Afghan Women Running Out of Political Options to Secure Rights

Afghan Member of Parliament and women’s rights activist Fawzia Koofi.

After just fifteen minutes, Afghanistan’s speaker of the parliament ended debate on a women’s rights law when hardline conservatives called for its repeal, as reported by the BBC.

The law, which protects women from violence and forced marriage, was enacted as a presidential decree by Hamid Karzai in 2009.

President Karzai has, however, been far from a steady champion of women’s rights. Over the past few years, he has angered women rights groups by flip-flopping on a number of issues.  For example, in 2012, Karzai bowed to pressure from conservative clerics, and endorsed a national “code of conduct” that outlined conditions under which husbands could use physical force against their wives.

In Afghanistan, women’s groups are seeking legal protection not only from violence but also for the sanctity of their personhood, recognizing that the legal rights they secured in the Constitution and the 2009 law are tenuous.

Afghanistan’s Tolo News quotes women’s rights advocate Sorya Sobrang about the risks associated with bringing the law to parliament:

It is perceived that some amendments would come regarding women’s marriages, right of education, safe houses for women and some other issues. For example in the current law it has been mentioned that every girl aged 18 years can decide about her future but in the changes it has been mentioned that if the family of the girl or her lawyer says that it is going to harm her then she can’t marry.

Supporting the effort to gain legislative approval was parliamentarian and women’s rights activist Fawzia Koofi. Koofi told the BBC that she hoped parliament could help strengthen the law against future attack, “There is a lack of assurance that any president of Afghanistan will have any commitment to women’s issues and in particular towards this decree,” she said.

With limited presidential and parliamentary support, Afghan women’s rights advocates may have few political options left. (Muftah)

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