Women & Islamic Cultures Family, Law and Politics

Afghanistan

For the vast majority of Afghan women, the fam-
ily functions as the paramount social institution.
Thus women’s participation in public office remains
conspicuous by its absence.
King Amìr Amàn Allàh (1919–29) tried to liberate
women but his programs met with tribal backlash
and led to his overthrow. During the premiership of
Mu™ammad Dàwùd (1953–63) an attempt at pub-
lic unveiling occurred on the second day of Jeshn
(24–30 August 1959). Other bold steps were also
taken; for example, a delegation of Afghan women
participated in a conference on Asian women in
Ceylon in 1957 and a women delegate was sent to
the United Nations in 1958.
King æàhir Shàh (1933–73) inaugurated a liberal
era in 1959 when he formally announced the vol-
untary end of female seclusion. During the consti-
tutional period (1963–73) a liberal constitution
accorded significant rights to women, including the
right to vote and the right to education. The Con-
stitutional Advisory Commission included two
women appointed by the king. The Loya Jirga
(Grand Assembly) also included four women. A
distinctive feature of the election of 1965 was the
election of four women. Miss Kubra Nurzai, minis-
ter for public health, was the first female minister in
Afghanistan. Mrs. Shafiqa Ziayee was another
woman minister who remained without portfolio
in Etemadi’s second cabinet (1969–71). Women
were enfranchised by the constitution and they
voted in the urban centers.
During the 1980s, after the communist govern-
ment (1978–92) came to power, a central feature of
government policy was the emphasis on education
and vocational training, including women’s educa-
tion. The educational policy of the communists saw
the dispatch of children, including hundreds of
girls, from urban areas to the Soviet Union. It was
estimated that by the end of this period, women
were to be found in all major government depart-
ments, in addition to the police force, the army,
business, and industry. Women taught, studied, and
acted as judges in the family courts. They worked
as scientists and pharmacists in government labo-
ratories and comprised over 75 percent of teachers,
40 percent of medical doctors, and approximately

Public Office

50 percent of civil servants, almost all of them city

based (Human Rights Watch 2001).

The social policies of the Taliban led to a drastic

curtailment of women’s freedom. Girls and women

were denied the opportunity to receive education or

employment (other than in the health sector) and

forbidden to leave their homes unless completely

veiled and accompanied by a male relative. Fol-

lowing strong protests by the international com-

munity over the wholesale dismissal of female

government employees after the Taliban took

power in 1996, it was agreed that they could con-

tinue to draw their salaries without being allowed

to perform their work functions. However, in 1999

a report of the United Nations Secretary-General

noted the widespread dismissal of female civil ser-

vants in a move to cut government spending

(United Nations 2003).

One of the major political achievements of the

Bonn process (December 2001), which occurred

after the fall of the Taliban, was the effort to make

Afghan women an increasingly active political

force. The independent commission for the con-

vening of the Emergency Loya Jirga (February

2002) included 3 women out of 21 commissioners,

including one vice-chair of the commission. Women

from all segments of society, across ethnic and reli-

gious communities, accounted for 200 delegates to

the Loya Jirga, or 12.5 percent. One woman was

elected vice-chair of the Loya Jirga, and another,

Massouda Jalal, received the second largest num-

ber of ballots for the position of president. The

Emergency Loya Jirga endorsed the cabinet of the

Transitional Administration, which includes three

women: Habiba Sorabi, minister of women’s

affairs, Suhaila Siddiq, minister of public health,

and Mahbooba Hoquqmal, minister of state for

women’s affairs. The minister of state for women’s

affairs provides policy advice for gender main-

streaming, legal issues, and political participation.

Despite this success, women continue to face enor-

mous challenges in the public sphere.

Bibliography

Primary Source

United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, The

situation of women and girls in Afghanistan, Report of

the Secretary-General, E/CN.6/2003/4, Forty-seventh

session, 3–14 March 2003.