NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON WOMEN’S RIGHTS, LAW AND JUSTICE IN AFGHANISTAN 26-27 MAY 2003 HOSTED BY THE INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW GROUP SPONSORED BY UNIFEM, THE GOVERNMENT OF GERMANY AND THE GOVERNMENT OF ITALY This report was prepared by IHRLG staff in Washington, DC and Kabul, Afghanistan. International Human Rights Law Group 1200 18th Street, NW, Suite 602, Washington, DC 20036 Telephone: 202-822-4600; Fax: 202-822-4606 [email protected] www.hrlawgroup.org International Human Rights Law Group House #200, District 4, Street 3, Charahi Ansari, Share-e-Now, Kabul City, Afghanistan Land telephone: 93 20 29 02 25; Satellite telephone: 92 91 84 34 23 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Introduction II. Summary of conference III. Open discussions IV. Breakout sessions V. Appendices · Appendix 1: Conference Declaration · Appendix 2: Conference Agenda · Appendix 3: Welcome Statement · Appendix 4: Keynote Addresses a) Dr. Sima Samar, Human Rights Commission b) Domenico Giorgi, Italian Ambassador c) Mahboba Hoquqmal, State Minister for Women’s Affairs · Appendix 5: Presentation Papers a) Zainah Anwar, Executive Director of the Sisters in Islam, Kuala Lumpur b) Dr. Sona Khan, Advocate Supreme Court, India c) Sultana Kamal, Executive Director of Aino Salish Kendra, Bangladesh d) Dr. Mohammad Hashim Kamali, Professor of Islamic Law and Jurisprudence at the International Islamic University Malaysia e) Dr. Riffat Hassan, Professor of the Religious Studies Program University of Louisville, USA · Appendix 6 Bios of Moderators · Appendix 7: a) Our Work: International Human Rights Law Group (IHRLG) b) Afghanistan Programs, IHRLG c) UNIFEM Afghanistan · Appendix 8: a) Conference Participants b) Conference Team · Appendix 9: Conference Evaluation INTRODUCTION The first National Conference on Women’s Rights, Law and Justice in Afghanistan, held on May 26 and 27, 200 in Kabul, provided an opportunity for Afghan women from a variety of backgrounds to explore progressive interpretations of Islamic laws and how women’s rights fit into such interpretations. Conference participants included individuals from eleven different provinces representing a broad range of professions, including legal, educational, media, government and non-governmental organizations. Participants discussed ways in which women’s rights are realized through legal means in a variety of Muslim countries. Inspired by these examples, participants in breakout sessions used their own experiences to look for general lessons and strategies to apply these lessons in Afghanistan. They discussed advocacy techniques; Muslim legal traditions and their impact on women’s rights; traditional customs and practices and their impact on women’s rights; and women’s rights to development. These diverse sessions gave rise to recommendations on how to protect and promote women’s human rights using both legal means and progressive interpretations of Islam. These recommendations, as follows, form a broad agenda for protection and promotion of women’s human rights: § Women’s rights are human rights, and government support is essential in achieving them, § Legal advocacy and prosecution are essential to ensure that the government upholds human rights, § Islamic values should protect women from human rights abuses such as trafficking, and domestic abuse, § Qur’anic concepts protecting women’s rights can be realized through legal means. SUMMARY OF CONFERENCE On Monday, May 26 and Tuesday, May 27, the International Human Rights Law Group’s Afghanistan Program hosted a conference in Kabul on women’s rights and law in Afghanistan. Seventy-five women legal professionals and civil society members attended from Bamyan, Ghazni, Herat, Kandahar, Kunduz, Laghman, Logar, Mazar-e-Sharif, Nengarhar, Nimroz, and Parwan provinces, as well as from Kabul. Following opening remarks by IHRLG’s Belquis Ahmadi, the Minister of Women’s Affairs, Habiba Sorabi, Human Rights Commissioner Dr. Sima Samar and Italian Ambassador Domenico Giorgi, open discussion panels were convened, following presentations of invited speakers. - 1 - International Human Rights Law Group Zainah Anwar, Executive Director of the Sisters in Islam, led the first panel, “Advocacy for Women’s Rights within the Islamic Framework.” Following her half-hour discussion, participants had the opportunity to talk with Ms. Anwar about how she has challenged the use of religion to subjugate women, and about her organization’s work to promote progressive interpretations of Islam. Dr. Sona Khan, Advocate for the Indian Supreme Court, led the second discussion, “Muslim Women and Law.” Following her presentation, participants engaged her in discussions on women’s rights in marriage, divorce and family law as viewed by the Qur’an