Parliamentary Election, Kabul, 2005, ©Aina Photo Agency

Introduction

Since the mid-1970s Afghanistan has been dominated by a spiral of violence which could not be reversed until the aftermath of Operation Enduring Freedom in late 2001. Since then Afghanistan has made considerable progress in recovering from three decades of devastation.  In accordance with the 2001 Bonn Agreement, necessary steps were taken to establish democratic values and institutions, including the new Constitution of Afghanistan, the presidential elections, and the establishment of the Parliament through elections.

Despite these and many other real changes brought about in the lives of most Afghans, especially women, Afghans continues to suffer from human rights abuses in many areas of life. This is further exacerbated by mounting insecurity, weak governance, and a booming drug economy.  Amongst all the challenges Afghanistan continues to face, this paper focuses on progress and shortcomings in the area of women’s rights and their participation in society, followed by a number of recommendations on how to further improve the condition of women at this juncture. While Afghan women have succeeded to reframe their role in society and in politics since 2002, there is room for much further progress to be made in improving the state of women's rights and participation in order to fulfill the expectations of Afghans and international actors/partners.

The dominant perspective of this paper is that of an insider and long-term civil society activist. It is based on access to realities on the ground that may not be easily accessible to outside observers. For that reason, its focus is on the long road ahead, while acknowledging the huge strides taken in the restoration of women’s rights in Afghanistan beyond the Bonn accord. The paper begins with a brief overview of the history of women’s rights in Afghanistan, in an effort to provide a context for the efforts and expectations of women in today’s Afghanistan.  Widely disseminated data about women is only briefly referred to for two reasons: a/ to avoid repetition of already available data, and b/ the purpose of this paper is to paint a more accurate and realistic picture of what pure data can offer.  The paper ends by offering a number of recommendations for action in different areas.