Boston Globe: In Afghan talks, one demand: schools for women and girls

In Afghan talks, one demand: schools for women and girls
November 6, 2010

THERE IS no better way of ending the war in Afghanistan than the current two-track policy of hammering the Taliban militarily while the Afghan government conducts exploratory talks with Taliban representatives. But if those talks develop into real negotiations about the terms of a peace deal, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his American allies will come under increasing pressure to demand provisions that would protect the rights of Afghan women and girls.

It’s a reasonable request: The American public was told that improving the lives of Afghan women would be a secondary benefit of the military operation in 2001 that swept the Taliban from power. So the United States has a responsibility to do what it can to prevent any backsliding in the future. At the same time, Americans should not sidetrack vitally important peace negotiations by insisting that an immediate transformation of women’s role in Afghan society must be a precondition for ending the war.

The best way to assure the continued advancement of women in Afghanistan without short-circuiting the current exploratory talks with the Taliban would be to narrow the demands to one: Access to education for women and girls. It won’t automatically change the position of women in the Afghan family, but would, over time, empower women to change their own lot, step by step.

It’s worth noting that conditions for Afghan women are offensive to Western sensibilities right now, under a Karzai government that professes concern for women’s rights but includes fundamentalist warlords inimical to women’s rights. Eighty percent of all marriages in Afghanistan are forced marriages, according to the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission. Afghan girls are commonly compelled to marry to pay off a family debt or to resolve a feud. The UN Development Fund for Women has found that 87 percent of Afghan women suffer domestic abuse. The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan reports that rape is “an everyday occurrence’’ and a “human rights problem of profound proportions.’’

Desolating as the current plight of Afghan women may be, however, a Taliban takeover would be worse. When the Taliban were in power from 1996 to 2001, women were flogged and sometimes executed for leaving the house without a male escort or for violating dress codes; prohibited from working outside the house; and forbidden from being treated by a male doctor. That was also when women were expelled from universities, schools for girls were shut down, and female teachers were beaten or killed for organizing home schools for girls.

If anyone's interested in a great book about one man's mission to build schools for girls in Afghanistan against all odds, this is it. It also contains a rare glimpse into Afghan life and politics.
http://www.stonesintoschools.com/