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Afghanistan's Transition in the Making

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Afghanistan's Transition in the Making VOLUME 31 Afghanistan’s Transition in the Making Perceptions and Policy Strategies of Women Parliamentarians A study by Andrea Fleschenberg PUBLICATION SERIES ON DEMOCRACY VOLUME 31 Afghanistan’s Transition in the Making Perceptions and Policy Strategies of Women Parliamentarians A study by Andrea Fleschenberg Edited by the Heinrich Böll Foundation Andrea Fleschenberg dos Ramos Pinéu, PhD, is DAAD Long Term Guest Professor at Quaid-i- Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan. In 2010/11 she was acting professor of political science at the University of Hildesheim, Germany, and in 2007 visiting professor at the University of the Punjab in Lahore, Pakistan, and in 2006 at the Universitat Jaume I in Castellon, Spain. Her research areas are comparative politics, democratization and peace and conflict studies with a particular focus on South and Southeast Asia, gender and politics, state- and institution-building, transitional justice issues, on which she has contributed numerous publications. Selected publications: Women in Asian Politics – A Springboard for Gender Democracy?, co-edited with Claudia Derichs, Zürich/Singapore 2011; Women in Asian Local Politics – A Springboard for Gender Democracy?, co-edited with Claudia Derichs, in: ASIEN, Autumn 2010; Afghanistan’s Parliament in the Making. Gendered Understandings and Practices of Politics in a Transitional Country, 2nd edition, Berlin 2011; Goddesses, Heroes, Sacrifices. Female Political Power in Asia, co-edited with Dagmar Hellmann-Rajanayagam, Zürich et al. 2008. Published under the following Creative Commons License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/. Attribution — You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work). Noncommercial — You may not use this work for commercial purposes. No Derivative Works — You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work. Afghanistan’s Transition in the Making Perceptions and Policy Strategies of Women Parliamentarians A study by Andrea Fleschenberg Edited by the Heinrich Böll Foundation Volume 31 (English edition) in the publication series on democracy Graphic design: feinkost Designnetzwerk, Sebastian Langer (according to designs by blotto Design) Cover photo: Gulbuddin Elham Printing: Lokay Druck, Reinheim Editing: Robert Furlong ISBN 978-3-86928-097-4 This publication can be ordered from: Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, Schumannstr. 8, 10117 Berlin T +49 30 28534-0 F +49 30 28534-109 E [email protected] W www.boell.de CONTENT Preface 7 Executive Summary 9 Envisioning Transition – Issues, Challenges, and Commitments 13 Rationale, methodology, and outline of the study 15 Women in Afghanistan’s Transition Process 20 Women’s Voices on Transition 28 Reviewing the intervention: Issues and concerns post-2001 and post-2014 28 Mapping the terrain and tasks to be addressed: Understandings of «transition» 31 Evaluating the impact on political institutions, own agenda-setting, and agency 34 Is «stay» or «leave» the right thing to be asked by the international community? 38 Afghanistan 2024: Sleepless or dreamless nights? Sweet dreams or nightmares? 40 Instead of Conclusion or Recommendations: Food for Thought 43 References 45 PREFACE In 2001, when the military intervention in Afghanistan began, the implementa- tion of human and women’s rights was often cited as one of the rationales behind the campaign. Today, these rights are still a top priority regarding the sociopolitical mission of the international coalition. The degree of progress made regarding the polit- ical participation of women and the general improvement of women’s rights is seen as a yardstick for the country’s democratization. It is true that, compared to the era of Taliban rule, women today are able to participate in public life and influence political decision-making processes. There have been numerous achievements: For example, in 2003, women participated in the first Constitutional Assembly, the Loya Jirga. That same year, the Afghan government signed, without reservations, the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). Following that, equal rights for women and men were enshrined in the 2004 Afghan Constitu- tion. In 2009, a statute banned all forms of violence against women as well as child marriage. On top of that, Afghan women today have better access to education and healthcare, they are starting small enterprises, and are working for national and inter- national organizations. In the first parliamentary elections, held in 2005, there were 91 women elected. Since 2009, women have held 69 of the 249 seats in parliament, and one of them even won a direct mandate. Finally, in 