Gender Inequality, Discrimination, and Biasnessin the Afghan Society - Research Paper Example

Is there a gender equality in Afghanistan, and have they empower women and give them the chance to represent the afghan society of the Name of the university:  Introduction Afghanistan is a landlocked nation which is geographically positioned within Central Asia and South Asia. It is officially known as the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The country is bordered by Iran, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and China. The territory of Afghanistan is spread over a land area of 252000 square miles which makes it the 41st largest nation in the world in terms of land area covered. Country profile The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Afghanistan is recorded to be USD 20.84 billion as of 2014. The GDP per capita of Afghanistan is USD 1100. Figure 1: Annual GDP growth of Afghanistan (Source: World Bank, 2014) The Gross National Product (GNP) of the country is USD 6.96 million as of 2014. The GNP per capita is USD 222. Afghanistan ranks poorly in the Human Development Index. The HDI of Afghanistan as of 2014 is 0.468. Figure 2: Trends in HDI for Afghanistan (Source: World Bank, 2014) The country became independent on 19th August 1919.The population of Afghanistan is 31,108,744 as of 2014. This includes approximately 2.6 million refugees who still live in neighboring areas like Iran and Pakistan. The only city in the country which has a pop0ltuon of more than one million is the capital city of Afghanistan, Kabul. Afghanistan is one of the poorest, least developed and most impoverished nations in the world. Gender equality and women empowerment Throughput the history of Afghanistan, gender inequality has persisted in almost all segments of the Afghan society. The afghan women have experienced major oppression and violence that have resulted in the women of the country becoming oppressed and dominated beings in the country. The processes of oppression in the Afghan culture are deeply rooted and penetrate into the lives of the women in Afghanistan. As a result of all these practices and factors, the women in Afghanistan have started having very low level of self-consciousness have also internalized their images in the society as propagated by their male counterparts. The challenges that are inherent to the problem of gender inequality in Afghanistan are twofold in nature. On one side, the male counterparts of the society consider that the oppression and violence done against the women counterparts of the society are justified as per the socio cultural norms that have been practiced in the Afghan society in the traditional formats. In contrast, the women of the country have become oppressed by these episodes of violence and discriminations because the attitude and behaviors associated with subordination and suppression and being dominated are deeply entrenched in the cultural and social systems of Afghanistan. Thus, the extensive control of the male entities in the society on the woman and the existence of patriarchal arrangements in the rural and urban areas of the country have led to the men of Afghanistan exercising unlimited and unacceptable levels of power over the women. These factors have also caused major disparities and discriminations in the various segments of the society and are identified to be a prime reason for the other social and economic issues of Afghanistan like poverty, unemployment, political and social disturbances, exploitations, corruptions, injustice and conflicts which curb the growth and prosperity of the nation as a whole. Figure 3: Gender inequality index of Afghanistan compared to other countries (Source: World Bank, 2014) Gender inequality is a core problem existing in the social constructs of Afghanistan since more than three decades. The country has been suffering since long from internal and external conflicts and chronic instability in its political and social systems. The oppression of the women in the nation by the Taliban during the period from 1996 to 2001 has been a main restricting movement for the establishment of gender equality in the society of Afghanistan (Moghadam, 2001). The aspects of biasness between male and female groups of citizens can be identified in a number of basic social systems including education, employment, social position and access to basic public amenities and services like health care services and facilities. Figure 4: Female deaths in Afghanistan due to nutritional deficiencies (Source: The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), 2010) Apart from these, the right to freedom in Afghanistan is also biased in nature because it is more inclined towards the development of a male dominated society in which the rights and benefits of the women groups are extensively overlooked upon. After the fall of the key terrorist groups in Afghanistan like the Taliban in 2002, major windows of opportunity have been opened up for the women in the country by the government of Afghanistan. The Bonn Agreement signed in 2001 was one of the main milestones achieved by the government of Afghanistan in its objective of attaining gender equality and proportion in the different urban and rural areas of the country. The Bonn Agreement of 2001 was established as a new constitution that emphasized on gender equality and gender mainstreaming in different advanced as well as backward regions of Afghanistan. The Bonn Agreement also called for particular attention towards the empowerment and role of women for which the government of Afghanistan established a dedicated structure or government unit known as the Ministry of Women’s Affairs (The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), 2010). The legal system and political constructs in Afghanistan includes a combination of statutory, customary and Islamic rules and conventions. The supreme regulatory force in the country is the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan which came into force in the year 2004 (World Bank, 2005). Though this system does not directly enforce women’s rights and empowerment of women in the society of Afghanistan, yet it works in combination with the United Nations Convention for the elimination of all kinds of discriminations that are made in the society against women. Statistic and data Figure 5: Major issues and biases faced by Afghan women (Source: Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), 2012) Not only in education and employment, but gender inequality is also prevalent in the areas of the access of key public services by the women of Afghanistan. For example, in the north eastern provinces of Faryab, more than 80% of women residents experience oppression and violence in their everyday lives (The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), 2010). These women also lack the access to basic public services like education, employment, justice and health services. Nevertheless, in the recent years, the government of Afghanistan has insisted on making significant progress in the objective of attaining gender equality and empowering the women residents of the country to a recognizable extent. Figure 6: Estimated earned income of female labors (Source: Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), 2012) Although the National Assembly of Afghanistan comprises of 25% of women members, yet many of the women parliamentarians of the country are of the view that the law making institutions in the country have always remained systematically designed and controlled by the entities who are opponents of gender equality establishment in the country (Eisler, 2007). The core issues related to ender