The Bush administration certainly conveniently used the treatment of women in Afghanistan as part of its effort to bolster support for the invasion of that land. Nary a peep about the plight of women beforehand, either from that administration or the previous one. In fact, before there was a desperate push for war, it seemed only other women around the world held grave concerns for these sisters during the Taliban's reign.
Many QME readers probably signed petitions in feminist book shops that implored something be done about Afghani women's circumstances, then wondered what would be done - if anything.
Once the initial invasion was over and declared successful, the American public and the world were told that the women of Afghanistan were now free from the oppressive rule of the extremist Taliban. We heard about girls beginning to attend school again and we heard that some professional women were returning to their jobs. We also heard about Afghani women casting off their burkhas - the restrictive headcovering - in celebration of their new freedom. But then we heard and saw nothing more.
Just how are the women of Afghanistan faring in these still-dangerous times, almost two years later?
To those who believe that Afghani women are now free to dress, think and act as they choose , you are sorely mistaken. Life for women under the U.S.-supported presidency of Hamid Karzai is far from rosy, or even vaguely secure. Amidst the backdrop of deficient infrastructure and basic sanitation, in many parts of the country there is a pervasive environment of violence. Nothing in Afghanistan has been neatly settled.
The oppression of women is still real. There are still reports of young women not being allowed by their families to have access to education, or women being submitted to humiliating physical inspection after being seen having contact with unrelated males. True, much of this problem is that the misogynistic behavior is engrained within the culture. However, that does not give us the right to ignore its existence. Both the men and women of Afghanistan need help in changing these beliefs that degrade and imperil women.
Unfortunately, the U.S. bears a heavy burden of responsibility for the ongoing welfare of the women and other citizens of Afghanistan under the government ushered in by our White House. We owe them more than a blind eye and a deaf ear just because the Afghanistan sound bites have stopped on our evening news.
Not unlike Afghanistan, there have been recent reports from Iraq that the women there are feeling unsafe during this time of U.S. occupation. They, too, are concerned about personal safety while their country is in turmoil. Having been liberated from a regime of extreme control, these women are now faced with an extreme breakdown in order. Try to imagine what that is like.
Women in Iraq have been quoted as saying, "...at least with Saddam there was order." Seem unthinkable? What Americans have to realize is that regardless of what our leaders would have us believe, occupation is frightening and grossly messy for both the occupying forces and the 'occupied' citizenry. A 'Westerner' with a gun does not represent order, or security, for those who are under the gun.
In Iraq, as well, misogyny fueled by extremist beliefs refuses to die, even in heralded liberation. Worse, with the reports of an upsurge in assaults against women now that there is no longer the accustomed 'order', these assaults have now led to an upsurge in family honor killings of the rape victims. In an upturned country where recently one female member of the new Governing Council was assassinated, how much safer could an average woman feel?
It has been reported that Iraqi women no longer feel free to shop at night or go anywhere unescorted, for fear of crime against their person. Sound familiar?
Given the engrained anti-woman culture in Iraq, some key features of how aid is dispersed is lacking in common sense. Remember pictures of aid deliveries in Afghanistan? Remember seeing hordes of males fighting for the relief packages in the streets? The Iraqi Women's League has called that aid packages must not be given to 'heads' of households, for these are often men. Not the women and children who are suffering.
The Iraqi Women's League has issued an open appeal to women's organizations, outlining specific problems Iraqi women are now facing, and some of their concerns about how the situation there is currently being handled. Another example of a common sense complaint is the concern that baby milk provided in aid packages may be mixed with polluted drinking water. Again, this is a country in strife whose infrastructures and mechanics of daily life are severely damaged. There is daily concern about drinking water.
In the U.S. we have just heard a price tag of what our current entanglement in Iraq could cost. We're paying for it. Shouldn't we be getting common sense and real, positive change for our money? Demand it? We and the people of Afghanistan and Iraq deserve that much, for what has been suffered by all.
I n case you are an American woman who feels that what women in these recently 'liberated' regions are experiencing is very removed from your experiences, just remember that in liberated America:
- A woman is raped every 2 minutes - U.S. Dept. of Justice.
- 50% of homeless women and children are refugees from domestic violence.
- Women are 40% more likely to be impoverished than men - U.S. Census Bureau.
Women in America, in particular, cannot afford to believe that we are removed from other women elsewhere in the world. We are liberated - and we are living in a war zone of our own. Make no mistake about it.
I purposely have not gone into the details of aforementioned reports from Afghani and Iraqi women because there is much concentrated information available featured on websites whose links and addresses I will furnish here. These sites belong to:
R.A.W.A. - the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan
Human Rights Watch
Isis International Manila
Common Dreams News Center
The links I list will lead the reader directly into pertinent articles about Afghani or Iraqi women. From there the reader can maneuver and explore as she or he likes within each site.
For more information about the needs and conditions of Afghani women:
R.A.W.A. sites:
No cultural change:
http://www.rawa.org/sing.htm
Progress?
http://www.rawa.org/anne5.htm
Threats to Women's Rights and Abuses of Freedom:
http://www.rawa.org/hrw-wom.htm
For more information concerning the needs and conditions of Iraqi women:
Appeal to Women's Organizations:
http://www.isiswomen.org/campaigns/alert/alert-5July2003.html
Fear of crime:
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0819-04.htm
Fear of rape: (must scroll down page)
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/1004-06.htm
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