion to military rule, the 1961 Family Laws