For Afghan Women, Rights Again at Risk

(Kabul) - When the United States and its allies went to war against the Taliban after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, "liberating the women of Afghanistan" was often cited as one of the reasons to seek "regime change." More than seven years later, however, the situation for Afghan women remains dire.

There have been some bright spots: Women now hold seats in the Afghan parliament, and millions of girls have been able to attend primary school. But educational gains plummet when girls hit secondary school, with just 4 percent of female students reaching 10th grade. Violence against women is endemic; women in public life are regularly threatened, and several have been assassinated.

Things got much worse recently when President Hamid Karzai officially promulgated legislation that would make the Taliban proud. Unfortunately, this is part of a pattern: As Karzai's government has grown weaker he has increasingly turned to some of society's most conservative elements for support.

The Shia Personal Status Law, the most egregious of a series of deals to appease fundamentalist religious leaders and former warlords, contains many provisions that are offensive to women. Custody rights are granted exclusively to fathers and grandfathers. A woman can leave the house without her husband's permission only if she has "reasonable legal reasons," which are unspecified. Yet the law does stipulate financial compensation to be paid by a man who rapes a child or a mentally ill woman, for her loss of virginity, while omitting any reference to a criminal punishment.

Karzai issued the law on July 27 with no public announcement. It came as little surprise that he tried to keep things quiet after the hammering his popularity took in April, when it first emerged that he had signed on to an earlier version of the legislation. President Obama and other world leaders denounced the law then. Even NATO's secretary general, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, warned that public reaction in NATO member countries would be to withdraw support for sending their troops to fight in a country that treated women in such ways. Karzai responded by claiming that he had never seen the offending document -- the same excuse he gave last summer after he pardoned two well-connected gang rapists who had served just a fraction of their 11-year prison terms.

Under pressure, Karzai promised to review the legislation. This review led to some improvements, including the removal of an article that gave a man the right to have sex with his wife once every four nights. But many of the most repressive provisions remain. By enacting the law, the president has dashed hopes that official discrimination and the oppression of women by their own government was a thing of the past in Afghanistan.

To guarantee his reelection this week, Karzai has not only made deals with hard-line Shiite leaders but also has held out the prospect of cabinet seats to former warlords and abusive military commanders from all the main ethnic groups. Many of these aging warlords' attitudes toward women are little different from those of the Taliban.

Perhaps of more concern for women and girls is that Karzai is positioning himself as someone who can bring the Taliban and other fundamentalist factions back into the fold. Scant regard is being paid to what this would mean for Afghan women, who have worked courageously for the precious few freedoms they have won in recent years.

When I ask diplomats here what deals with the Taliban will mean for women, I get platitudes and assurances that officials are "only talking to those who sign up to the Afghan constitution." But if the president does not feel bound by the constitution's promise to make men and women equal before the law, should anyone believe it would constrain a former insurgent? As one female activist told me: "Deals with the Taliban will mean everything we have achieved in the last eight years could be lost. It will have been only a dream."

The Kabul government and its backers are supposed to be different from the people they are fighting. Yet with regard to women's rights, Afghans might conclude that there isn't as much difference between the two as they had hoped.

Western governments that expressed horror at Taliban misogyny only a few years ago should not fall silent. Many -- including the U.S. administration -- are uneasy about speaking out about this law so close to the presidential election. But that is just the response that Karzai hoped for. Afghan women want to participate in elections and have peace and security. The price for this should not be their rights.

by Rachel Reid

August 18, 2009

The writer is the Afghanistan researcher at Human Rights Watch.

Human Rights Watch Weekly Digest

Israel: Investigate 'White Flag' Shootings of Gaza Civilians Internal Israeli Military Investigations Inadequate During Israel's recent Gaza offensive, Israeli soldiers unlawfully shot and killed 11 Palestinian civilians, including five women and four children, who were in groups waving white flags to convey their civilian status.

US: Students With Disabilities Face Corporal Punishment at Higher Rates ACLU and Human Rights Watch Seek Ban on Physical Discipline at School. Students with disabilities face corporal punishment in public schools at disproportionately high rates. The physical discipline, which often includes beatings, can worsen these students' medical conditions and undermine their education.

UN Security Council: Create Senior Post on Women and War. The UN Security Council should urgently establish a high-level post to fill a leadership gap relating to women and armed conflict. A special representative of the secretary-general assigned to this issue would be able to push for protection against sexual violence and to promote equal participation by women in peace talks.

