Original Source: http://www.claws.in/Women%27s-Role-in-Rebuilding-Afghanistan-What-India-Can-Do-Pratibha-Singh.html
The
determination shown by MalalaYousufzai, a young Pakistani girlto
receive an education, despite the brutal assault on her by the Taliban
has garnered global support for women’s rights. In her recent speech at
the UN, Malala’s statement that“one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world” has
reverberated across the world and exemplifies the faith that Taliban
induced fear cannot suppress the voice of millions of women desirous of
seeking an education. Education, especially of women, acts as a counter
to the ideologically regressive and conservative policies of radical
Islamists who declare that anything to do with women’s rights is
un-Islamic. In Afghanistan, as we move closer to the drawdown of US
forces in Afghanistan in 2014, perhaps a focus on female literacy along
with other initiatives can lead to a diminishing of Taliban influence in
the lives of the people and contribute to a more durable peace.
Shukria Barakzai,an Afghan politician, journalist and entrepreneur, and a prominent Muslim feminist labelled as the “woman who the Taliban and NATO Fear”, is currently
a Member of Parliament in Afghanistan and a probable contender for
President in the 2014 elections.She talks of growing up in a pre-Taliban
Afghanistan “playing football,volleyball,writing adolescent fiction and eventually choosing to study physics”
and how the situation turned worse during the Taliban occupation where
she was flogged on the streets when found without a male escort.“Most people think of Afghani women as victims,” she says, “victims
of violence, of forced marriages, of terrible rates of maternal
mortality. Well, this is all very true. But it is also true that
countless women, smart and beautiful and brave, will not bow their heads
and will not be victims anymore.” This sentiment needs support to ensure a durable peace in war torn Afghanistan.
However,
the mindless imposition of “rights” can also prove to be a failure when
not in consonance with the cultural fabric of the society. Women's
rights have been central to the war in Afghanistan. When Cherie Blair
and Laura Bush joined forces to bolster the rationale for invasion back
in 2001, the West developed a passionate concern for the position of
women in the country.There were films, books and documentaries about the
high rates of maternal mortality, girls being married off young and low
levels of female literacy. There was an assumption that it only
required an invasion for women to spontaneously rise up and throw off
their burqas.However, change has proved slower than expected. A major
achievement however has been in education where over 2 million girls
attend school, although there is still a high dropout rate and the
numbers going on to secondary school are small. Nevertheless, the fact
is that the conservative nature of rural Afghanistan has not changed
fundamentally. Despite the colossal aid to Afghanistan over the past
decade, the impact on the entrenched attitudes shaping women's lives has
been minimal. More intervention in the field of education is required
and could be a potential game changer.
Foreign
pressure ensured that the constitution and the country's legal system
enshrined women's rights, but the reality is very different. There are
only a handful of female judges and even when women do have the courage
to take a case to the police, they face entrenched discrimination.While
women’s empowerment is the need of the hour, its gender dimensions need
to be addressed. Positive change will follow with a gendered inclusive
approach considering that many Afghan women still cannot step out of the
house without permission from a male member in the family.[1]
India
can play a considerable role in providing sustainable solutions to
Afghanistan’s growth story by promoting women’s empowerment. An
educated, self-sufficient woman goes on to affect her family, community
and a nation as a whole in a positive manner. To tap into this field
will further enhance India’s standing in Afghanistan as well as
strengthen relations between the two countries.So far,India has invested
2 billion dollars in rebuilding Afghanistan’s infrastructure,health,
transport, communications, enabled cultural exchanges and so on but
investing in human capital, keeping women as the focus could lead to
long lasting impact.
A
project scheme containing numerous modules ranging from education,
health, governance, skill and capacity building could be proposed to the
locals keeping in mind the cultural contours of Afghanistan. A holistic
developmental model can only be realised if both men and women are
educated about its outcomes. Programmesfor Afghan women, conducted in
both Afghanistan and India, and explained through audio-visual training
workshops in their own language could prove useful in empowering Afghan
women. As a follow up intervention, sponsoring and training of two to
three thousand Afghan women in India every year on sponsorship in
specific disciplines could help in empowering women and changing
attitudes within the country. With respect to the 2 billion dollar aid
India has already provided, this would prove to be a low cost investment
with a potential to yield better results. Training programmes could
cover the following:
Education
Five
hundred scholarships are already been given out to Afghan students by
the Indian Council of Cultural Relations. At least fifty per cent of
these should be reserved for women. An effort to bring awareness about
disciplines like women and gender studies, political science, good
governance, technology, medicine etc. amongst women will broaden their
range of options, which they can apply in their respective fields.A
Horyan, an Afghan woman studying zoology at the University of Pune says
that Taliban rule subverted women’s education but now some families are
encouraging and supporting their choice to go abroad and work. She
intends to go back and teach in Afghanistan while citing the dearth of
professors in her own country.
Governance
Afghanistan
is still to have an Afghan Women’s commission to secure rights of women
within the country. The National Commission for women in India could
play a pivotal role in lending their expertise and providing training to
future women leaders of Afghanistan. Training modules should also be
prepared to facilitate interaction with women leaders at the Panchayat
level to encourage women’s participation at the local government level
in Afghanistan. Fellowships could be organised for women to engage with
Parliamentarians, which will sensitise them towards various facets of
governance mechanisms.
Health and Sanitation
Under
the Small Development Project Scheme, India has built basic health
clinics in the border provinces of Badakshan, Balkh, Kandahar, Khost,
Nangarhar, Nimroz, Nooristan, Paktia and Paktika. It would perhaps be a
more sustainable model if women from the community are imparted training
in health care, child nutrition etc. In the last few years, the
maternal mortality rate has gone down from nine per cent to two per cent
because of better infrastructure and awareness amongst women regarding
better health care.One woman impacts the whole community, therefore
hygiene and sanitation training for women from the poverty stricken
areas will help curb diseases emanating from unhygienic conditions.
Capacity Building
A
large number of rural women in Afghanistan rely on informal economic
sectors like basket weaving, knitting, food processing, handicrafts and
agriculture. These women could be trained to replicate community
livelihood projects(self-help groups) on the lines of SEWA[i]. Forums like Dastkaar[ii]can
play an instrumental role in expanding the market outreach for women’s
artisans establishing a continuous source of income and at the same time
providing a platform to enhance their skills in producing handicrafts.
Conclusion
Indian
intervention to assist in empowerment of Afghan women, keeping in mind
their cultural backgrounds could yield long-term dividends. Women
empowerment will have a direct bearing on community life in Afghanistan.
One woman has the potential to change many lives.While it is clear that
the Pashtun culture is still regressive in its approach towards women’s
rights, need based opportunities created for women will definitely lead
to positive response. After all, Afghanistan has given to the world
several indomitable women, one of them being Malalai Joya, known as the
“bravest woman in the world” for her courage to speak up against the
warlords in the Afghan Parliament.
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