WOMEN’S BASIC HUMAN RIGHT VIOLATION IN AFGHANISTAN.
Chapter 1-
INTRODUCTION.
When one talks about violation, what can be understood is a vast topic within itself. And when one talks about gender, what can be understood is very specifically defined like two sides of the same coin and how those two sides can be differentiated from each other is a topic no one wishes to back up from.
What does it feel like to go through the world’s largest crisis- a humanitarian one, is known by each human being living in the country of Afghanistan. With natural calamities and disasters being the highlighted part, are the conflicts of decade being lost anywhere? The hopeless poverty along with such poor health care facilities and so much more, where is the country headed? Why is the country famously known as the Graveyard of Empires?
The question in conflict is for the women living their life in Afghanistan. It’s one thing to lead a life in Afghanistan’s Capital and completely opposite and another to lead a life everywhere else in the world.
Infact people try finding ways in which the roles can be structured based on genders. But are we still there? Are we still in the world where one human being fears the another in terms of gender?
Where one human being is supressed by the other?
Where justice and order prevail more through fear and propagated news and less through prescribed rules?
TALIBAN : The word Taliban simply denotes student who used to study in the Madrasas of Afghanistan.
It was through various such infractions of the Taliban that most of the countries weren’t ready to accept Afghanistan as having a legitimate Government except for United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. As soon as the US is leaving the country, the rule of Taliban is getting stronger and stronger and more than 50 % of the country is under Taliban rule.
This crisis is huge enough to have its effect on India as Afghanistan is one of its neighbouring countries. To have an understanding of this complex geopolitical crisis, bringing back the history is needed.
Chapter 2-
BACKGROUND.
With all the colonialism, power struggle and kinship still no powers were able to capture the Country. In the beginning of the 19th century the Britishers tried capturing them but failed. Similar was the condition in the 20th century when the Soviet Union failed miserably after trying for almost 9 long years. And when we see 21st century even the Americans seem to fail in the work.
But the causes and concerns of all the invasions remained somewhat similar. All the powers has this basic excuse that they carry an aim to civilise the barbaric lifestyle and method of governance of the people of Afghanistan.
Back in 1979, when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan with the thought of capturing and ruling it, there was great resistance by the Afghans because they weren’t of the view to pile up and let them govern as every state has the authority of self-determination and complete power to make its own rules and laws, together they wanted to form a communist government which the Afghans didn’t allowed.
When any social codes were tried to be abolished by any of the powers the communist Afghan government tried to reinforce land reforms and the rural mass revolted.
In the beginning of 1989, the Communist government of Afghanistan fell completely and the mujahideen turned against each other after the Soviet Union gave up and left. There was never an end to the violence, be it in any form, in Afghanistan which took years to be converted into a civil war by 1992.
Soon after they started to gain power and recognition, they got aid by the neighbouring South East country Pakistan because they completely feared that the mujahideen would make India an ally.
It was in the year 1996, when the group of Taliban entered the country’s capital, Kabul and started its dominance and leadership in a manner so compelling and controlling that they were to be obeyed by all.
Afghanistan was ruled for more than 20 years by the Americans, for this long duration of time there were Americans army stationed and more than 2 trillion were spent on the Afghan war.
In 2020 when Trump led government made a striking deal with the Taliban and they agreed to leave Afghanistan and the deal was further delivered by Biden. It was in September 2021 that the Taliban again attacked and announced an interim government
BREAKING THE STEREOTYPES FOR WOMEN BY KING AMANULLAH KHAN-1926
In 1926, under his rule he made Afghanistan a constitutional monarchy which made Afghanistan liberal and progressive. He interrupted the pigeonhole of polygamy in the country and married a single woman. Together they started a campaign to abolish polygamy, started schools for education of girls and worked on the Equal rights for women, their divorce rights as well as pushed secular courts and education.
Further in a speech by his wife was mentioned that Islam doesn’t mention any special veil to be worn by women which was seen in the judgement of the Karnataka High Court, where is declared 1“Hijab as not an essential religious practice in Islamic Law”. But one needs to understand the concept in depth to acquire the actual meanings of religious texts.
Chapter 3-
a) RESEARCH QUESTION
The research questions for the topic “Women’s basic right violation in Afghanistan” are
1.Why are the rights of women being violated on large scale?
2.Why is Islam as a religion being blamed?
3.What can be done in order to protect women’s right.
RESEARCH OBJECTIVE
The following are the possible expected outcome from the research
-To find solutions for reforming women’s right.
– Justification of why specific religion should not be blamed based on propagated ideology.
b) RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The method used in conducting the research “Women’s basic right violation in Afghanistan” is doctrinal and library research. And the methodology is mixed which includes both qualitative as well as quantitative form of research. The framework of this research also includes some authentic websites. The research design is framed by literature review. Book by eminent authors has been used as references.
c) DATA ANALYSIS
The information and data for the research topic “Women’s basic right violation in Afghanistan” has been collected and analysed through books, articles and survey of various female individuals through an online questionnaire form created on google.
Fig- Question from Google Questionnaire Showing Mental Harassment.
Fig-Showing Basic Rights Violation on Scale.
Chapter 4-
LITERATURE REVIEW.
1.BOOK
WE ARE AFGHAN WOMEN by George W. Bush Institute and forwarded by Laura Bush.
“2Inspiring stories that not only capture the suffering of Afghan women, but also show their tremendous courage and resilience and the contribution they are making to build a better future for Afghanistan” (Hillary Rodham Clinton).
Laura Bush has been an advocate and ally for the women of Afghanistan for long and has been trying to portray what is being done to the women living in the country and how it is dangerous for young girls and women of all ages.