Karzai has made an unthinkable deal to sell Afghan women out in return for the support of fundamentalists in the August 20 election. So much for any credentials he claimed as a moderate on women's issues.

Burma: Aung San Suu Kyi Verdict 'Reprehensible' This trial was a farce, a brutal distortion of the legal process. By silencing prominent opponents through bogus trials, the generals are clearly showing why the elections they have been touting for next year won't bring change.

DRC: Clinton Should Highlight Rape and Justice IssuesKillings and brutal sexual violence against women, girls and also men have massively increased in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo since the start of military operations in January 2009.

Russia: Ensure Independent Inquiry Into Activists' KillingsThis is a ghastly crime, and its authors must be brought to justice. These killings, less than a month after the murder of Natalia Estemirova, make it absolutely clear that anyone trying to help the people of Chechnya is in mortal danger.

Mexico: Calderon Denies Military Impunity. The claim by President Felipe Calderón of Mexico today that army abuse cases are effectively prosecuted in Mexico flies in the face of all available evidence.

UK/Iraq: UK War Inquiry Should Cover Rights Investigate Allegations of Serious Abuses Committed Against Civilians, DetaineesThe British Government's Inquiry into its Iraq War policies should include human rights abuses as part of its investigation.

Saudi Arabia: Counterterrorism Efforts Violate RightsIndefinite Detention, Inappropriate Reeducation, and Flawed Trials Saudi Arabia's response to terrorism for years has been to lock up thousands of suspects and throw away the key. The authorities made believe that religious counseling could replace trials, and now they are pretending that convictions after secret trials can legitimize continued detention.

HELP WOMEN WEATHER ECONOMIC CRISIS, UN OFFICIAL TELLS ASIA-PACIFIC NATIONS

The top United Nations official in the Asia-Pacific region has called on countries to help women weather the ongoing economic crisis, including by promoting their interests as part of governmentstimulus packages.

Noeleen Heyzer urged members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) bloc to seize the opportunity to build not just a new economic infrastructure but also a progressive one.

"We must make sure that growth is more inclusive and socially equitable," said Ms. Heyzer, the Executive Secretary of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).

"This includes ensuring that women have access to opportunities to participate in national economic recovery and that they emerge from this crisis in a better position to participate in our region's bright economic future," she said in a keynote address to the 14th APEC Women Leaders Network (WLN) meeting in Bangkok.

The region's poor, particularly women, could face tough times ahead as countries in Asia and the Pacific seek to restart their economies in the aftermath of the global economic slowdown, she warned.

At the same time, she noted that the Asia-Pacific region has the second highest ratio of employed women of working age in the world at 49 per cent, even constituting the majority of low-skilled workers in labour-intensive manufacturing industries such as textiles and apparels, leather products and electronics.

However, the crisis has revealed a number of issues affecting women in the workplace, such as the trends toward outsourcing and subcontracting.

Research carried out by the Economic Commission shows that restricting women's access to work, education and health services comes at significant economic costs, totalling between $42 billion and $47 billion each year in losses to countries in Asia and the Pacific.

Ms. Heyzer noted that while fiscal stimulus packages containing large infrastructure and public works projects are one of the most effective ways to reach a wide range of unemployed workers without regard to skills, most of these jobs are in construction where 80 to 90 per cent of jobs are held by men.

One of the ways to create employment opportunities for women, she said, is to ensure funding for health, education and agricultural extension services, and investments in small- and medium-scale enterprises.

APEC members already had some of the most successful practices of social development and vibrant businesses in the world, she noted. "Let us build upon these successes. Releasing the full potential of women is not only good for women, it is also smart economics."
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UN AGENCY PROJECTS TO BOOST PRODUCTIVITY OF SMALL-SCALE FEMALE FARMERS

Poor farmers in Africa, Asia and Latin America are set to receive a productivity boost through new United Nations-led agricultural projects funded by a €34 million donation from the European Union (EU), the UN World Food Programme (<"http://www.wfp.org/news/news-release/eu-food-facility-grant-increase-farmers-productivity">WFP) announced today.

WFP schemes helping mostly female small-scale farmers grow food more efficiently in Bolivia, Guatemala, Senegal, Nepal and the Philippines will receive the additional spending from the EU's €1 billion Food Facility fund.