and protected in secular courts. Dr. Khan also discussed her work on the landmark Shah Bano divorce case. Sultana Kamal, Executive Director of Aino Salish Kendra, a legal services and human rights resource center in Bangladesh, led the third discussion, “Muslim Women and Leadership in Bangladesh.” Participants discussed with Ms. Kamal her organization’s work in serving the underprivileged in Bangladesh. Dr. Hashim Kamali, Professor of Islamic Law and Jurisprudence at the International Islamic University of Malaysia, led the fourth discussion, “Customs and Practices Impacting Muslim Women: Focus on Afghanistan.” Participants discussed with Dr. Kamali his views on patriarchal practices in Afghanistan, the Qur’an and its relationship to women’s rights to equality and universal rights to education and employment. Dr. Riffat Hassan, Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Louisville, led the final discussion, “The Intersection of Human Rights and Religion.” Following the presentation, participants discussed the idea that the Qur’an’s “concern is to free human beings from the bondage of traditionalism, authoritarianism, tribalism, racism, sexism, slavery or anything else that prohibits or inhibits human beings …” On the second day, participants discussed these themes with the presenters, as well as with IHRLG’s Women’s Rights Advocacy Program Associate, Oury Traore, to discuss “Women’s Rights to Development in Muslim Countries,” and with Kate Eastman and Michelle Hannon from UNIFEM Australia to discuss “Advocacy and Litigation in Protecting Women’s Human Rights in Other Nations.” At the conclusion of the conference, participants adopted the following declaration: We will respect the best values and practices of Afghan culture and Islamic values and we will restore our rights within this framework. We will create support groups and ad hoc coalitions within our local communities in the various provinces and in Kabul that will advocate and raise awareness on the rights of women accorded in Islam. We will raise awareness on the challenges and opportunities of Afghan women through support groups and ad hoc coalitions to transmit the knowledge attained through this conference regarding the intersection of women’s rights and Islamic law and culture. We will actively participate in the development - 2 - International Human Rights Law Group of a new Constitution of Afghanistan and we will work to adopt articles ensuring that the human rights of women and children, especially girls, are respected and protected throughout society and supported by private and public institutions. We will take all necessary steps to ensure the new legal system and penal and civil codes eliminate all forms of discrimination, including trafficking, sexual harassment, domestic violence, forced, under-aged and over-priced marriages, and any other types of abuse, violence or human rights violation. We will make every effort to ensure equality before the law and equal protection of law for Afghan women. We will build coalitions with each other, make alliances and work together with like-minded groups in Afghanistan, such as the International Human Rights Law Group, human rights groups, NGOs, research institutions etc., to promote women’s rights in all sectors of our society. We will promote co-operation and counsel between parents, local jirgas, provincial councils and legal professionals and other key elements of society to improve the status of women and children in their respective localities. OPEN DISCUSSION Throughout the day, participants had opportunities to discuss various issues with the panelists. The following is a transcription of those discussions: First Session, Zainah Anwar Judge Hamida Mehro: How have you overcome challenges in cases of violence against women both at work and in family? What obstacles and challenges did you face? MS. Anwar: We have established a committee to follow such cases and we have recognized violence as a crime. We still face problems by the state as well as by conservative religious leaders. We have sent letters to authorities and editors, we have called for laws to stop violence and we have raised awareness that Islam is not a religion of violence, but of equality and justice that entitles both men and women equal rights. We have used progressive interpretation of the Qur’anic verses. Women’s groups have been attacked several times, we have been told many times by the fundamentalists and conservatives that male dominance in family is an absolute right of the man and that’s a part of Islamic culture. Najia Zewari: As a civil society organization, we have dealt with women’s groups that hold two different attitudes. One is that they agree with strict interpretation of Islamic and religious orders and the other is that they are hostile towards