GENDER JUSTICE at POST-CONFLICT RECONSTRUCTION: IMPLEMENTATION of WOMEN’S POLITICAL RIGHTS at ELECTION PERIODS in the CASE of POST-CONFLICT AFGHANISTAN
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CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by Sabanci University Research Database GENDER JUSTICE AT POST-CONFLICT RECONSTRUCTION: IMPLEMENTATION OF WOMEN’s POLITICAL RIGHTS AT ELECTION PERIODS IN THE CASE OF POST-CONFLICT AFGHANISTAN by ASLI ŞAHİN Submitted to the Graduate School of Arts and Social Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Conflict Analysis and Resolution Sabancı University June 2006 GENDER JUSTICE AT POST-CONFLICT RECONSTRUCTION IMPLEMENTATION OF WOMEN’S POLITICAL RIGHTS AT ELECTION PERIODS IN THE CASE OF POST-CONFLICT AFGHANISTAN APPROVED BY: Dr. İbrahim Al-Marashi ..…………………………. (Dissertation Supervisor) Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ayse Gül Altınay ..…………………………. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nimet Beriker ..…………………………. DATE OF APPROVAL: June 16, 2006 © Aslı Şahin 2006 All Rights Reserved ABSTRACT GENDER JUSTICE AT POST-CONFLICT RECONSTRUCTION IMPLEMENTATION OF WOMEN’S POLITICAL RIGHTS AT ELECTION PERIODS IN THE CASE OF POST-CONFLICT AFGHANISTAN Aslı Şahin. MA Thesis, 2006. Thesis Supervisor: Dr. İbrahim Al-Marashi Keywords: Post-conflict, women’s political rights, positive discrimination, elections In conflict environments, women are often denied justice. This situation is being challenged for post-conflict environments with the initiations on gender-equal approaches. The integration of human rights language, specifically women’s rights, into post-conflict reconstruction, paves the way for gender-equal environments. The commitments to gender equality and women's empowerment on a wider context of transformative possibilities have converted the post-conflict settings as “opportunity spaces” for women. Concerns for the inclusion of women in post-conflict reconstruction, backed by the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, is an important contributing cause for the integration of human rights and gender equal language into post-conflict Afghanistan. The unique opportunities exist for women to participate in developing constitutional, legislative and judicial structures for gender equality in the phase of transitional justice with affirmative action inputs. The collaborations and disagreements in between United Nations’ and Government’s agencies and national commissions are studied in order to show the effectiveness of the practical implementations on political rights of women in these two election periods: Presidential and Parliamentary. The research was based on whether practical issues for the implementation women’s political rights, such as freedom of expression, freedom of movement, and principle of non-discrimination, principle of non-intimidation, had been the source of disagreement due to an ideological difference between the UN units, national commissions, and related ministries. The approaches taken by these units as the main focus, reaches conclusions on whether the affirmative action stated with the constitutional reform and electoral laws, besides the related international conventions signed by Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, for the political representation of Afghan women, have been implied effectively and have been successful so the “opportunity space” for women in Afghanistan has become a truth. iv ÖZET ÇATIŞMA SONRASI YENİDEN YAPILANMADA CİNSİYET ADALETİ: ÇATIŞMA SONRASI AFGANİSTAN ÖRNEĞİNDE, SEÇİM DÖNEMLERİNDE KADINLARIN POLİTİK HAKLARININ UYGULANMASI Aslı Şahin. Master Tezi, 2006. Tez Danışmanı: Dr.İbrahim Al-Marashi Anahtar Kelimeler: Çatışma sonrası, kadınların siyasi hakları, pozitif ayrımcılık, seçimler Çatışma çevrelerinde, kadınlar adaletten sıklıkla mahrum edilir. Çatışma sonrası çevrelerde, cinsiyet-eşit yaklaşımlar ile, bu duruma meydan okunur. İnsan haklari dilinin, özellikle de kadinlarin haklarina entegrasyonu, çatışma sonrasi çevrelerde, cinsiyet-eşit çevrelere hazırlık yapar. Cinsiyet eşitliğine ve kadinlarin yetkilerinin güçlendirilmesine yönelik taahhütler, daha geniş bağlamdaki dönüşümcü olanaklar üzerinden, çatışma sonrası ortamları, kadınlar için ‘fırsat alanları’na çevirir. Birleşmiş Milletler Güvenlik Konseyi Yasa Tasarısı 1325 ile desteklenip himaye edilmiş, kadınları çatışma sonrası yapılanmaya dahil etmeye yönelik endişeler, insan haklarını ve cinsiyet eşitliği taşıyan dilin çatışma sonrası Afganistan’a taşınmasında önemli katkıda bulunan etmenlerdendir. Geçiş dönemi adaleti evresinde, pozitif ayrımcılık girdileri ile, kadınların gelişen anayasal, yasamaya ilişkin ve hukuki yapılara katılımda bulunmaları için eşi benzeri bulunmayan fırsatlar vardır. Birleşmiş Milletler’in, Hükümet birimlerinin ve ulusal komisyonların arasındaki işbirliği ve anlaşmazlıklar, iki seçim döneminde: başkanlık ve parlamento, kadınların politik haklarınına yönelik pratikteki