"The European Union has recognized that one of the best ways to make sure people have access to food is to help small farmers increase production," said Gemmo Lodesani, Director of the WFP liaison office in Brussels.

"That way, they can feed their families and increase availability of food on their local markets," said Mr. Lodesani, adding that more than "2 million people, many of them children and vulnerable adults, will benefit from the food generated by five WFP programmes."

These WFP projects, such as collective farming, crop diversification, and food-for-work programmes aimed at improving irrigation and flood resistance, will be coordinated with the Food and Agriculture Organization (<"http://www.fao.org/">FAO) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (<"http://www.ifad.org/">IFAD).

INTERNATIONAL DAY SPOTLIGHTS NEED FOR MORE WOMEN IN UN PEACEKEEPING

INTERNATIONAL DAY SPOTLIGHTS NEED FOR MORE WOMEN IN UN PEACEKEEPING
New York, May 29 2009 11:00AM
The United Nations is marking the annual International Day of Peacekeepers by honouring the brave troops, police and civilians who serve in some of the most difficult places around the world, and by stressing the unique role played by women and the need to deploy more of them.

This year's commemoration comes at a time when the services of UN peacekeepers are in greater demand than ever. Deployment is at a record high, with more than 113,000 peacekeepers serving in 18 operations on four continents.

Yet, "there are still far too few women peacekeepers," as Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon noted in his <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2009/sgsm12240.doc.htm">message for the Day, pointing out that women make up only 8 per cent of the UN police and 2 per cent of its military personnel.

"With women joining national militaries and police in greater numbers, it is critical that Member States contribute even more female personnel to the United Nations," he stated, highlighting the "power of women" to strengthen UN peacekeeping while helping women and girls themselves to transform their destinies – and societies – for the better.

The Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) has urged troop- and police-contributing countries to deploy more women. India was among the first to answer the call in 2007 with the deployment of a 125-member all-female police contingent to Liberia.

The world body is also working to increase the number of women in senior positions at Headquarters and in field missions.

"We have done a lot but we need to do a great deal more," Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Alain Le Roy stated.

"Peacekeeping has become more multifaceted. We assist in providing security, reforming State institutions and supporting political transitions. Our women peacekeepers make a critical contribution in all of these areas and their work encourages others to participate in local peace processes," said Mr. Le Roy.

General Assembly President Miguel D'Escoto, in his message for the Day, stressed that peacekeepers do not just carry out their mandated tasks. "They create a lasting legacy by exemplifying how military and police can engage in humanitarian work while interacting respectfully with civil society.

"UN operations do more than just silence the guns," he said. "Increasingly, they help to foster a culture of sustainable peace in countries devastated by conflict, some that have lasted for decades."

From New York to Naqoura, Darfur to Dili, the Day is being marked globally with a range of events, including ceremonies to honour those who paid the ultimate price in the service of peace. In 2008, 132 peacekeepers – including 10 women – lost their lives, whether through attacks, illnesses or accidents – the highest one-year total in the history of the Organization.

Designated by the General Assembly in 2002, the International Day is observed on 29 May, the date in 1948 when the first UN peacekeeping mission, the UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), began operations in Palestine.
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SILENCE SURROUNDING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN HAS BEEN BROKEN – UN EXPERT

SILENCE SURROUNDING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN HAS BEEN BROKEN – UN EXPERT
New York, Mar 5 2009 10:00AM

Women around the world are no longer fearful of speaking out against the violence they encounter, according to Yakin Erturk, whose mandate as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, its Causes and Consequences, expires in June."As I leave, what gives me encouragement is that the silence about violence against women has been broken," Ms. Erturk said. "It's an initial step, but it's a prerequisite for us to respond to that violence. I think women in all parts of the world now realize that violence is not their fate."

The Special Rapporteur spoke to the UN News Service ahead of this year's International Women's Day (8 March), whose theme is 'Women and Men United to End Violence against Women and Girls.'

Ms. Erturk said she found inspiration in the impressive struggle by survivors of violence to rebuild their lives and those of their families, sometimes against enormous odds.

"The Democratic Republic of Congo comes to mind," she said. "Some women there have experienced total destruction. It's impossible to describe the extent of the violations women and little girls go through. Then those who try to speak out face threats."

The creation of an international mechanism to protect such women should be an urgent priority for the future, she noted.

"We don't have a mechanism to protect these women who speak out, where States are dysfunctional or can't respond," she said. "Sometimes the only solution is to take the women out of the situation – but sometimes they don't want to leave because they have husbands and families. It's a complex issue, but we should not be afraid to act."

