Human Rights in Afghanistan

For Afghanistan to really recover and thrive as a society, children must be an immediate priority – children's present and children's future.
Carole Bellamy, UNICEF Executive Director(1)

Background

The 2001 Representative Assembly of the National Education Association adopted New Business Item 48, which called for the education of NEA members about the human rights violations in Afghanistan under Taliban rule. This paper seeks to supplement information about Afghanistan which NEA members have received through the media since September 2001.

Afghanistan has suffered extreme hardships under 26 years of warfare and three years of drought. In 1999, the Gross National Product (GNP) in Afghanistan was estimated at $250 per capita compared to $30,600 for the United States. All indicators including health and education dramatically demonstrate the severe living conditions in the country.

Afghanistan is a former British colony, which won full independence in 1919. The country experienced a civil war in 1928. In 1979, Soviet troops invaded the country; in response, Islamic soldiers from across the Middle East were drawn into the war in Afghanistan. During this period, the United States helped arm and train the resistance army, the roots of which developed into the Taliban. The Soviet Union withdrew in 1989 in accordance with a United Nations-sponsored peace accord. In 1991, the United States and the Soviet Union agreed to stop arming the Afghan factions. The Taliban came to power in 1996.

Prior to the Taliban rule, women composed 70% of the nation's teachers, 50% of the government employees, and 40% of the physicians. The Taliban’s misogyny transformed the role of women, who were generally not held in high esteem prior to Taliban rule, to sub-human status. Taliban dictates denied many basic human rights to women and girls, including the right to liberty, health, and education. The most visible sign of this was requiring women to wear the burqa. Psychologically, the most striking evidence of the Taliban’s impact is reported in a study that found that 16% of Afghan women have attempted suicide, while 70% of women have said they wish they were dead.(2) The Taliban’s disdain for human rights was reflected in all aspects of life, also impinging on the human rights of men, children and non-Muslims.

The National Education Association supports efforts in Afghanistan to ensure that political decisions regarding resource allocation be made with full respect for the human rights of all Afghans. A broad spectrum of Afghan women needs to be included in the rebuilding of the country. If the new Afghan government, donor governments, and non-governmental organizations neglect human rights and the unique expertise of Afghan women, it is possible that the extreme hardships faced by women will be compounded.

Arms and Child Soldiers

Afghanistan is one of the most densely land mined countries in the world, including residential, commercial, and agricultural areas. Children make up one-half of all landmine victims in Afghanistan. In 2000, 571 Afghan children were reported killed or wounded by landmines.(3)

Afghanistan is also the world’s center for unaccounted weapons; thus, there is no exact count on the number of weapons in circulation. Arms experts have estimated that here are at least 10 million small arms in the country. The arms flow has included Soviet weapons funneled into the country during the 1979 invasion, arms from Pakistan supplied to the Taliban, and arms from Tajikistan that equipped the Northern Alliance. (4)

In a 1999 report to the United Nations (UN) Security Council, Secretary-General Kofi Annan noted, "[The] Taliban offensive was reinforced by 2000 – 5000 recruits, mostly emanating from religious schools within Pakistan, many of them non-Afghans and some below the age of 14.” Often, the Pakistani madrasas, Islamic boarding schools for boys, sent students to Afghanistan to fight during school holidays. At the completion of schooling within the madrasas, many boys could not find sustainable employment due to lack of training and massive unemployment. As a result, these young graduates fueled the battlefront. The military recruitment of children in Afghanistan has been cyclical, as fighting intensified, the more often boys were recruited.(5)

Child soldiers (those under 18) have been used by all warring factions in Afghanistan over the past 20 years. The culture of violence has become embedded in education and everyday language; the Soviet kalashnikov semiautomatic rifle has shaped the description of popular culture. “Two generations of children have been raised in a highly militarized ‘kalashnikov culture’: in schools both inside the country and refugee camps, textbooks and teaching methods have used images of tanks, guns, and bullets in mathematics and reading classes.”(6)

The Toll of War on Children

95% of Afghan children witnessed violence first-hand
7 of every 10 Afghan children lost a family member to war
90% of children believed they would die in the fighting.
- UNICEF Study, 1997

Education

The education of boys, along with the education of girls, is essential
for the future of human rights, women’s rights, and peace in Afghanistan.
Dr. Sima Samar, Minister of Women’s Affairs(7)

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) reports that the literacy rate in Afghanistan is the sixth lowest in the world. Just 4.7% of females over 15 years old in Afghanistan are able to read.

Due to years of war and the Taliban’s ban on female education, 65% of boys and over 90% of girls were not attending school in 1996, which is the year of the most recent records. Afghanistan has been the only nation in the world that has forbidden the education of girls. Officially, education has been free and compulsory for both girls and boys in Afghanistan since 1935.

