The Cost of War in Afghanistan: Women’s Rights

Arya Goyal’s article is additionally featured in The Generation’s Spring 2022 Digital Print Edition:Women. Coming June 1st 2022.

Conditions surrounding the rights of Afghan women have long been unstable. The Taliban rule in the 1990s was extremely oppressive as women were forced to practice a radically conservative form of Islamic law. Although the US occupation of Afghanistan in 2001 helped Afghan women enter the public discourse and played a significant role in improving healthcare and education access, their efforts were not completely altruistic or effective. Thus, the current withdrawal of the United States from Afghanistan calls for an examination of the US occupation in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2021, particularly their motives and the outcomes with regard to women’s rights.

The Bush Administration thoroughly capitalized on the rhetoric around women’s rights in Afghanistan to justify their invasion. Indeed, the administration presented the occupation as driven by not only the need to avenge 9/11 and destroy al-Qaeda but also to liberate Afghan women.¹ In fact, in November 2001, a few weeks after the US invasion, Laura Bush equated the “fight against terrorism” to be a “fight for rights and dignity of women.”² The New York Times also referred to freedom gained by Afghan women as a “collateral benefit” of the war. ³

The use of Afghan women as “pawns and symbols” by the United States is also apparent through their constant reiteration of women’s rights amidst the violent bombing of  Afghanistan.⁴ The support for Afghan women is seen to lend a “feminist glow” to the harsh military action and increase both domestic and international support for it.⁵ In fact, Rep Carolyn Maloney wore a burqa whilst giving a speech to the House of Congress in 2001 on the inhumane treatment of Afghan women by the Taliban. ⁶ By donning the burqa, she exemplified what Rafia Zakaria, a Pakistani-American feminist author, and journalist, calls “American feminist exceptionalism.” It is the idea that American women are bold and veil free, considering it their duty to preach their version of empowerment, regardless of whether it suits the situation. ⁷ Indeed, Rep Carolyn Maloney lauded the Bush administration “for dropping food as well as bombs” in Afghanistan. ⁸ More than the initial bombing, the role of the savior helped them both legitimate and build a case for a longer occupation of Afghanistan. The latter of these is, in fact, hotly debated on whether the United should have withdrawn from Afghanistan earlier or not. Thus, in spite of the justifications used for invading, President Biden, while commenting on US withdrawal, said that women’s rights is not a topic that can be dealt with through reliance on military action. ⁹

Despite using this political rhetoric for gaining support, however, the United States did deliver improved healthcare and education for Afghan women. According to the 2010 Afghanistan Mortality Survey, the largest of its kind taken until then, life expectancy had risen from 42 years to 62 years between the years 2004 to 2010. This difference can be partly attributed to the way aid was managed and directed in the region during this period. Rather than having “quick impact, quick collapse” projects which had a short-term vision and focused only on areas incurring heavy warfare, these were channeled through the Afghanistan Ministry of Public Health itself and sought to have long-lasting effects. ¹⁰

Another important aspect was female participation in formal sectors such as media and law as well as gender parity in education. For example, under the Afghan law around 20% of seats are reserved for women and around 39% girls were enrolled in secondary school education in 2017 compared to only about 6% in 2003.¹¹ However, there are issues with taking these statistics at face value as they are inflated by the government’s method of counting a child as “attending” unless they do not attend for three years. Moreover, these figures do not provide information on the ratio of boys to girls enrollment across provinces, one which is widening as the number of girls going to school is falling in certain provinces.¹²

In an interview with Ms. Hasina Safi, Afghanistan’s Acting Minister for Women from May 2020 to August 2021, she referred to 2014 to 2021 as a prime time for the advancement of Afghan women. She attributed this change to Afghan women, the Afghan government, and the international community. For instance, the cabinet in July 2020 approved the position of a female deputy governor, empowering women to be involved in local politics. This position was essential, she said, in creating a pipeline from houses to districts to the cabinet where women such as her would be able to help. Additionally, in September 2020, the cabinet passed a law to have mothers’ names on children’s ID cards. “This was our first legitimate space on a piece of paper,” she said. Thus, although the United States was not directly responsible for these changes, the international community’s involvement helped further these goals. ¹³

One significant drawback in the American way of tackling women’s rights was that it was Eurocentric and thus not necessarily suited to Afghanistan. The most direct impact of American involvement was evident in cities such as Kabul wherein other foreign funding and military were also present. In other areas, however, due to differences in religion, culture, etc., women were hesitant to speak out, and thus “NGO-ized feminism”—one relying on conferences and western values—was not adaptable. ¹⁴ For instance, the Bush Administration depended on the organizations such as Feminist Majority which did not possess experience in either Afghanistan or foreign affairs. In fact, a program called “PROMOTE”—endorsed as a huge female empowerment program by the USAID—cost $280 million and was labeled as a “failure and a waste of taxpayer money”. For example, providing women with a single “workshop” without any further follow-up or information on its long-term benefits. Moreover, according to some activists, the US occupation was a breeding ground for corruption as the aid dollars were passed onto the rich and or to warlords, the latter of which remain in control of Afghanistan. ¹⁵

The lack of on-ground experience meant that the United States took an imperialist stance and gave the Taliban an excuse to reject the efforts of local movements by calling gender equality a western value. This meant that opposing women’s rights was synonymous with resisting US occupation— a connection that had disastrous effects on Afghan women. In fact, soon after the US invaded Afghanistan, a representative of RAWA (Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan) condemned it stating that it gave more motive to the ultraconservatives by becoming the “foreign invader” that they sought to protect the country from. ¹⁶ Many Afghan women expressed “relief” when learning about the withdrawal of the United States from Afghanistan. ¹⁷ This stemmed from the fact that although the US had helped certain sectors of the economy, the rural areas—where about 76% of the women live—were in a constant state of war. This meant they lived through recurring airstrikes and bombing which made it next to impossible for girls to go to school. ¹⁸

Thus, although the occupation helped progress women’s rights in Afghanistan, this altruism on behalf of the United States was motivated largely by the benefit that it had in disguising the accompanied military undertakings. Additionally, the United States’ brand of women empowerment differed markedly from what Afghan women needed, a fact that greatly diminished the impact they could achieve.