The book “We are Afghan women” depicts strong resilience and courage of the women living rather suffering under the strict Taliban rule. How they fought with underlining poverty with great courage and persistence, how they struggled with the right to educate themselves when they were isolated and treated as the second-class citizens back in 2001. Through the book, mass female population were being heard.
2. AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
3Under the Taliban rule, the Ministry of Women’s Affairs (MoWA) was replaced by Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. Introducing a dress code is far or less acceptable but based on this barring them from certain things in life, making them inaccessible in the name of under process structuring of things shall not be justified. While in the making of their preferences of structure, the ages of women are lost and can never be regained.
Making higher education inaccessible, denying them of their basic rights and blaming the religion for that is no fair justification. According to a report by Amnesty, 60 women in August were denied to leave the country because they simply had no male chaperone or mahram to accompany them.
The existing laws in the country remains unclear after the Taliban taking over and enforcing stringent sharia laws. The whole process of converting the pre-existential judicial systems into the sharia law system has, no doubt, taken away a lot of rights and protections that were provided to them.
THE RIGHT TO HEALTH
The World Health Organization has declared the enjoyment of highest attainable standards of health as fundamental right of every human being.
And healthcare facilities of women too, at large, being violated. And by violation doesn’t mean denial, it rather implicates the breakdown of health care facilities which are not being restructured under their rule.
As a healthcare has been made inaccessible. As the females are to follow the strict code of having a male chaperone to travel certain distances, what about the females who don’t have any male assistance with them or are orphanage?
3. THE QURAN- Religious Book of the Muslims-
Why is Islam as a religion being blamed?
The way we perceive things might not be as it is grasped by us. The way a religion is blamed based upon what is seen through these propagated medias and having no prior in depth knowledge of the matter whatsoever is no authentic justification to simply declare a religion as cruel to its people, in any manner.
It is clearly mentioned in the holy book of the Muslim that women are a precious blessing to have and they shall not undergo any form of suppression, or cruelty in any way or form. Infact the religion considers its women one of the very most blessing.
If one reads the holy book, it understandably mentions that women are not to be tortured in any form. To quote from the fourth chapter namely An-Nissa.
4(4:19) Believers! It is not lawful for you to become heirs to women against their will.28 It is not lawful that you should put constraint upon them that you may take away anything of what you have given them; (you may not put constraint upon them) unless they are guilty of brazenly immoral conduct.
The way women of Afghanistan are being denied the working opportunities and then the way it is co related to Islam being cruel needs to be given a better understanding of the things actually the way they are.
Chapter 5-
CONCLUSION AND WAY FORWARD.
The infringement of women’s basic rights in Afghanistan has taken a much worse shape than it is. An on-ground study of the matter can resolve the issue of exaggerating the issue. No doubt the country is going through the world’s largest humanitarian crisis but it is also going through the issue of it being a Muslim country under Muslim rule.
What can be done in order to protect women’s right?
Solutions for reforming women’s right
The needs of the people are to be taken into consideration and financial aids should be provide to them to not fully retain the rights of women at once but, to modify them one step at a time.
The UNAMA, United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan should find more constructive ways to promote human rights, humanitarian principles and converting the women’s right as basic human rights.
Basic working opportunities with minimum qualification on education shall be promoted, offered and made available to in different countries along with visa facilities so the women, from their choice opt for them.
India’s ambassador to United Nations, Ruchira Kamboj shall emphasise more on inclusive and representative government for equal rights and more campaign regarding the same shall be promoted on a large-scale basis.
Why are the rights of women being violated on large scale?
The core reason for large scale violation of women’s right, according to me, shall be the time taken by the Taliban in their defence, for restructuring the offices, schools and judiciary matching the preference of segregation of both the genders. And with no financial aid being provided to them, the process of defining resources, working places, educational centres available can be seen with no positive development.
Women are not tortured in America but raped. One out of every six women have been the victim of rape and that is not highlighted by the news reports.
White supremacy in the US is not accentuated on the scale as much as an Islamic agenda is. Mere amplification as done recently in the spread of fake news of 5Bihari migrant workers killed in Tamil Nadu is not needed, we are talking large-scale humanitarian crisis and plight and not some short-term predicament that can be judged from a distance without having a comprehensible and perspicuous knowledge about.
Chapter 6-
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCE
The references in conducting the research on the topic “Women’s basic right violation in Afghanistan” has been taken by the following sources-
– We are Afghan Women by George W. Bush Institute and forwarded by Laura Bush.
– Chapter 4 of the Holy Quran
– Purdah- the status of women in Islam by Sayyid Abul Aala Maudidi
1 https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/wearing-of-hijab-is-not-an-essential-practice-as-per islamic-faith-karnataka-high-court/article65226798.ece
2 https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/We-Are-Afghan-Women/George-W-Bush Institute/9781501120510
3 https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/asia-and-the-pacific/south-asia/afghanistan/report-afghanistan/
4 https://www.islamicstudies.info/tafheem.php?sura=4&verse=57
– https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/wearing-of-hijab-is-not-an-essential practice-as-per-islamic-faith-karnataka-high-court/article65226798.ece
-https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/We-Are-Afghan-Women/George-W-Bush Institute/9781501120510
– https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/asia-and-the-pacific/south-asia/afghanistan/report afghanistan/
– https://www.islamicstudies.info/tafheem.php?sura=4&verse=57-
– https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/fake-news-district-collector-on-fake-news-over-attack-on bihari-migrant-workers-in-tamil-nadu-2342501-2023-03-04
5 https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/fake-news-district-collector-on-fake-news-over-attack-on-bihari migrant-workers-in-tamil-nadu-2342501-2023-03-04
