October 8, 2004
by Chris Herlinger
Religion News Service

NEW YORK - Afghan warlords and resurgent Taliban forces are using religion to threaten and intimidate women in the run-up to Afghanistan's Oct. 9 presidential election, according to a new report by New York-based Human Rights Watch.

The report, "Between Hope and Fear: Intimidation and Threats Against Women in Public Life in Afghanistan," claims that the intimidation by religious groups and others long opposed to participation by women in Afghan public life is widespread and threatens the right of women to vote freely in the elections.

"A pervasive atmosphere of fear persists for women involved in politics and women's rights in Afghanistan, despite significant improvements in women's lives since the fall of the Taliban in late 2001," the human rights monitoring group said in releasing the report Oct. 5.

One woman, an activist working in a northern Afghan province, told Human Rights Watch investigators that she had received threatening phone calls saying she would be killed for her work and to make her "an example to other women." Aside from activists, those who have experienced threats include female journalists, humanitarian workers, and government and election officials.

The presidential elections in Afghanistan are being touted as a key test for women re-entering public life since the removal three years ago of the Taliban, the coalition that imposed a strict interpretation of Islamic law and effectively banned women from the country's public sphere.

Progress made since 2001 includes constitutional guarantees for women's rights and educational access for more than 1 million Afghan girls, Human Rights Watch noted. Another positive sign is found in voter registration numbers, with more than 41 percent of the country's 10.5 registered million voters reportedly being women.

But the report warned that multiple registrations have reportedly inflated official pre-election figures, and that continued insecurity in some parts of the country is preventing some women from registering.

Human Rights Watch also warned that gains in women's rights "mask a more depressing reality."

"Continuing religious and cultural conservatism, and a dangerous security environment, mean that women still struggle to participate in the country's evolving political institutions," the report said. Resurgent Taliban forces, as well as regional military factions and religious conservative leaders, "are limiting Afghan women's participation in society through death threats, harassment, and physical attacks."

The Human Rights Watch assessment also noted that religious conservatives, the Taliban and U.S.-supported warlords often have similar views about the role of women and that the United States and its allies have not made the warlords' treatment of women a high priority.

Presbyterian News Service