USAID to put $300 million into women's rights in Afghanistan
| Kabul, Afghanistan
To a visitor wandering through the streets of Kabul 鈥� a capital city with an international airport, a multi-story shopping mall, and a population of 3.2 million 鈥� the blue ghosts are hard to ignore. The city鈥檚 sidewalks are full of them: figures shrouded in burqas 鈥� long swathes of cloth that cover the wearer completely, apart from a small scrap of mesh fabric in front of the eyes that offers a window onto the world outside.聽
Those ghosts of Kabul, all of whom are women, are less common today than when Afghanistan was under the Taliban鈥檚 rule in the 1990s, when it was against the law for a woman to leave her house unless she was wearing a burqa. And today, there are almost as many women on the streets of Kabul who wear headscarves that leave their faces, if not their hair, exposed.
But while the standing of women in Afghan society has improved in some ways since the dark days of the Taliban, thanks in part to the work of international aid agencies and nongovernmental organizations, much is left to be done: Literacy rates among Afghan women hover around 12 percent; more than 90 percent of women here believe that their husbands are justified in beating them if they misbehave, and there are tremendous cultural hurdles to leap along the way.
The latest, biggest move on Afghan women鈥檚 issues is coming from the US government. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) announced in 2012 that it plans to spend $313 million to support the development of Afghan women over the next five years.
It is a massive undertaking in terms of the sheer amount of money, which is more, observers say, than anything that has been spent on women鈥檚 issues in the past in this country. But the project also faces serious challenges, in terms of security, management, and execution.
鈥淚t鈥檚 encouraging that the US is showing that kind of long-term commitment to Afghan women 鈥� but nobody knows what鈥檚 going to happen over the next five years,鈥� says Louise Hancock, the head of policy and advocacy at Oxfam Afghanistan. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a shame that they didn鈥檛 look at doing this kind of project earlier when there would have been a greater chance of success.鈥�
Tenuous time for Afghanistan
With most international forces due to leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014, no one knows what the security situation will look like two years from now. The Taliban and other insurgent groups still control many rural areas of Afghanistan, and their suicide attacks have struck Kabul at a rate of at least once a month over the past few years.
Things could become even more complicated if Afghanistan鈥檚 government, which is currently led by President Hamid Karzai, reaches out to conservative groups to further the peace process after international forces leave.
Such considerations led one nongovernmental organization, the Afghanistan Human Rights and Democracy Organization, to conclude in a 2012 report that 鈥渕ost of women鈥檚 important achievements over the last decade are likely to be reversed鈥� after 2014.
The USAID project, called Women in Transition, aims to further women鈥檚 rights at precisely this challenging time.
Supporting Afghan women could 鈥済reatly improve the country鈥檚 development prospects during and after Transition,鈥� USAID said in a 300-page draft document that was released in January. 鈥淚t is the ideal moment in time to substantiate the [US government鈥檚] pledge to Afghan women that 鈥榳e will not abandon you!鈥欌��
The project is certainly ambitious in scope: Among its many goals, it aims to place 7,500 young women in government internships; offer business training for women entrepreneurs; help Afghan universities develop women鈥檚 studies curricula; and give promising young women the chance to meet female leaders who might serve as role models.
鈥楤rilliant鈥� concept, but will it work?
鈥淭he concept is brilliant,鈥� says Farkhundah Naderi, a female Afghan parliamentarian, after reviewing the USAID document that offers details on the project. 鈥淏ut I hope there is going to be very strong monitoring,鈥� she added. 鈥淎t the end of the day, effectiveness is so important.鈥� 聽
That鈥檚 an element that hasn鈥檛 always been present in previous foreign aid projects that have aimed to help Afghan women, Ms. Naderi says. At the same time, the constant push on women鈥檚 rights since the fall of the Taliban has left some Afghans with a bitter taste in their mouths. 聽
鈥淔or 11 years they have heard 鈥榳omen鈥檚 rights, women鈥檚 rights, women鈥檚 rights,鈥� and they cannot see that much difference in their lives,鈥� Naderi says, adding that 鈥渕en are jealous鈥� of the attention that has been showered on women.
That raises the larger question of whether aid agencies and other foreign actors can truly influence attitudes in a society that has so long treated women as second-class citizens.
Building long-term relationships at the community level is critical to changing people鈥檚 mindsets, says Chona Echavez, the deputy director for research at the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit, an NGO based in Kabul. Over time, Ms. Echavez says, she has seen Afghan men adjust their views on how women should be treated, especially when they have been presented with hard data on topics like women鈥檚 health.
鈥淧eople should not just say because of tradition, because of culture, because of security, we cannot do this,鈥� Echavez says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really a process 鈥� there are no shortcuts.鈥澛�
