Volume 03 Issue 09-2023
22
International Journal Of History And Political Sciences
(ISSN
–
2771-2222)
VOLUME
03
ISSUE
09
P
AGES
:
22-25
SJIF
I
MPACT
FACTOR
(2021:
5.
705
)
(2022:
5.
705
)
(2023:
6.
713
)
OCLC
–
1121105677
Publisher:
Oscar Publishing Services
Servi
ABSTRACT
This article discusses the rise and fall of women’s rights in Afghanistan, attempts to shed light on social reforms, their
positive and negative effects, and the role of state and non-
state actors in supporting or nullifying women’s rights.
KEYWORDS
Islamic Emirate, UNCRC, CEDAW, EVAW, NAPWA, UN Security Council, NAP.
INTRODUCTION
The struggle for women’s rights in Afghanistan dates
back to the 19th century. Afghan society is deeply
conservative, religious, and patriarchal, and there has
often been a dangerous struggle and competition for
women's rights defenders. Social reforms for the
liberation of women were one of the reasons for
sending Amonullah Khan into exile in 1929 and
destroying the communist and republican regimes.
It is worth noting that, despite the political changes,
there were no strong and independent public
institutions to maintain the state in Afghanistan.
Women's rights in Afghanistan have changed
throughout history depending on who has ruled the
country. While some governments have recognized
and strengthened the position of women in Afghan
society by implementing various social reforms, others
have caused them to lose their place in society by
canceling the reforms. These social reforms aimed at
strengthening the position of women were carried out
by Amonullah, Zahirshah and the communist regime
under the Soviet leadership for a certain period, while
Habibullah Khan, Mujahideen and 'The Taliban'
governments canceled these reforms.
DISCUSSION AND RESULTS
With the establishment of the Islamic Emirate of
Afghanistan in 1996, 'The Taliban' pursued a very
aggressive policy. They banned girls from getting an
education after the age of eight, forced women to
work, forced them to cover their entire bodies,
Research Article
SOCIAL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS OF WOMEN IN AFGHANISTAN SOCIETY
Submission Date:
September 09, 2023,
Accepted Date:
September 14, 2023,
Published Date:
September 19, 2023
Crossref doi:
https://doi.org/10.37547/ijhps/Volume03Issue09-05
Mohidil M. Nizamova
Tashkent State University Of Oriental Studies International Relations And World Politics 2nd Stage Graduate
Student, Uzbekistan
Journal
Website:
https://theusajournals.
com/index.php/ijhps
Copyright:
Original
content from this work
may be used under the
terms of the creative
commons
attributes
4.0 licence.
Volume 03 Issue 09-2023
23
International Journal Of History And Political Sciences
(ISSN
–
2771-2222)
VOLUME
03
ISSUE
09
P
AGES
:
22-25
SJIF
I
MPACT
FACTOR
(2021:
5.
705
)
(2022:
5.
705
)
(2023:
6.
713
)
OCLC
–
1121105677
Publisher:
Oscar Publishing Services
Servi
including their faces, in public, and banned women
from seeing male doctors. Men were members of the
family, and women were forbidden to speak loudly in
public. They banned women's voices on radio
broadcasts and made it illegal to show any images of
women in public or at home .
In 2001, after the US-led coalition forces entered the
country, a new constitution was adopted in 2004,
according to which men and women have equal rights
. In it, 25 percent of parliamentary deputies and
regional council deputies, as well as 30 percent of the
civil service were reserved for women. It is also
Afghanistan Women's Rights Act 1325 to promote the
future of every woman and develop their contribution
to the development of a culture of peace, strengthen
leadership roles, combat gender-based violence
against women and girls All international conventions
such as (UNCRPD) and the Convention on the
Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
were to be respected and implemented. At the same
time, the Ministry of Women's Affairs was established
as the main div responsible for expanding women's
rights and opportunities. The Elimination of Violence
Against Women Act (EVAW) , the National Action Plan
for Afghan Women (NAPWA) and the National Action
Plans (NAP) for the implementation of UN Security
Council Resolution 1325 were adopted .
Women were appointed as ministers, advisers, deputy
ministers, governors of regions, heads of the Human
Rights Commission. A number of funding schemes
have been launched to implement policies supporting
women's rights and to encourage women's
participation in civil society, the media, culture and
sport, and the private sector. Conducting short-term
and long-term trainings to increase the capacity of
women in various fields, increase citizens' awareness
of women's rights, provide shelter to victims of
domestic violence, and support women entrepreneurs
in small and medium-sized enterprises. many projects
to support business start-up were developed and
implemented.