Throughout the Taliban rule, underground schools were run by women educators; some were girls’ schools while others were co-educational. Female teachers, as with practically every other female in Afghanistan, were forbidden to work during the Taliban rule. Kamalea Yaftaly, a former primary school principal, taught clandestinely in her father’s home. She began by teaching two girls and two boys. She described her situation: “I didn’t want to stop teaching…. Day by day, more children came, and soon I had 180 students from the ages of 4 to 17. We held classes from morning to night.” Yaftaly’s student, Mursal, speaks of wearing the burqa, “We used to hide our books under them. If they [the Taliban] had caught us with books, they would have tortured and beaten us.”(8)

Since 1999, specific international relief agencies were permitted by the Taliban to provide separate education for girls and boys. Some agencies, such as UNICEF, also supported home-based schools in coordination with Afghan aid organizations.

Due to the civil war, many former schools were destroyed or taken by Taliban forces. School principal, Manja Jan, went into hiding after the Taliban occupied her school. She could barely recognize her school upon return – no roof, demolished brick walls and broken windows. Recalling pre-Taliban days, Jan says, “I have this memory, hundreds of students gathered beneath the trees, studying, reading, and laughing. I wish to see this scene again.”(9) The rebuilding of education in Afghanistan will be a challenging and multifaceted process.

Dr. Sima Samar, the Minister of Women’s Affairs in the transitional Afghan government, stated, “Very little has been devoted to girls’ education, and most of that only to primary education. Secondary and higher education are also desperately needed if we are ever to rebuild civil society in Afghanistan. We must also provide education for the boys. Unless real education opportunities are provided for the boys, the madrasas will continue to create generations of boys that know only the war mentality and the mentality of the oppression of women.”(10)

Trafficking, Sexual Violence and Exploitation

Sexual trafficking has thrived in Afghanistan. Girls have been purchased in Afghanistan, trafficked through Pakistan, and sold into prostitution or marriage in the Persian Gulf countries. There is evidence that boys have been trafficked across borders also. A portion of those children trafficked from Afghanistan to Pakistan labor in brothels serving Afghans. The children most likely to be trafficked are members of ethnic minorities, stateless refugees, and/or those living in extreme poverty.(11)

The Taliban, through its inhumane dictates on women, brought world attention to human rights in Afghanistan. During the 26 years of war in Afghanistan, the brutalization of women and sexual violence were common aspects of women’s lives. In a CNN interview, Afghan women’s advocate Sahar Saba reported that prior to the Taliban rule, the Northern Alliance army had a worse record of rape and kidnap of women than the Taliban in recent years.(12) In parts of Afghanistan, rape is called “lying down,” indicating women’s survival strategy to the violence. (13) As the world has viewed the hesitancy of some Afghan women to remove the burqa after the fall of the Taliban, the restoration of full human rights to women – in practice and in law – may be a slow process due to the historic and deep degradation of women.

Health and Nutrition

The health and nutrition indicators for Afghanistan testify to the extreme living conditions, war, and drought that Afghans have faced. Life expectancy in Afghanistan is 40 years; this is the seventh lowest in the world. At the same time, 26% of the population is under five years old. Afghanistan has the fourth highest child mortality rate in the world. For each 1000 children born, 257 die before the age of five; one child in every four does not survive her or his fifth birthday. Just three countries in the world have a higher child mortality rate: Angola, Niger, and Sierra Leone. The maternal mortality rate is second highest in the world. Only 13% of Afghans have access to water that has been through some purification process.

The nutritional needs of the Afghan people are immediate. Seventy percent of the population is undernourished while 20% of all newborns are malnourished. In the winter of 2002, 7.5 million Afghans (30% of the population) are expected to be dependent upon international food relief for survival. Two-thirds of those in need are children and women; 1.5 million are children under 5 years old.

Refugees and Internally Displaced People

Beginning with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, millions of refugees have fled their home region. Today, due to the Taliban years and the recent war, there are approximately 3.6 million people who are refugees and 1 million internally displaced people. The United Nations estimates indicate that 1.5 million have fled in the post-September 11 military action. Fifty-one percent of the refugees and internally displaced people are children under the age of 18. As the transitional two-year government has come into power, some refugees have begun to return to Afghanistan. ®

Taliban Dictates for Women

Taliban Dictates for All

The Future

The Afghan Women’s Summit in December 2001 brought together 40 Afghan women leaders who defined their demands for reconstructing their country. The Summit produced The Brussels Proclamation. This document addresses education, media, culture, health, human rights, refugees, internally displaced persons, and the country's new constitution.

The 19 recommendations for education within The Brussels Proclamation center on education infrastructure, equity, and cultural preservation. The document demands that the schools be reopened by March 2002. The women leaders call on the government and international donors to secure funding necessary to rebuild schools, retrain teachers, and facilitate the transfer of girls and boys from underground schools to government public schools. Further, The Brussels Proclamation emphasizes the need for conflict resolution curriculum and the implementation of equitable salaries for all education employees.