2012, a government committee was instituted to supervise the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 regarding a gender perspective in conflict prevention and post-conflict recon- struction. All these achievements are encouraging, yet fragile. Support by the Afghan govern- ment for the implementation of constitutional and other rights has waned substan- tially over the years. Thus far, international donors have done little to counteract the slackening political will of Hamid Karzai’s government and have failed to respond accordingly. In Afghanistan, violence against girls and women is still very much an everyday occurrence. It is exactly in everyday situations that women’s rights have to be won and implemented. However, almost everywhere, the political will to do so is lacking. Many observers are afraid that, once Afghan institutions achieve full sovereignty, women’s rights will be further neglected. Thus far, the so-called peace talks between the Afghan government and insurgents have failed to confirm that women’s rights, as enshrined in the Constitution, are non-negotiable. Generally, women’s involvement in the debates and negotiations about transi- tional and peace processes has been rather insufficient. The parliamentary elections in 2015 will show whether the comprehensive opportunity for women to run for office Preface and to cast their votes without having to fear retribution still exist. 7 The aim of the present study, authored by Andrea Fleschenberg, is to contribute toward the improvement of the situation for Afghan women. The study analyzes possible strategies and political outlooks for women parliamentarians and women's rights activists during the transition period as well as during the withdrawal of foreign troops, set to begin in 2014. In addition, it portrays the self-image of women parlia- mentarians and offers a summary of their policy recommendations concerning peace and security in Afghanistan. The study presents some specific recommendations that are addressed to national and international political representatives, and it outlines how women’s interests and needs may be met during the transition period. A further goal is to create a wider audience for the voices of Afghan political actors within national and international debates about the future of Afghanistan. This publication will be complemented by a podcast (available, as of December 2012, at www.boell-afghanistan.org) and by a further policy paper titled Afghanistan’s Transition in the Making: Updates on Women’s Political Participation (available at the above-mentioned website as of January 2013). One building block for the present paper was the 2008 study Afghanistan’s Parliament in the Making: Gendered Under- standings and Practices of Politics in a Transitional Country, authored by Andrea Fleschenberg (www.boell.de/publications/publications-7075.html), which discusses the everyday realities of Afghan women parliamentarians’ lives. I would like to thank the staff of the Heinrich Böll Foundation’s Kabul office, namely Musarat Hussain, Neelab Hakim, Abdullah Athayi, and Marion Regina Mueller, as well as the author of this study, for their contributions to this project and for their commitment; without them it would have been impossible to throw a light on the intricate background of this issue. Special thanks are due to the women parlia- mentarians and activists from Afghanistan’s civil society who have, for a long time, worked with the Heinrich Böll Foundation and who are making courageous efforts to defend the rights of women and democracy in Afghanistan. Berlin, November 2012 Barbara Unmüßig Co-President, Heinrich Böll Foundation erceptions and Policy Strategies of Women Parliamentarians Women of Strategies and Policy erceptions P ransition in the Making T Afghanistan’s Afghanistan’s 8 Executive Summary Afghanistan represents a very particular case of military intervention-cum-state- building-cum-democratization with high levels of political and sociocultural violence, ideologically based grievances, intersectional cleavages, a paucity of meritocratic, non-fragmented political elites, and scarcity of a close-knit social fabric in a sustained conflict and insurgency context. Peace, security, and conflict resolution; democracy and institution-building; human rights and their protection – these are the things that were promised to national and international audiences on either side of the intervention theater at the start of this millennium. In the intervention society itself, Afghanistan, those promises were heard, acknowledged, and taken into serious consideration by actors who intended to pick their chance for sociopolitical change and for an end to the decades-long fighting and violence. Fast forward to late 2012, the same international intervention
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