After the fall of 'The Taliban' regime in 2001 and the
strong involvement of the international community,
conservative elements of society such as 'The Taliban'
retreated and did not oppose any of these reforms.
Even supporters of conservative politics have realized
that the people are dissatisfied with the Taliban. Under
their rule, not much has been achieved other than
imposing radical rule and isolation in Afghanistan by
engaging in drug trafficking, providing safe havens for
terrorists, and persecuting women and minorities.
After September 11, when the US and its allies
withdrew their military forces into Afghanistan,
gender, social injustice, oppression, and intimidation
decreased to a certain extent, and republic, equality,
freedom, and democracy were partially restored. This
was one of the opportunities for Afghan women.
Women's participation in social life has begun to
develop, which is evidenced by the progressive
participation and leadership of Afghan women in
various fields across the country.
In 2014, Ashraf Ghani was appointed as the President
of Afghanistan. Partly because of his reformist image,
Ghani attracted large numbers of voters among
women and youth, promising social, political and
economic reforms. After the National Unity
Government was launched, his wife opened the First
Lady's Office to serve Afghan women and children.
During this period, the benefits were not only observed
in the government, but 3G internet and cheap Chinese
smartphones enabled thousands of Afghan girls across
the country to access social platforms such as
Facebook and Twitter and stay informed about
Volume 03 Issue 09-2023
24
International Journal Of History And Political Sciences
(ISSN
–
2771-2222)
VOLUME
03
ISSUE
09
P
AGES
:
22-25
SJIF
I
MPACT
FACTOR
(2021:
5.
705
)
(2022:
5.
705
)
(2023:
6.
713
)
OCLC
–
1121105677
Publisher:
Oscar Publishing Services
Servi
Afghanistan and the world. Private TV channels
allowed girls and families to watch Indian, Turkish and
Western TV series, to get acquainted with the culture
and traditions of other countries. At the same time,
access to education has increased significantly in urban
and rural Afghanistan, and private courses have
enabled girls to learn English and communicate with
the world. In a short period of time (from 2014 to 2019),
all these changes were significant .
However, after the recapture of Kabul by 'The Taliban'
on August 15, 2021, the rights of Afghan women in the
country were again violated and they were confined to
their homes, undermining economic stability. Such
opportunities and rights that Afghan women have
gained in the last twenty years have disappeared.
Whether it is girls' enrollment in schools and
universities, women's employment in the public
service,
women's
participation
in
public
administration, business entrepreneurship, civil society
and mass media advocacy, women's rights not only
cases of restricting their rights, but also their rights and
freedoms have increased .
The international community is giving priority to the
empowerment of women in Afghanistan. It appears
that the movement for women's rights was a
controversial and dangerous movement that was used
as one of the reasons for the fall of governments.
Although Islamist and conservative groups ostensibly
base their opposition to women's rights on Islam,
women's liberation actually runs counter to the
country's conservative traditions, which deeply value
female modesty and chastity. It is very difficult for the
patriarchal society of Afghanistan to empower
women, allow them to exercise their rights and be
independent.
The sincere and tireless efforts of the Afghan women's
movement would not have been successful without
the strong financial and political support of the
international community. It is the US forces that have
been largely dependent on the financial support of
international donors. Until the establishment of the
Provisional Administration under the leadership of 'The
Taliban', the socio-economic situation of women
worsened again. In general, conservative and
fundamentalist groups such as 'The Taliban' strongly
and aggressively oppose women's rights.
CONCLUSION
As a result of various crises and conflicts in
Afghanistan, as well as due to the influence of the
layers of religious movements in the country, the social
and political rights of the Afghan people have been
limited. During the leadership of Afghan Emir
Amonullah Khan, Zahir Shah, former Afghan President
Hamid Karzai, and Ashraf Ghani, the Afghan people
were free and their rights were ensured, and a number
of reforms were carried out, but like 'The Taliban' the
policies of radical and conservative forces that severely
limit the opportunities of the Afghan people are still
continuing. This may return the Afghan society to the
Middle Ages and lead the country to socio-political
chaos. The fact that 'The Taliban' has imposed more
than 30 prohibitions against women reflects the above
picture.
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Islamic
Republic
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Afghnistan.
The
Constitution of the Islamic Republic of
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Volume 03 Issue 09-2023
25
International Journal Of History And Political Sciences
(ISSN
–
2771-2222)
VOLUME
03
ISSUE
09
P
AGES
:
22-25
SJIF
I
MPACT
FACTOR
(2021:
5.
705
)
(2022:
5.
705
)
(2023:
6.
713
)
OCLC
–
1121105677
Publisher:
Oscar Publishing Services
Servi
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