The Brussels Proclamation reinforces the need for Afghan women to be actively involved in all aspects of the new government and as advisors to the international community as Afghanistan is reconstructed. This includes provisions for an equitable role for women in international development aid, non-governmental assistance, and the Loya Jirgah process. The Loya Jirgah is a traditional Afghan grand assembly of elder leaders and intellectuals; it will be the body charged with writing the new constitution. The Brussels Proclamation states that “the principles of non-discrimination according to gender, age, ethnicity, disability, religion, and political affiliation in all aspects of political, social, cultural, civil, and economic rights are central to the new legal system.” Further, equal rights for women including “the right to vote, equal pay, and equal access to education, health care, and employment” are cited as critical to the new Afghanistan.(15)

There are two women ministers in the transitional government, which will be in place for two years. During this time frame, the Loya Jirgah will convene and write a new constitution. The needs facing Afghanistan and the new government are great.

Sources

1. Bellamy, Carole, speech in Afghanistan, December 1, 2001.
2. National Public Radio, Morning Edition, “Afghan Women in Parliament,” December 18, 2001.
3. The Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children, web site www.theirc.org/wcrwc.
4. National Public Radio, Morning Edition, “Afghan Women in Parliament,” December 18, 2001.
5. Burki, Shahid Javed, panel presentation, “Basic Education in Pakistan and Afghanistan: The Current Crisis and Beyond,” Brookings Institute, December 17, 2001.
6. The Coalition To Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, September 2001, www.child-soldiers.org/talebfinalweb.html.
7. Samar, Sima, speech to International Center for Human Rights and Democratic Development, December 10, 2001, www.ichrdd.ca/english/commdoc/humphrey2001/ samarAcceptanceSpeech.html.
8. Perkins, Lucian, “For Girls, Education without Fear,” Washington Post, November 18, 2001, page A20.
9. Raimondo, Lois, “Returning to School, Reclaiming Their Lives,” Washington Post, November 22, 2001, page A26.
10. Samar, Sima, speech to International Center for Human Rights and Democratic Development, December 10, 2001, www.ichrdd.ca/english/commdoc/humphrey2001/ samarAcceptanceSpeech.html.
11. The Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children, web site www.theirc.org/wcrwc.
12. Saba, Sahar, telephone interview, “Women’s Rights in Post-Taliban Afghanistan,” CNN, November 19, 2001.
13. Lacayo, Richard, “About Face: An Inside Look at how Women Fared Under Taliban Oppression and What the Future Holds,” Time, December 3, 2001.
14. “Some of the Restrictions Imposed by the Taliban on Women in Afghanistan,” Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan, www.rawasongs. fancymarketing.net/rules.htm.
15. The Brussels Proclamation, Afghan Women’s Summit for Democracy, December 4-5, 2001, as posted at www.womenlobby.org.

Resources for Educators and Students

If we are to reach real peace in this world, and if we are to carry on
a real war against war, we shall have to begin with children.
Mahatma Gandhi, 1869-1948

This project, coordinated by the United Nations Association of the United States, supports the UN work in Afghanistan to map and clear minefields, conduct mine awareness and risk education, and advocate for the ban on landmine use.

Amnesty International is campaigning to make human rights the agenda in deliberations about the future of Afghanistan.

The Feminist Majority Foundation has done considerable work to address the extreme human rights violations which women have faced under the Taliban.

A new report focuses on the grave impact of the Afghan war on women’s human rights.

This web site includes information for teachers and students about the food shortage in Afghanistan and the famine relief work of Oxfam.

This site is written for and by Afghan women who have opposed the Taliban, fundamentalism, and gross violations of human rights against women.

Facts, figures, photos, and maps are included on this site which addresses the refugee emergency in Afghanistan.

UNICEF is working to address the dire needs of children and women caught in the humanitarian crisis in the Afghanistan region.

This web site, which sponsors the “Watch List on Children in Armed Conflict,” includes detailed information on the situation of children in Afghanistan.

The House of Representatives Access for Afghan Women Act (HR 3342) is posted on this site, which calls for the US government to comply with basic human rights of women in peacekeeping, refugee relief, and resettlement.

Taking Action

Alone, or with students, you can take three steps that will make a difference for children, women, and education in Afghanistan:

Email your member of congress through the NEA Legislative Action Center www.nea.org/lac/ to ensure that women’s human rights are respected in all aspects of US involvement in Afghanistan. The House of Representatives bill, HR 3343, co-sponsored by Representatives Constance Morella (R-MD) and Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), calls for the inclusion of women in all US peace-building and reconstruction efforts. See Women’s Edge above.

UNICEF relies on the support of individuals to contribute to the life-sustaining work for the children of Afghanistan. Browse the web sites www.unicefusa.org and www.nea.org/international to determine whether you and your students can help provide a warm blanket, oral rehydration therapy, or a School-in-a-Box to children in Afghanistan this winter.

On International Women’s Day, March 8, share with students the important lessons about human rights for women and girls in Afghanistan. The 2002 International Women’s Day theme is “Afghanistan is Everywhere,” signifying that discrimination and violence against women are international issues that impact girls and women in all countries. Connect to the web resources cited here, plus additional links at www.nea.org/international.

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