The Special Rapporteur pointed out that until relatively recently, the issue of violence against women was itself seen as too complex for legislation or intervention, but that attitudes had changed. In her six years as the UN's expert on the issue, Ms. Erturk has travelled to many countries advocating for action to address violence against women, including its most extreme form, feminicide.

Before leaving office, she will submit mission reports to the Human Rights Council in June on Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Moldova, and on her last country visit to Kyrgyzstan.

Looking back on her time in office, Ms. Erturk said she believed that her 2007 report on the intersections between culture and violence against women had played a key part in changing perceptions, and had inspired some civil society groups to start to look at culture and religion in a more critical manner.

"Anything built in the name of Islam is based on certain interpretations of Islam, and these groups are starting to challenge hegemonic interpretations of Islam which reject universal human rights norms," she said. "I believe that cultural excuses will be challenged more and more in future years, and I consider this to be one of my strongest achievements in fulfilling my mandate."

Considering the different countries she has visited during her mandate, Ms. Erturk said she had particularly enjoyed returning to Saudi Arabia, where she spent time working before joining the UN.

"From a personal perspective, it was amazing to go back," she said. "There's an interest in making changes; for example, a woman has been appointed to the post of deputy minister in the Saudi Government. These changes may appear small but we must contextualize our understanding – while pushing for universal norms."

Ms. Erturk regretted that media outlets and human rights stakeholders were attracted to problems when they erupted in violence, "but we can do more to prevent problems if we deal with them before they reach that point."

She welcomed what she described as "promising gestures" on human rights by the new United States administration, but added: "We need to see action – at home, at Guantanamo, in Afghanistan and in Iraq." She said she was hopeful that the US would ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

"Ratifying CEDAW would be one very visible outcome that could give us hope about what to expect from the new US administration," Ms. Erturk said.
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Women in the Crossfire - ICRC Calls for Better Health Care for Women in Conflict Zones

Women in the crossfire - ICRC calls for better health care for women in conflict zones

In areas ravaged by conflict, the health needs of women are often neglected and ignored. As the bombs fall, the damage to infrastructure and communications affects the whole community but women are particularly at risk. They are often prevented from reaching a health facility to give birth safely, or to care for their sick children. In some conflict-torn areas they suffer sexual violence, including rape. And while the war-wounded and emergency cases get priority, women's needs, and in particular the needs of pregnant mothers and their children, are often given scant attention.

In the recent conflict in Gaza the lives of women and their young children in desperate need of health care were put at risk. Ambulances were unable to operate freely. Women in labour could not reach a safe place to have their babies – one woman gave birth in a donkey cart trying to reach hospital, delayed by the fighting.

In Somalia, over a decade of conflict has devastated health services and death rates among pregnant women are among the highest in the world (WHO statistics). Conflict adds to the suffering when women cannot access the scant services that do exist.

In the aftermath of war, the destruction of health services often prevents women returning to their homes and villages. The need to provide reproductive health care is particularly urgent. Without it, families cannot return to normality and start rebuilding their lives.

International Humanitarian Law requires that expectant mothers be the object of particular protection and respect. Nadine Puechguirbal, ICRC's Women and War adviser, stresses that during conflict, "International humanitarian law must be implemented …women must get access to a proper health care system and humanitarian workers must be allowed to do their jobs."

On International Women's Day, the ICRC demands more respect for international humanitarian law, and calls for a greater focus on the predicament of women who, because of war and its aftermath, do not receive basic health care for themselves and their babies.

SOMALIA - story

Few women in Somalia's war zone are as fortunate as Halima who managed to reach Mogadishu’s KeysaneyHospital in time for an emergency caesarean section which saved her life and that of her baby.

By the time she was operated on, she had been in labour for 24 hours. She and her husband had spent four hours in transit trying to find a hospital to take her because fighting made it impossible to reach the city’s maternity facility.

The trauma specialists in KeysaneyHospital have received training in war surgery from the ICRC. They are more familiar with war wounds than delivering babies. But the chaotic and dangerous conditions in Mogadishu mean they must take on all those who manage to survive the journey there.

When Halima arrived at the hospital, the surgeons were preparing to operate on a young man with a gun shot wound. He had to wait his turn while her baby was delivered. Halima's condition was critical but both mother and son survived.

