Afghan women hope for breakthrough

Legal rights are returning for women, but gradually

By Kate Clark BBC Kabul correspondent

During the Taleban era, Afghan women wearing the face-covering burqa became the symbol of invisible, anonymous suffering.

The burqa itself became an icon - a visual image of the Taleban for much of the world. Many people seemed to assume that women here would be liberated once they could take it off.

It is military men who mainly still wield political power in Afghanistan - which makes it difficult for any woman to be heard

Newspapers around the world reported that fact as soon as Kabul fell.

But in truth, there has been no rush to unveil. Almost all women, even in the relatively liberal capital, Kabul, are still wearing the burqa.

But few Afghan women seem that bothered about it.

"It's dull wearing it, I know," said Massouda. "When Taleban influence has completely died away, we'll stop wearing it again, but really, I've got more important things to think about."

Preoccupied by hardships

Massouda, who has a sick husband, is the main breadwinner for her family. Feeding her children was a nightmare under the Taleban when all women except health professionals were banned from working outside the home.

Sometimes I'm astonished how I have survived. Being forced to stay at home under the Taleban took me to the edge of endurance

Safia

Afghan women here scarcely mention the burqa - their main concerns are the economy and security. Peace has come, but it remains fragile. Most parents struggle to get their children fed.

Many Afghans do not really differentiate between the hardships of the Taleban and the pre-Taleban era.

In a city like Kabul, it all felt like one long continuing nightmare - harsh Taleban restrictions followed four years of rocketing by the armed factions - from 1992 to 1996. It was a time of lawlessness when women feared for their very survival.

Women have begun to take their place alongside men in government

"From the time the war started in Afghanistan, none of us had a happy day," says Safia.

"Sometimes I'm astonished how I have survived. Being forced to stay at home under the Taleban took me to the edge of endurance.

"It was torture mentally and economically. Whenever the bombing started, my son - who is now a young man - used to say, 'I was born in war, I grew up in war and I will die in war.' I could not bear the pain of that", she said.

Bitter past

Many of the factions who fought over Kabul 10 years ago are now back in government. The thousands of armed men who entered the city after the Taleban fled are still here - despite the Bonn Peace Accords saying they must leave the city.

Who does she think she is walking about half-naked?

Comment to woman without burqa

That is partly why women still fear to walk around the city unveiled.

Safora Walid - a member of the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) - says: "The main reason women haven't [taken off the burqa] is the presence of armed men in the city.

"We still haven't forgotten the bitter experiences of 1992 and the unhealable wounds inflicted by the fundamentalists during that time."

It is military men who mainly still wield political power in Afghanistan - which makes it difficult for any woman to be heard.

Room for manoeuvre

Even so, legal rights are returning - even if exercising those rights is not easy. Afghan girls can now legally go to school. However, most children here - boys and girls - have never had schools to go to.

• Women can now work outside the home - if they can find jobs
• Women need no longer fear arrest for travelling without a male relative in a taxi
• City girls and young women can wear jeans under their burqas now that the feared religious police have fled Kabul
• A tiny few dare to leave home bare-faced.

Afghan men have not generally seen unrelated women for over five years. In particular, any young woman who walks outside without a burqa will be stared at and probably insulted.

Harsh Taleban restrictions are now lifted

"I get a lot of comments," said one woman in her early twenties.

"'Shame on you', they say. 'Who does she think she is walking about half-naked?' Half-naked means without the burqa. I haven't tried going to the bazaar without it yet."

This is still a conservative society where most women marry in their teens and have large families. Many would think it a dishonour to walk outside without veiling. But for those from more liberal families, there is now some legal room for manoeuvre.

The Taleban imposed the most conservative Afghan social mores on the whole society. That totalitarianism is gone. There are still fundamentalists in government or close to it. Afghan radio and television rarely plays women singers.

Finding their rightful place

However, thanks mainly to the Taleban, Afghan women are firmly, visibly on the agenda.

Afghan women hope for a democratic society, so they can regain all the rights they lost in the past

Soraya Parlika

No-one used to complain about the lack of women in Afghan government. Earlier United Nations peace processes hardly mentioned them.

The Bonn Peace Accords say that the Afghan Government must eventually be "broad-based, gender-sensitive, multi-ethnic and fully representative".

It is now virtually impossible for aid agencies to get funding for any programme which is not gender equitable. Not so five years ago.

And male Afghan leaders - many scarcely less fundamentalist than the Taleban - at least pay lip service to the need for women's participation.

There are two women ministers - among the most able in the entire Afghan cabinet. The next government - due to be established in June - should be more democratic.

The veteran women's rights activist, Soraya Parlika, is a member of the commission setting up the ground rules for what will amount to indirect elections.

"We're trying to find a suitable place for the women of Afghanistan - not only key positions in government but also in society. I'm very hopeful that in the next transitional government, many women will have responsibilities.

"Afghan women hope for a democratic society, so they can regain all the rights they lost in the past."