THE DECLARATION OF THE ESSENTIAL RIGHTS OF AFGHAN WOMEN
AND THE LEGITIMACY OF AFGHANISTAN
BY NASRINE GROSS
Essential rights of Afghan women relate to the
Constitution of the state of Afghanistan. The constitution of a
country is the highest law of the land which describes the essential
rights of each citizen as well as responsibilities and obligations of
the state and the nation vis-à-vis each other. Constituting the
identity card of legitimacy, sovereignty, and political, military and
territorial independence of a state, the constitution of a country is
initiated from the will of the nation and guarantees the rights that
human dignity bestows on individuals.
On the other hand, political groups and parties of a country are
situated at the level of the government on a lower plane than the
constitution, and all of them without exception must respect the
constitution and apply it. The manner of implementing the constitution
constitutes the particular platform of each party and group, on the
basis of which, each group participates in elections and the winner
becomes in charge of the government.
The Declaration of the Essential Rights of Afghan Women has been
created for the future constitution of Afghanistan. No political
groups (which in the current situation are tantamount to political
parties) have had a hand in it. Planners, writers, drafters and
signatories of this declaration have only been Afghan women from all
over Afghanistan.
Organizers of the Dushanbe Conference that created the Declaration
were only members and woman friends of Negar-Support of Women of
Afghanistan. No political group of Afghanistan was or is involved in
any aspects of organizing or financing of the conference or the
Declaration.
The Declaration was created on the basis of two critical points about
Afghanistan, which up to now have not received the attention they
deserve. One is about the legitimacy of a state within its own
borders, and the other is about the self-determination of a nation in
the eyes of the world.
In the first place, during the last four years, the Taliban militias,
for the first time in the history of Afghanistan, have officially
revoked the essential rights of Afghan women by means of written
decrees. It should be noted that similar to what happened to women
during the Communist regime and the subsequent Mujaheddeen
governments, the Taliban today trample the rights of Afghan men also,
without officially revoking these rights. By contrast, in relation to
the twelve million women of Afghanistan, the Taliban have outlawed
these rights with written decrees which they have implemented in
practice. In the case of Afghan men, it is an issue of violation of
human rights. In the case of the revocation by force and edict of the
rights of Afghan women, it is an issue of the constitution of
Afghanistan, and therefore, a political issue.
In the Declaration, all the twelve million women of Afghanistan are
equally included regardless of their social and political
affiliations; they not only have these rights but also own them for
themselves. For the original three hundred signatories of the
Declaration (the writer being one of them), it is very important that
the major supporting documents of this Declaration are the
Constitutions of 1964 and 1977 of Afghanistan as well as declarations
and conventions of the United Nations. The definition of an Afghan is
taken from these two constitutions, which identify every Afghan woman
a legitimate Afghan and recognize for each one of them essential
rights, without regards to language, race, ethnicity, locality,
religion, sect or historical background.
Furthermore, for the Declaration, national traditions of Afghanistan
have been paramount and not the traditions of a particular social
group or locality. The Declaration totally respects local and social
traditions of Afghanistan and whoever wants to follow them are
completely free to do so. But for the Declaration, forcing every one
by law to follow specific local and/or social traditions is
totalitarian and supremacist and therefore not acceptable. Based on
this reasoning, the wearing or non-wearing of the chadari (burqa) and
scarf, which is part of social traditions of Afghanistan, should
remain a social
tradition like before, on a voluntary basis, a choice of the Afghan
woman and within the authority of her family; it should not be
implemented as law for every woman. In addition, the Declaration is in
no way related to the personal interrelationships and mores of Afghan
families, such as the relationship between husband and wife. Finally,
laws on the second level of legal hierarchy, emanating from the
ministry of justice, like those pertaining to inheritance, are also
considered outside the scope of the Declaration.
The ten articles of rights mentioned in the Declaration are all rights
that Afghan women enjoyed in the past and none is extreme but
essential.* They are not from Hollywood actresses or westernized
mentality but are completely in tune with the Afghan history and
national character. Contrary to current propaganda, the Afghan
national character, which emanates from our Afghan national
traditions, is moderate, forward looking and civilized, without
extremes of fanaticism and prejudice.
For example, in 1965, this writer along with hundreds of other Afghan
girls including Jews and Hindus, was a student in Kabul University.
Many of us went there without a chadari or scarf, with full backing of
our families and official authorities; we studied with boys in the
same class and had many male teachers; we wore short skirts, pale
nylons,
high-heeled shoes, with make up on our face and polish on our nails;
we moved about freely and without an escort and chose our physician
ourselves; the number of women engaged in government work, business,
schools, agriculture and other social and economic activities was
noticeably on the rise; and we enjoyed all our essential and political
rights including the right to vote. At the same time, we wore, as we
do today, a scarf for wakes and other religious activities. There were
also women who regularly wore a scarf or chadari and they were neither
prevented from doing so, nor anyone judged them negatively.
