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27 T. Jefferson L. Rev. 27 (2004-2005)
Voices of Afghan Women: Women's Rights, Human Rights, and Culture

handle is hein.journals/tjeflr27 and id is 37 raw text is: VOICES OF AFGHAN WOMEN: WOMEN'S RIGHTS, HUMAN RIGHTS, AND CULTURE Huma Ahmed-Ghosh* One nation under god, is not only a prominent phrase in the pledge of allegiance of the United States, but it seemingly represents the dominant ideology of most monotheistic nation- states. In Afghanistan too, religion has played center stage in redefining the nation since 1992. Islamic regimes have drafted laws and constitutions through their interpretation of the religious texts, based on their political will. This article lays out a general critique of the international community's attempts to rearticulate and implement standards of human rights, and more specifically women's rights. Furthermore, this critique posits two distinct propositions: 1) that the Western perceptions of what universal human rights should encompass fail to account for cultural and religious differences prevalent in other countries, and 2) that the more urgent focus should be geared towards improving the economic status and empowerment of Afghan women in order to allow them to assert their rights. What is therefore required is dialogue between religious and secular advocates of human rights. The question of women's status in Afghanistan has been a powerful contending force that has driven governments into disarray and into fundamentalism, and driven international politics into a quandary. Afghanistan's situation provides a good case study to discuss the tensions between Western pressures for some freedoms and rights for women, and Islamic fear of resulting moral decay and betrayal of Islamic norms. Through the deconstruction of the human rights discourse, I will examine * Department of Women Studies, San Diego State University. This essay is based on a lecture delivered during the Fourth Annual Women and the Law Conference at Thomas Jefferson School of Law on February 20, 2004. An expanded version of this paper has been submitted for publication to the International Feminist Journal of Politics.

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