Home

Afghanistan

Women’s Rights in Afghanistan and Pakistan - Genuine Concerns or Political Considerations
Taking the case of the new Shia family law introduced in Afghanistan in 2009, the author argues that international pressure for women’s rights is selective. There is no pressure for granting the Sunni women of Afghanistan or teenagers in Pakistan their rights as human beings. The current phase of condemnation is less about women’s rights and more about achieving the agenda of some Western nations to malign President Karzai’s government. I do not intend to defend President Karzai in any way but at the same time refuse to support this politicization of the Human Rights issue.
Rights and Democracy - Afghanistan

Rights & Democracy - Afghanistan is a WLUML networking institution.It has been in operation since 2002, and started by establishing the Women’s Rights in Afghanistan Fund, aimed at financially supporting initiatives launched by Afghan women’s organizations, with funding from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). Since April 2007, Rights & Democracy’s team in Afghanistan has been working on a new project entitled A Measure of Equality for Afghan Women: Rights in Practice.

Humanitarian Assistance for the Women and Children of Afghanistan (HAWCA)

HAWCA is an Afghan national NGO dedicated to working for the social wellbeing of all people with a particular focus on women and children who live in Afghanistan or in refugee communities in Pakistan. HAWCA recognises that violence against women and girls is one of the most prevalent forms of discrimination in Afghanistan. The organisation provides direct help and assistance to women facing violence and uses its experience to raise awareness within the communities of Afghanistan, with the national government and internationally.

Afghan Women’s Skills Development Centre (AWSDC)

AWSDC is a non profit organization established in 1999 with programming focusing on the needs of Afghan women, including widows and the disabled or chronically ill, and orphan children. The goals of AWSDC are to reduce the suffering of Afghan women and children through promotion of peace and initiation of rehabilitation and development oriented projects reaching the most vulnerable populations in the remote and urban areas of Afghanistan. Currently it is functioning through a central office in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Afghan Women’s Network (AWN)

AWN is comprised of over 3000 individual members from Afghanistan and Pakistan and over 72 Afghan women non-government organizations. AWN was created in 1995 by Afghan women as they recognized the value of working collaboratively towards their common goals. The network members work in both Pakistan and Afghanistan to the benefit of all Afghan women: refugees, rural women and educated women. As a representational and capacity building body, AWN is playing a critical role in the transition and reconstruction of Afghanistan.

“The summer pastures of Afghanistan”
Afghanistan’s 30 million hectares of pasture lands represent 45 percent of the total land area and are key to livelihood and water catchment in the exceedingly dry country. This is one of the case studies in this report which addresses the tenure fate of three commons in conflict affected states (the other two are Liberia and Sudan). The report, however, does not address women’s access to this valuable resource.
Looking for peace on the pastures: rural land relations in Afghanistan
This paper draws together findings from three rural field studies in Bamyan, Faryab and Badakhshan provinces. The first two were rapid appraisal studies but concurred in a main finding that pastureland tenure needs priority attention. The third focal report on pasture issues in Badakhshan built upon in-depth and longitudinal research by its author. Sec 2.2.4 (p. 26) tackles the issue of female land ownership albeit far too briefly.
“Land rights in crisis: restoring tenure security in Afghanistan”
This study concludes that long years of misdirected policy have entrenched deeply inequitable and often unjust land ownership relations among tribes, between agricultural and pastoral systems and among feudally arranged classes of society. Attempts to remedy these have been poorly executed.
Afghanistan:national reconstruction and poverty reduction -- the role of women in Afghanistan’s future
This report was intended to serve as an input for the government’s efforts to address gender disparities. It synthesized existing information and identified critical areas in which gender-responsive actions are likely to enhance growth, poverty reduction and human well-being including in the area of property and inheritance. The report provides information on the current laws and cultural practices in relation to inheritance and property.
“The economic future of Afghan women: The interaction between Islamic law and Islamic culture”
This article argues that social norms, more so than Islamic law, limit Afghan women’s access to economic resources and that to understand the economic future of Afghan women, one must understand the interaction of social norms and Islamic law. Sec 2 of the article analyzes the Islamic laws on inheritance, dower and marriage and determines that Islamic law grants women rights to certain types of wealth. Section 3 then examines the social norms that limit the economic rights to inheritance, dower and marriage found in Islamic Law. 
Syndicate content