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1 1 (September 11, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govdbrd0001 and id is 1 raw text is: 01;0i E.$~ & September 11, 2020 Afghan Women and Girls: Status and Congressional Action The status of Afghan women and girls has improved since 2001 by some metrics, but arguably remains precarious. Given the formerly ruling Taliban's views on women's rights, and entrenched cultural attitudes (particularly in rural areas), the status of Afghan women and girls has long been a topic of congressional concern and action. Concern among some Members of Congress has increased in light of the ongoing withdrawal of U.S. troops, scheduled to be completed by spring 2021. Some experts warn that a full U.S. military withdrawal could pave the way for the Taliban to return to power either by military force or through a political settlement and that women's rights could be compromised. Since 2001, Members of Congress have used a number of oversight and funding-related legislative measures to promote and safeguard the rights of Afghan women, and may consider the efficacy and sustainability of such approaches as the U.S. reduces its military footprint and as the Afghan conflict and political dynamic evolve. Decades of war after 1978 and the repressive five-year rule of the Taliban (see below) severely undermined the rights and development of Afghan women, who had been granted equal rights under the 1964 constitution. Since the 2001 fall of the Taliban, rights of Afghan women have been recognized in areas such as political representation and access to education, employment, and health care. However, Afghan women still lag behind Afghan men, as well as women globally, on many development indicators (see Figure 1). Figure I. Selected Development Indicators DuringTafban iAthans~tan Goba Atg. Contrat (2000) i:TodaY (2 f&): (2O18) Ute,,, p-. ctmtry: 57 (F) : 66 (E) 75 (fi ' h! 5 i N) 0 (M Source: Created by CRS. Data from U.N. Development Program, World Bank, World Health Organization. Notes: GNI= Gross National Income; PPP= purchasing power parity The Afghan government, with considerable U.S. and international support, has ensured some representation for women in government and has instituted some legal protections. The 2004 Afghan constitution prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender and enshrines equal rights between men and women. It mandates that at least two women be elected to the lower house of parliament from each of Afghanistan's 34 provinces, creating a quota of 68 women out of 250 seats (about 27%); similarly, 17% of seats in the upper house of parliament are set aside for women. Additionally, the government has committed to achieving 30% representation of women in the civil service (currently at 27%) and increasing the number of women in the Afghanistan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) (slightly less than 2%). Nevertheless, some recent surveys have suggested that traditional, restrictive views of gender roles and rights, including views consistent with the Taliban's former practices, remain broadly held, especially in rural areas and among younger men. Despite efforts to promote women's rights, problems such as discrimination, harassment, and violence against women reportedly remain endemic in government-controlled areas and even in government ministries. In 2009, then-President Hamid Karzai issued, as a decree, the Elimination of Violence Against Women law, which makes widespread practices such as forced marriage and honor killings unlawful. Parliamentarians blocked the law's ratification, describing it as against Islam. The government has not taken meaningful steps to enforce the law, according to Human Rights Watch in 2019. Reports indicate that prosecutions of abuses against women increasingly result in convictions, though only a small percentage of cases are registered formally with the police or courts. During their rule, the Taliban effectively forced Afghan women to disappear entirely from public view, according to writer Ahmed Rashid. Based on their particularly conservative interpretation of Islamic practice, the Taliban prohibited women from working, attending school after age eight, and appearing in public without a male blood relative and without wearing a burqa. Women accused of breaking these or other restrictions suffered severe corporal or capital punishment, often publicly. These practices attracted near- universal condemnation from the international community. The Taliban, who have held territory in parts of Afghanistan for years and by some measures now control or contest nearly half of the country's area, have given conflicting signs about their current stance. They have not described in detail how they now view women's rights or what role women would play in a Taliban-governed society. Skeptics note that the pledge frequently made by contemporary Taliban leaders to safeguard the rights of women according to Islam is subjective and echoes similar pledges made by the Taliban while in power. In February 2020, deputy Taliban leader Sirajuddin Haqqani p\w gnom ggmm mppm qq\ a , q 'S I 11LULANUALiN,

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