In war zones pregnant women and their children have few resources and are at high risk. Survival is often a matter of chance. As the conflict drags on in Somalia, the situation for women is, if anything, worsening.

Additional information:

• The number of Somali women dying in childbirth is estimated at 1400 per 100,000. It is one of 14 countries in the world with a maternal mortality rate of more than a thousand. By contrast Ireland has a maternal mortality rate of 1 per 100,000 (Unicef,2009).
• Only 9 in a hundred thousand women make it to a hospital to give birth and only 33 in a hundred thousand have a person with any birthing skills present for their deliveries (Unicef, 2009.)
• Keysaney and MedinaHospitals have treated more than 2,500 war casualties since January 2008.
• The ICRC has been providing humanitarian assistance to the Somali population since 1977 working in close partnership with the Somali Red Crescent Society.

LIBERIA - story

In Liberia, a peace agreement was signed in 2003 and rebuilding is underway. But 14 years of conflict has left the country with a looted and destroyed health system.

The ICRC helped treat the wounded during the war and in the aftermath supports a broad programme to restore basic health services in areas of the country worst affected by the conflict. Part of that strategy is the reduction of the maternal mortality rate - estimated at 1200 in a hundred thousand (2005, latest UN statistics).

In a joint initiative with the Liberian Ministry of Health, the ICRC is training traditional birth attendants to achieve clean, safe deliveries and to refer women with problems to hospital quickly.

Eunice Ekenko, an ICRC health worker in Liberia confirms the need for this assistance, "we don’t have enough skilled staff which is because of the war. After the war most of the skilled staff fled away."

Beneta Kessely is a midwife trainer for the ICRC. She explains the role of the traditional birth attendants who come from and work with their own local communities: "Because they are already doing the work, we just need to improve their skills so they can do even better. And they have proved to be that way."

Before this programme, many traditional birth attendants had no formal training. With emphasis on the need for prompt referral to a health facility in the event of any problem, the women learn how to give immediate care to the mother and her newborn as well as the importance of nutrition, vaccination, malaria prophylaxis, family planning and hygiene.

It will take time to measure the full impact of the training, but the traditional birth attendants themselves believe it is helping the women in their communities. Sonnie Lombeh has completed the course and has taken her new-found skills back to her village: " I am already happy for the training that they have given us. Those things that we did not know, now I know them, I am happy."

Additional information:

• The number of Liberian women dying in childbirth is estimated at 1,200 per one hundred thousand – one of the worst maternal mortality rates in the world (UN statistics).
• An estimated 37 women in a hundred thousand give birth in a hospital and only 51 in a hundred thousand have a skilled attendant present for delivery (UN statistics).
• By September 2008, the ICRC in partnership with the Liberian Health Ministry had successfully trained almost 300 traditional midwives. During their six month training course the midwives develop their skills in antenatal care, deliveries, post partum and new-born care.
• The ICRC has been active in Liberia since the onset of the first war in 1990 – providing emergency care and now in the reconstruction phase, assisting with the reconstruction of facilities and the training of staff.

UN-BACKED WORKSHOP TO BOOST THE STATUS OF POLICEWOMEN IN CÔTE D’IVOIRE

UN-BACKED WORKSHOP TO BOOST THE STATUS OF POLICEWOMEN IN CÔTE D'IVOIRE
New York, Feb 25 2009 7:00PM

Improving the status and effectiveness of women, whose numbers have risen steadily in the past decade, in the police force of the Côte d'Ivoire is the subject of a new training course organized by the United Nations mission known as UNOCI in the West African country.

Some 30 Ivorian police officials are taking the course – created by the UN Police (UNPOL) and the Gender Unit of UNOCI and financed by the German cooperation agency, GTZ – which examines "the reception, work and environment of women in the national police, a milieu previously exclusively for men," according to the mission.

Women now number around 1,700, which is around 10 per cent of national police in Côte d'Ivoire, says UNOCI, which is assisting the implementation of the peace process in the country, following its division into a Government-controlled south and a rebel-dominated north in 2002.

At the launch of the three-day training session, which took place in the city of Grand-Bassam, east of the capital Abidjan, the head of UNOCI's Gender Unit, Eva Dalak, said that the seminar could bring about a better integration of women into the national police.

Reaching that goal, she said, depended on individual responsibility, on leadership and the engagement of participants, who would develop a follow-up plan of action during the course.
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