Threats against women continue after Taliban

Shukria Barakzai, a female member of Afghanistan’s parliament, continues to receive death threats amid the power struggle between the Taliban and the Afghan government, BBC News reported today.

The threats seem to stem from Barakzai’s support for women’s rights and her continued criticisms of Afghan warlords and Pakistan. The letters are sent by the Afghan government notifying Barakzai and 6 other MPs of threats made against them. While the MPs are notified of their targeted status, the government offers no additional security measures to allow the members to continue their legislative responsibilities without constant fear of being murdered.

“That is all that the government does – send a letter by mail once every month saying my life is under threat. There isn't talk of even providing security,” Barakzai said. “I am going crazy. My friends are telling me to leave the country. My husband is worried. After all, I am also a mother and a wife.”

Although six years have passed since the overthrow of the Taliban, women continue to live in an environment of fear and coercion despite constitutionally recognized rights. With 91 female MPs in Afghanistan, the ability of women to participate in the political realm is a huge step for the Afghan people. Society at large, however, has not so quickly broken with traditions of gender inequality.

Forced marriages, honor killings and rape continue to plague Afghan women. Last year, over 1,500 cases of atrocities against women were documented by Afghanistan’s Independent Human Rights Commission. Tribal councils continue to decide the fate of women in rural areas and almost always rule against them.

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U.N. human rights chief speaks at CHRC briefing

As part of her Washington visit, Louise Arbour, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, spoke today at a Congressional Human Rights Caucus Members’ Briefing. Arbour discussed the international human rights framework and her requests for legislative action on the part of the United States.

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is charged with promoting and protecting the rights enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and in numerous international human rights laws and treaties. The OHCHR mandate includes preventing human rights violations, securing respect for all human rights, promoting international cooperation to protect human rights, coordinating related activities throughout the U.N., and strengthening and streamlining the U.N. system concerning human rights. OHCHR also leads efforts to integrate a human rights approach within all work carried out by U.N. agencies.

OHCHR acts as one of the three major U.N. human rights institutions. Along with OHCHR, international human rights treaties and conventions and the Human Rights Council, help to collectively ensure human rights advocacy and protection. One new development emphasized by Arbour today was the likelihood of a new Human Rights Council obligation to perform Universal Periodic Reviews to monitor and critique the status of human rights in all U.N. member nations. In addition to this new additional system of review, the Human Rights Council will also hold talks on the continuation of the primary discussion concerning human rights violations by Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. While the council will vote at the next scheduled meeting, Arbour was confident that the issue would continue to be discussed based on the need to ensure that human rights protection is universally implemented in all cases.

The High Commissioner also called for the U.S. to ratify several human rights treaties. Arbour was critical of the disconnect between America’s rhetorical advocacy for human rights and lack of actual formal support for treaties such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the forthcoming Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

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U.S. law group hosts discussion on Afghan judicial system

In a luncheon today sponsored by the American Society for International Law’s (ASIL) Women in International Law Interest Group, Joan D. Winship of the International Association of Women Judges spoke concerning the current state of the Afghan judicial system and issues of equality within that system. Despite the dismissal of women judges during the Taliban’s reign, interest has started to peak once again with the hope of increasing awareness among Afghanistan’s youth.

In association with the International Association of Women Judges (IAWJ) and the Afghan Women Judges Association, the “Legal Awareness Program” has started to gain popularity in high schools around Kabul. Although the program is currently only administered in all-girl schools, the hope is that the desire for equality and rule of law will allow more schools to participate in this program.

The Legal Awareness Program is designed to educate and train high school women and their teachers on the relevance of international human rights law within the new Afghan constitution and judicial system. The program focuses on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), in addition to various regional declarations, as a means of confirming the rights of all persons within Afghan society. The essential aspect of this program is to create awareness among a whole generation of young Afghans as to the prospects of an equal and just society that does not discriminate against educated and professional women.

The goal of the Legal Awareness Program is to continue progress in the battle against gender discrimination in Afghan society. Although the number of female judges in Afghanistan rose from 34 in 2004 to 50 in 2007, a female judge has still never been appointed to the country’s Supreme Court – a feat that will hopefully be realized through the education and motivation of those participating in this program. As social barriers are beginning to break, the IAWJ is determined to provide an educational foundation which takes precedence over previous generations of illiteracy and dependence to bring forth a new emphasis on equality and rights for the Afghan people as a whole.