Perpetrators of all types of crimes, from rape, kidnapping, and theft
to any kind of felony, were sent to a court of law for punishment. All
these activities neither lowered our dignity nor hurt the honor of the
Afghan men. No Afghan jurist, leader, intellectual, nor any of the
farmers, rural people or even the illiterates ever told us that our
actions were against our Afghan character or against our religion or
that they created discord among social groups. During a trip to the
country, in 1975, I found this situation more extended and in full
swing. In fact, indications are that until 1996, the rights of women
had not changed much. On a trip to Dushanbe in June of 2000, among
about seven hundred women refugees who were mostly from the provinces,
not Kabul, I found the situation to be much the same.
Afghan women comprise fifty percent of the Afghan nation, and their
rights constitute one of the national interests of Afghanistan.
Revoking these rights by decree is against the best interests of the
country. This revocation has not emanated from the will of the people
of Afghanistan but through brute force of one group who is trying to
consolidate the grip of a foreign power, without regard to
representing the people or defending the rights of the nation. In this
situation, it is clear that legitimacy has been lost and does not
exist. The Taliban decrees are an irrefutable record of this lack of
legitimacy, and the
Declaration, an irrefutable witness to the wishes of the Afghan
nation.
Neither supremacist edicts, nor drama, nor short-term undertakings
will resolve the problem of the Afghan woman. Rather, we must take
this tragic situation, as an opportunity. We must choose a path that
will not only cut to the core of the problem and prevent its repeat in
the future but also carry our voice peacefully to the world. This core
lies in the Constitution and the Declaration itself is a legitimate,
appropriate and direct path to it.
As for the second point regarding the international aspect, the
essential rights of Afghan women is not an emotional embarrassment
full of fear and dishonor; it is one of the key fundamental issues in
the problem of Afghanistan today vis-a-vis the international
community. This revocation of the rights of Afghan women is a
situation that is directly connected to the self-determination of the
Afghan nation. By revoking the rights of fifty percent of the Afghan
nation, i.e., those of women, not only the economic weight of the
country has been cut in half, but the credibility of Afghanistan as a
civilized country capable of governing itself has been decreased in a
systematic manner. This has been done purposefully - and successfully
- so that, in the eyes of the world, the legitimacy of Afghanistan as
an independent and sovereign country is damaged. Pakistan has worked
hard in this area and continues to do so and has been able to
skillfully manipulate the international media to imperceptibly make
this point to the world community.
Without the Afghan people raising their voice in this regard, our
silence is construed as agreement and the situation will become more
dangerous. In my view, the Declaration of the Essential Rights of
Afghan Women is one of the most crucial documents that the Afghan
nation has created for itself in exile, that shows our own position as
Afghans,
clarifies our wishes, and nullifies the manipulation of our enemies.
For those in the world who portray us as an illiterate and uncivilized
country and hence without the ability to govern itself, this
Declaration is a totally modern, professional, logical and documented
defense of our Afghanness. We believe that those internal and external
groups involved
in finding a solution to the problem of Afghanistan can use this
document as a supporting document in their own literature, and thus by
referencing it, can strengthen their own claims. With this document
Afghanistan’s international friends also can enter into activities on
its behalf in a sure and convincing manner.
The Declaration underscores the wish of the Afghan nation to a return
to the rule of law, the behavior of states within accepted norms of
conduct through channels of laws. In much of the twentieth century,
Afghanistan represented a good example in the rule of law and was
recognized as such in the family of nations. In spite of the many
shortcomings that have now led to many criticisms, Afghanistan was
essentially a country of laws and believed in resolving conflict
through discussion, negotiation and due process. Not once did
Afghanistan invade another country, and to govern, it resorted to the
opinion of its citizens, as witness the processes of the Constitutions
and Loya Jirgas. The Declaration
believes the time has come for us Afghans to remember this wonderful
history and remind the world of it as well. It is time to utilize this
great past in the lawful manner that our heritage attests to and our
human dignity warrants. It is time to say to ourselves and to the
world ‘the way of smuggling and whipping is not ours; we are people of
writ
and law’.
One must be mindful that any movement and especially a women’s
movement is always a difficult and slow process. Particularly Afghan
women raising their voice face bigger challenges because the many
enemies of Afghanistan create confusion, disinformation and propaganda
not only among the international community but also among us, Afghans.
I am however certain that the Afghan nation is sure of its own worth
and best
interests and will help the Declaration in this process. Today,
restoring the rightful place of Afghan women is restoring the rightful
place of Afghanistan in the family of nations.
Negar-Support of Women of Afghanistan is planning and with its
supporters including myself, has already started work to make this
Declaration a part of the process of the United Nations for a just,
honorable and durable peace of Afghanistan so that it will eventually
become part of the next constitution. We believe that the path of war
for restoring Afghanistan’s independence and sovereignty is no longer
possible. The only road remaining is to create an international outcry
that denounces might and force and becomes an effective pressure in
support of Afghanistan’s self-determination, like the international
pressure that helped terminate apartheid in South Africa. We therefore
want to obtain active endorsement from women’s groups, governments and
international organizations of the world. For such a plan to succeed,
however, the voice of the Afghan nation is a must, not in the form of
drama, killings and noise, but in a rational and professional manner,
to give weight and validity to the international pressure. Although
the human rights venue is one such way, it is not a political way and
therefore not a response in kind. The Declaration of the Essential
Rights of Afghan Women is a political measure and forms one of the
most important documents in this area.
* For a full text of the Declaration, see elsewhere in this website.
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