inequality noted in the country include issues like denial of equal rights, lack of access to proper employment in education sources, ban on education access by women, physical abuse like beating and extortion, lack of social position and recognition, restrictions on movement of women, restriction on right to freedom and speech and also biased behaviors of the society with relation to access of health services and primary education by the female counterparts of the society of Afghanistan. These processes of dominance and suppression are major drivers of gender inequality in Afghanistan, making the country have the 134th rank in the Gender Inequality Index of 2014. If empower women why/why not Afghanistan has a history of long term violence and discrimination made against women. The instabilities and inconsistencies in the nation have had the most profound effects on the women of the society because they have experienced high level of oppression, torture, violence, denial of basic rights, physical abuse and social bindings imposed by the social systems of the country. The society of the country is highly conservative due to which many of the cases of violence and discrimination against women remain unregistered. However, the lack of empowerment of women, social and gender inequality and biasedness on the basis of gender seems to have become the primary way of life in the society of the nation. Social stigmas in the nation continue to be the prime reason for the backwardness of the society in terms of education, literacy rates, employment and overall economic growth of the country. In this context, it can be highlighted that the women in Afghanistan need to become outspoken about the biased behaviors, treatments and discriminatory issues that they face in the different spheres of their lives. Thus, a movement from the women of the society regarding their struggle for freedom and liberalization is necessary for the attainment of autonomy and freedom which would enable them to live a socially recognized life as compared to the male counterparts in the nation (Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), 2012). The empowerment of women seems to be the most preliminary step that should be taken by the government of Afghanistan and other national and international authorities and institutions that aim at establishing gender equality. The women of Afghanistan are the deprived entities of the society and have accepted the treatment that is extended to them by the male entities of the country. As such, the core mindset of the women sections has to be changed in order to start such a major revolutionary transformation in the country. The fact that gender inequality has become embedded on the culture of the nation and is now considered to be the natural norm of the society makes it all the more difficult to employ equality principles. But it can be clearly identified that an extensive level of consciousness and awareness from the women sections of the society is likely to help in the process of empowerment of the females in the country and consequently bring about the settlement of major issues in the socio cultural aspects like gender discrimination, gender inequality, oppression and violence (Lexow, 2012). Suggestions and solutions Developing country specific and locally implementable plans of the exploration of the educational and employment opportunities for girls in the country is a necessity and immediate step that should be taken in the process of attainment of women empowerment and gender equality, the eradication of gender inequality in Afghanistan would be a lengthy process and would call for high investments in terms of planning, time, energy and resources (Ministry of Justice, 2009). The Afghan government has to conduct wide research to understand the exact issues and region specific problems existing in different parts of the nation. The promotion of gender equality can be done by increasing the female literacy rate in the country and also by providing suitable opportunities for female workers in different sectors (Nardo, Saisana, Saltelli, Tarantola, Hoffman and Giovannini, 2008). The establishment of literacy and educational options should be done in both the urban and rural areas of Afghanistan. Also, promoting the benefits of literacy and empowerment would help to strengthen the sense of responsibility and ownership among the women sections of the society by making them aware of their rights and involving them in the decision making processes related to their personal and professional lives. The strengthening of the monitoring systems established for the literacy and employment projects should be done in the most efficient manner by the government, the NGOs and the contractors involved in these kinds of initiatives (World Bank, 2014). The budget of the nation which is allocated for promoting literacy and employment should not be spent on the basis of biases and favoritism. Instead the international institutions like the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the United Nations etc., the individual and international donors and the Afghan government should focus on employing the resources and extending their assistance to the most need areas of the country and sections of the society. Conclusion Thus, it can be inferred that the issue of gender inequality, discrimination and biasness is embedded in the Afghan society and acts as major constraints in the economic and social growth and prosperity of the country. Due to this, the government of Afghanistan and other external institutions and donors are focusing on empowering women and eradicating gender inequality from the nation. Nevertheless, this seems to be a challenging task and is likely to take much time before complete equality of male and female counterparts in a society are established in all areas of Afghanistan. References Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC). (2012). Violence against Women in Afghanistan. Retrieved from: http://www.aihrc.org.af/media/files/VAW_Final%20Draft-20.12.pdf. Eisler, R. (2007). The Real Wealth of Nations: Creating a Caring Economics. Stamford: Cengage. Lexow, J. (2012). Afghanistan Education Sector Gender Equality-Situational Analysis Retrieved from: http://ncg.no/index.asp?id=35093. Ministry of Justice. (2009). Law on Elimination of violence against women. Retrieved from: http://www.laoa.af/laws/law_on_eliminaton_of_violence_against_women.pdf. Moghadam, V.M. (2001). Patriarchy, the Taliban, and Politics of Public Space in Afghanistan. Women’s Studies International Forum, Vol. 25(1), pp.80-82. Nardo, M., Saisana, M., Saltelli, A., Tarantola, S., Hoffman, A. & Giovannini, E. (OECD). (2008). Handbook on Constructing Composite Indicators: Methodology and User Guide. London: OECD and European Commission, Joint Research Centre.  The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). (2010). Harmful Traditional Practices and Implementation of the Law on Elimination of Violence against Women in Afghanistan. Retrieved from: http://unama.unmissions.org/Portals/UNAMA/Publication/HTP%20REPORT_ENG.pdf. United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM). (2008). Violence against women: Primary database, Afghanistan. Retrieved from: http://www.refworld.org/docid/4c2af52a2.html. World Bank. (2005). Afghanistan National Reconstruction and Poverty Reduction — the Role of Women in Afghanistan’s Future. Retrieved from: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/AFGHANISTANEXTN/Resources/AfghanistanGenderReport.pdf. World Bank. (2014). Afghanistan National Reconstruction and Poverty Reduction—the Role of Women in Afghanistan Future. World Bank Electronic Library. Read More