Afghan Women See Slow Progress
By Mia McCully

November 30th, 2005

A month after Afghanistan's parliamentary September elections, members of the country's Media Commission met to discuss Ali Mohaqiq Nasab's controversial monthly, Haqooq-i-Zan, or “Women's Rights.” Nasab was arrested on October 1 and charged with publishing articles that were “un-Islamic” and “insulting to Islam.” Afghanistan 's media law requires the approval of a seventeen-member commission of government officials and journalists before any journalist can be detained. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, this did not happen in Nasab's case.

When Nasab's case finally went before the Media Commission, however, the panel ultimately found nothing wrong with his publication. Rahimullah Samandar, the head of Afghanistan 's Independent Association of Journalists and a member of the commission, told Radio Free Europe: “The commission members did not find anything to prove that [Nasab] is an apostate or that he had insulted Islam deliberately.”

But Nasab's problems were far from over. Articles that Nasab had published in Haqooq-i-Zan had offended Islamic clerics, among them one that questioned the use of stoning as a punishment for women alleged to have committed adultery. The clerics brought their claims to the Afghan Supreme Court, which found Nasab guilty of blasphemy. On October 22, Nasab began serving a two year prison sentence.

“The media law is very vague; the definition of ‘blasphemy' is loose,” says Karin Deutsch Karlekar, senior researcher for press freedom at Freedom House in New York. “Nasab is the perfect case of what press freedom organizations were worried about [when the media law was signed].”

The law governing the media in Afghanistan was revised in March 2004, creating the seventeen-member media commission that would litigate disputes over articles accused of insulting Islam. The CPJ says the vague wording of the media law left journalists open to criminal penalties in accordance with Shariah, or Islamic law.

“This is very bad for democracy in Afghanistan ,” says Manizha Naderi, director of Women for Afghan Women (WAW). “In order to have a functioning democracy one needs freedom of expression.”

The country has been in the process of transitioning to democracy since the fall of the repressive Taliban regime in 2001. With the help of the international community, NGOs and foreign governments, the country is rebuilding its political system, infrastructure and public services after years of decay and ruin. Building democracy is proving more challenging, however.

“The country takes two steps forward and then one step back [when it comes to democracy] and Nasab's case is one step back,” says Karlekar. “I don't think [Nasab's arrest] will bring down democracy in the country, but it is still very upsetting.”

According to U.S. government statistics, over sixty countries and international organizations pledged $8.9 billion in foreign aid for 2004-2009 during the donors conference for Afghan reconstruction in March 2004. Afghanistan is also the third largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid. In 2005 alone, the U.S. gave $980 million, reports the Congressional Research Service.

The money will fund such projects as the reorganization of land deeds, training teachers and developing an independent media. UNESCO, for example, sponsored workshops and conferences to prepare government and independent journalists for September's parliamentary elections.

Another area which receives a particularly large amount of foreign assistance is Afghan women's rights. In 2002, President Bush and Afghan President Hamid Karzai created the U.S.-Afghan Women's Council designed to work for the improvement of Afghan women. The council is also co-chaired by the Minister of Women's Affairs Massouda Jalal.

The arrest of Nasab was a disappointment for both press freedom and women's rights, says Lucie Morillon, Reporters Without Borders' Washington D.C. representative. “This is a bad sign. Afghanistan is supposed to be on the road to democracy.”

Morillon fears that journalists will begin to censor their work and not report on sensitive issues. “Religion should not be taboo,” says Morillon.

Although many countries and organizations give aid to Afghanistan and lead democracy building programs, Naderi says profound change will require patience. "Change takes time; it isn't going to happen overnight. It's going to take generations,” she says.

This is particularly difficult, says Naderi, when many of the current government officials are former warlords who do not hold progressive views toward women or democratic practices. “These views are tied into culture.”

The January 2004 constitution reflects the tension between democratic norms and the country's history. A Loya Jirga , or body of elders, ratified the constitution which declares, “Any kind of discrimination and privilege between the citizens of Afghanistan are prohibited. The citizens of Afghanistan —whether man or woman—have equal rights and duties before the law.”

Although this sounds promising, WAW reports that other sections of the constitution undermine women's rights. Article III of the constitution, for instance, states that “no law can be contrary to the beliefs and provisions of the sacred religion of Islam,” reports the organization. The Supreme Court will be the final arbiter in whether laws go against Islam, as was the case for Nasab. This poses problems for women's rights.

The nine judges who compose the Court are appointed by President Karzai and then approved by Afghanistan's parliament. The new constitution states that these nine influential judges “shall have a higher education in law or in Islamic jurisprudence.” According to WAW, this opens the door for Supreme Court judges who have no formal training in law. In addition to a vague judicial system, the other government institution designed to protect women's rights, CBS News has reported that the Ministry of Women's Affairs has no legal jurisdiction.

When you leave Kabul, says Naderi, the country's judicial system plays no role in women's lives. A 2003 report by Amnesty International reported that women living in rural areas, where eight-five percent of the population lives, fear lawless bandits. “Drive just thirty minutes from Kabul and you'll see nothing has changed,” says Naderi.

A hazy court system, a powerless Ministry of Women's Affairs, and a still lawless country leave women with many barriers to cross. This is especially true when journalists feel they lack the ability to speak out against the government and defend women.

“There has been some progress for women, but nowhere near as much as we would like,” says Naderi.