Women’s Rights in Afghanistan, especially in the southern region of the country

This article is an original piece sent through to Channel16, although the author’s name has been omitted for safety purposes. Views expressed are the author’s own.

Afghanistan has faced decades of war and during that period, the citizens most affected have been the women and girls in provinces. The women have to face fighting, abuse, hunger, no access to health and education.  The women were locked at home and were only used for home use as servants and they had no rights to speak, express their feelings or have time to rest. The women have faced many difficulties during the period of the war.

After the invasion of the new government, things started changing; girls’ education was encouraged on a country level, women started working, women were elected as leaders; they started feeling part of civil society and that they had equal rights and opportunities.  But the picture is not the same all around the country; in some parts of the country the women are still waiting to get their rights, to be called part of society and to get the chance to participate in the development of society.

Southern provinces are a part of the country where, after 10 years of invasion, still it is very difficult to talk about women and women’s rights. Still, early marriages occur, girls are taken out of school or are targeted on their way going to school. This brings insecurity into the community, especially for the women that are kept at home and far away from all of the facilities provided by the international communities, government and civil society.

Recently in Kandahar, in the month of August and September 2011, 2 working females were assassinated on their way going back home from the office; they were targeted because they were working for civil society or with government. They were targeted because they were working for their people and for their community; the people and the insurgent groups did not respect the precious work done by them. Women are mostly targeted in the province because they are soft targets and the morale of women can also be affected by the incident and news of it, which gets spread in the community.

The government is not taking necessary action at all in the province to safeguard women and their rights to education, and to be able to work and support their civil society. Women’s rights and giving equal rights to women is not a priority for the government in Kandahar and that’s why the women in the province are still left without any resources and are not being provided with essential services.

But even facing so many difficulties and threats of losing their lives, still there are a number of women in the province who are still continuing to work and provide essential services to the poor and vulnerable communities of Kandahar and other provinces in southern part of the country. Women are working with lots of stress over them but still have managed to have lots of achievements. They not only have to struggle in the community but also in their houses between their family and family members.

Women will keep on working in Kandahar and with a hope that there will be peace and a safe environment in the province: where everybody can live by their own wishes without stress.