WUNRN
ELECTION DAY IN AFGHANISTAN - AUGUST
20, 2009
______________________________________________________________________
UNIFEM
The Situation of Women in Afghanistan
o
Participation in the Justice Sector
o
Participation in Security Services
o
Participation in Peace Building and Reconstruction
o
Health
o
Marriage
o
Out of 23.6 million people in
o
, at 0.346, ranks 174 out
of 178 countries
o
The Gender Development Index (GDI) for
Learn
about UNIFEM's Women's Leadership in Politics unit
o
Women represent 27%
of the National Assembly: (68
out of 249
seats in the Wolesi Jirga and 23
out of 102
seats in the Mesherano Jirga
o
Women held 121
out of 420
Provincial Council seats in 2005
o
Women account for 25.9%
of all civil servants
o
The number of women who registered for elections increased from 41.5% in 2004 to 44% in 2005
o
The first female governor was appointed in 2005 in the
However...
o
Only one
cabinet member is female (the Minister of Women's Affairs)
o
There were not enough women to meet the 124 seat quota at the
Provincial Council elections, and 3
seats had to be given to men
o
In 17
of the 36 Ministries there are less than 10%
female employees
o
Out of the total 17 Ambassadors of Afghanistan to other countries
in 2007, only two
were women
In 2004:
o
87% of Afghans believed that women need a male relative’s
authorization to vote
o
35% of women believed they would not have permission to vote
o
18% of men admitted they would not allow their wives to vote
Read
about Afghan women's Community Empowerment and Economic Development
o
30% of agricultural workers are women
o
Women receive 3
times less wages than men
o
There are some 50,000
war widows in
o
Only 38.2%
of women in
o
In 2004, the per capita Gross Domestic Product was US$402 for women,
compared to US$1,182 for men
UNIFEM is
leading
o
There is currently an Afghan Women Judges Association, created in
2003, and an Afghan Women Lawyers and Professionals Association
o
The Family and Juvenile Courts are headed by women
o
Of the 1,547 sitting judges in
o
Of the 546 prosecutors, 35 or 6.4% are female
o
Of the 1,241 attorneys 76 or 6.1% are female
o
There are no
women members in the Supreme Court Council
Learn
about promoting women's leadership in Afghanistan's civil service
o
Women represent less than 1%
of employees in police and military services
o
There were only 233
policewomen out of the total 62,407
personnel in
o
There are 259
women in the Afghan National Army, which is 0.6% of approximately 43,000 military
personnel
o
There are no women in the auxiliary police force
UNIFEM supports women's leadership in peace building
In the 9,394 Community Development Councils established throughout
o
As of
April 2007, only 208
(23.6%) out of the 881 staff members in the Government Press
Sector were women
o
One private daily newspaper in
o
In one private television station in
o
Most women work as cleaners
and cooks in the media sector
o
A new Department
of Women and Reproductive Health was established within the
Ministry of Health in 2003
o
A Basic
Package of Health Services has been developed which includes
emergency obstetric care
o
The number of health care workers has increased to 15,001 in 2007,
and 49.3%
of them are women
However...
o
One woman dies every 29
minutes in child birth (1,600
to 1,900 deaths per 100,000 live births, the second highest
maternal mortality rate in the world)
o
Only 14%
of births have skilled attendants present, and only 12% of women receive
professional ante-natal care
o
Depending on the location, between 30% and 90% of women in rural areas cannot
access health care
o
The average woman had 7.4
children in 2004
o
The average life expectancy for women in
o
Out of the 25,000 Afghans who die from tuberculosis each year, 16,000 are women
o
48% of women are iron-deficient
o
In 2005, 58.8% of students
enrolling in Teacher Training Institutions in
However...
o
The estimated literacy rate for women stands at 15.8% (compared to 31%
for men)
o
Only 19%
of schools are designated as girls schools
o
In 29%
of educational districts there are no designated girls schools at all
o
Only about 28.4%
of teachers in
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At the primary level there is one girl student for every two boys
o
At the secondary level there is one girl for every three to four boys
o
The number of girls in secondary school decreased by 4.7% per annum during
2004-5
o
Women head 2%
of Afghan households
o
70% to 80% of women face forced marriages
in
o
57% of girls are married before the legal marriage age of 16
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