Lastly, the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021 has meant that this progress in women’s rights has not only been brought to a standstill but is being reversed. Afghan women felt a range of emotions upon hearing about the US withdrawal from Afghanistan—anger, fear, relief—but none of them was as dominant as the feeling of being left alone.

Endnotes:

1.  John R. Allen and Vanda Felbab-Brown. “The fate of women’s rights in Afghanistan.” The Brookings Institution, September 2020. Accessed April 22, 2022, https://www.brookings.edu/essay/the-fate-of-womens-rights-in-afghanistan/.
2. Jen Kirby. “Women’s rights have an uncertain future in Afghanistan.” Vox, August 24, 2021. Accessed April 22, 2022, https://www.vox.com/22630912/women-afghanistan-taliban-united-states-war.
3. The New York Times. “Liberating the Women of Afghanistan.” November 24, 2021. Accessed April 22, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/24/opinion/liberating-the-women-of-afghanistan.html.
4. Kim Berry. “The symbolic use of Afghan women in the war on terror.” Humboldt Journal of Social Relations​​, 2003. Accessed April 22, 2022, https://www.jstor.org/stable/23524156.
5. Ibid.
6. Kevin Frey. “Maloney defends wearing burqa, as the Taliban’s takeover in Afghanistan triggers debate in the NY-12 Democratic primary. ” Spectrum News NY1​​, August 25, 2021. Accessed April 22, 2022, https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/politics/2021/08/26/maloney-defends-wearing-burqa-amid-criticism-from-challenger
7. Rafia Zakaria. “Two Muslim Women Ar.e Headed to Congress. Will They Be Heard?.” Foreign Policy, November 12, 2018. Accessed April 22, 2022, https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/11/12/two-muslim-women-are-headed-to-congress-will-they-be-heard-midterms-rashida-tlaib-ilhan-omar-democrats-feminism/.
8. Bevan Hurley. “NYC congresswoman who wore burqa in 2001 speech tells of ‘heartbreak’ over Afghanistan.” Independent​​, August 17, 2021. Accessed April 22, 2022, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/afghanistan-burqa-congress-speech-b1904142.html.
9. Fatma Khaled. “Joe Biden: Using Military Force to Handle Women’s Rights in Afghanistan is ‘Not Rational’.” Newsweek, August 19, 2021. Accessed April 22, 2022, https://www.newsweek.com/joe-biden-using-military-force-handle-womens-rights-afghanistan-not-rational-1621098.
10. Justin Sandefur. “Here’s the Best Thing the U.S. Has Done in Afghanistan.” The Atlantic, October 10, 2013. Accessed April 22, 2022, https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/10/heres-the-best-thing-the-us-has-done-in-afghanistan/280484/.
11. John R. Allen and Vanda Felbab-Brown. “The fate of women’s rights in Afghanistan.” The Brookings Institution, September 2020. Accessed April 22, 2022, https://www.brookings.edu/essay/the-fate-of-womens-rights-in-afghanistan/.
12. Human Rights Watch. “I Won’t Be a Doctor, and One Day You’ll Be Sick.” October 17, 2017. Accessed April 22, 2022, https://www.hrw.org/report/2017/10/17/i-wont-be-doctor-and-one-day-youll-be-sick/girls-access-education-afghanistan#
13. Interview Notes 
14. Jen Kirby. “Women’s rights have an uncertain future in Afghanistan.” Vox, August 24, 2021. Accessed April 22, 2022, https://www.vox.com/22630912/women-afghanistan-taliban-united-states-war. 
15. The New York Times. “U.S. Aid Program Vowed to Help 75,000 Afghan Women. Watchdog Says It’s a Flop.” September 13, 2018. Accessed April 22, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/13/world/asia/afghanistan-women-usaid.html.
16. Shreya Chattopadhyay. “As the US Leaves Afghanistan, Anti-War Feminists Push a New Approach to Foreign Policy.” The Nation, August 11, 2021. Accessed April 22, 2022, https://www.madre.org/press-publications/article/us-leaves-afghanistan-anti-war-feminists-push-new-approach-foreign-policy. 
17. Susannah George, Aziz Tassal and Sharif Hassan. “With a sense of betrayal and relief, Afghans eye a future without U.S. troops.” The Washington Post, April 16, 2021. Accessed April 22, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/04/16/afghanistan-civilians-us-troop-withdrawal/. 
18. John R. Allen and Vanda Felbab-Brown. “The fate of women’s rights in Afghanistan.” The Brookings Institution, September 2020. Accessed April 22, 2022, https://www.brookings.edu/essay/the-fate-of-womens-rights-in-afghanistan/.