Catalog

Unveiling Women’s Rights

Genuine and meaningful change can happen, but it must be within the context of Afghan society

By Pamposh Dhar ( pdhar@adb.org )
External Relations Specialist

"The women know that the reason for their suffering, poor health, and poor education is that their rights have been violated"

- Patricia Licuanan, Advisor to the Afghan Ministry of Women’s Affairs

For years, Afghan women have been forced to hide behind the burka, denied education, decent health care, and the right to work.

More than 20 years of war devastated their country, forced them from their homes, and snatched away their means of livelihood.

A national consultation of Afghan women in March 2002 revealed that their priorities for immediate attention were restoring legal and political rights, ensuring personal security, and removing social and cultural barriers to change.

Also on their list were reforms in education, economics, health, and media and information.

“The women know that the reason for their suffering, poor health, and poor education is that their rights have been violated,” notes Patricia Licuanan, an advisor to the Afghan Ministry of Women's Affairs - MOWA.

She was speaking after seminars at ADB on gender issues in postconflict reconstruction; and gender, macroeconomics, and trade.

Ms. Licuanan, who is also President of Miriam College in the Philippines, has been active in the women’s movement both in her own country and internationally. She is a former chairperson of the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women. She also played a key role in the Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing in 1995.

In an interview with ADB, Ms. Licuanan discussed her role as advisor to MOWA. She stressed the need to balance health and education projects with a program to mainstream gender issues, putting them on the agenda in all government departments.

“International development agencies and the Ministry itself are under pressure to support highly visible projects that produce immediate results,” Ms. Licuanan said. “It is important to provide immediate assistance to war widows and orphans, for example.”

But it is no less important to mainstream gender. “This should be the main strategy for the Ministry,” she said. “Every single government agency has to work for women, with MOWA acting as a coordinating ministry.” Bringing gender issues to the forefront of the development agenda will produce immediate as well as long-term results.

The recommendations of the national consultation, presented to the Government and the international community at the celebration of International Women’s Day on 8 March 2002, contained a very clear message to the nation and the world. “The women of Afghanistan clearly want to be actively involved in rebuilding their country,” Ms. Licuanan said. “Women must be equal partners with men in development.” But this is a tall order in a country that has only recently emerged from war and repression.

Development organizations that support women’s development in Afghanistan need to have a long-term commitment to the country. “Abuses do not stop immediately with regime change,” she cautions. “Donor agencies must be here for the long haul.” They also need to be sensitive to Afghan family and cultural values, she adds.

The change of regime has no doubt brought a great sense of relief. “On the streets now you see more women without burkas, women dressed in bright clothes. The sight of young girls in school uniforms is particularly heartwarming.”

But many women still wear the burka, often because it gives them a sense of protection. “The burka has become a Western symbol of women’s oppression, but this may be an oversimplification,” Ms. Licuanan commented. Afghan society remains conservative and change comes slowly. “As in most places in the world, cultural sensitivity is very important.”

Not only is this true for foreigners working in Afghanistan, but also for the Afghans themselves. “Afghan women represent a whole range of openness and modernity. They need to be tolerant of one another, too, and respectful of different values within Afghan society.”

So what is it that the Government and international agencies should strive for in women’s development? “Genuine and meaningful change within the context of Afghan society, Afghan family values, and Islam,” says Ms. Licuanan.

Learn more about ADB's activities in Afghanistan.

Find out how ADB promotes gender and development.

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