uygulamaların verimliliğini göstermek amaçlı çalışılmıştır. Bu araştırma, kadınların politik haklarının gerçekleşebilmesi için pratikte uygulamaya alınması gereken meselelerin; örneğin ifade özgürlüğü, hareket özgürlüğü, ayrımcılık yapmama prensibi, yıldırma yapmama prensibi gibi hakların, Birleşmiş Milletler birimleri, ulusal komisyonlar ve ilgili bakanliklar arası idelolojik farklılıkların, aralarında oluşan anlaşmazlıkların kökeni olup olmadığı temeline dayandırılmıştır. Araştırmanın temel odağı, bu birimler tarafından uygulanan yaklaşımlara yönelik sonuçlara ulaşarak; Afganistan İslam Cumhuriyeti tarafından imzalanmış ilintili uluslararası konvansiyonların yanında, anayasal reformda ve seçim yasalarıyla, Afgan kadınlarının politik temsili için bu yaklaşımların verimli uygulanıp uygulanmadıklarını, başarılı olup olmadıklarını, böylece Afganistan’daki kadinlar için ‘fırsat ortamı’ nın gerçekleşip gerçekleşmediği irdelenmiştir. v Mücadelelerinin fark edilişi ile, insanların sevgi sınırlarını aştıran, tüm Afgan halkına ve özelliklede kadınlarına... To the whole Afghan society and especially to the Afghan women, by the realization of their struggle, who made people cross the borders of love... vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First, I thank my supervisor Ibrahim Al-Marashi, for his continuous support in the process of writing my thesis with his insightful feedback; he was always there to listen and to give advice, additionally, his knowledge of Afghanistan helped me substantionally. I thank Ayse Gül Altinay for sharing her experience in women’s studies, introducing me to a new perspective and a frame to best fit my research, and for reminding me that this research will be academically useful. This thesis work could not have begun without Nimet Beriker’s intellectual support throughout my MA years and her belief in me. Lastly, I thank all my advisors for encouraging and challenging me throughout my writing of this thesis. I sincerely appreciate the unconditional support of my interviewees, both Afghan national and international, for their willingness of giving a considerable amount of time for the interviews. And special thanks to those who reserved long hours from their extremely tight schedule, even in the very early mornings on work days and holiday times in order to enlighten me about their work, and sharing honest information with me. The willingness of Afghan nationals to share information with me particularly gave me a constant encouragement and belief in the validity of my research. The inspiration for conducting this research came mostly from Afghan nationals who showed me their enthusiasm and dynamic work for the future of their war-torn country, and their continuous appreciation of me for conducting research in their country. The energy, enthusiasm, and belief of Afghan women’s courage to participate in elections for peace was breathtaking. The moral support of Hikmet Çetin and his continuous help for making it easier to me getting involved with Afghan government high-level representatives, his continuous interest in this research and the honest friendship I always felt from him during my some tough time in Afghanistan is unforgettable. Last, but not least, I thank my family for their unconditional support in my education and research, even though it was not easy for them to understand my enthusiasm to do field research in Afghanistan. Thank you all! vii TABLE of CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT.................................................................................................................iv ÖZET.............................................................................................................................v DEDICATION PAGE.................................................................................................vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ……………………………………………..............…vii TABLE of CONTENTS.............................................................................................viii LIST of TABLES..........................………….……..……………………..………......xi LIST of ABBREVIATIONS and ACRONYMS.……….….…………..…………..xii CHAPTER 1…………………………………………………………….……………..1 1.1. Introduction………………………………………………………...…………...1 1.2. The Subject, Significance and Aim of the study..................................................6 1.3. Methodology.........................................................................................................9 CHAPTER 2:..................................................................................................................15 Literature Review CHAPTER 3:..................................................................................................................31 Gender Justice in Afghanistan A. Recent History of Gender Justice Situation in Afghanistan 3.1. Early Reforms...........................................................................................................31