WUNRN
JALAL FOUNDATION
Dr. Massouda Jalal, Founding
President &
Minister of Afghanistan 2004 - 2006
UNAMA’s 2013 Report
on the Implementation of Afghanistan’s EVAW Decree: Reflections and More
Actions
More
than enacting commitments and standards, effective law-making is about ensuring
that laws are implemented in a manner that meets the purposes for which they
were adopted. This is what the United
Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) is trying to do with its
annual analysis of the implementation of the decree on the Elimination of
Violence against Women (EVAW) in Afghanistan.
Such effort is a step in the right direction and deserves commendation
and support. More importantly, it has to
be sustained. This means that the responsibility and capacity to undertake such
analysis has to be institutionalized into the function of an appropriate
government entity - a high level authoritative body, with a mandate to oversee
the implementation of the law and has the power to hold all implementing
entities accountable.
The
findings of the 2013 UNAMA report on the implementation of the EVAW decree are
only among the many indications of the fast-deteriorating status of women in
Afghanistan. Once and for all, let it be recognized that the past 12 years were
among the better years for Afghan women, given that the national peace and
reconstruction agenda paid attention to women’s advancement in all aspects of
life. For example, women were represented in strategic policy dialogues; a
ministry dedicated to women’s well-being was established; equality before the
law was enshrined in the Constitution; at least 25 percent of Parliamentary
seats were secured for women; a ten-year action plan for women was adopted;
women’s focal points were established in nearly all ministries; religious
worships in mosques have been made accessible to women; girls and women were
able to study, access services, hold public positions and participate in public
life; the issue of gender-based violence was embraced as a public policy
concern; and the decree on EVAW was adopted.
These may not be sufficient, but they constitute very substantial gains
that are foundational to long-term advancements on the status of Afghan women.
The
main point of concern, however, is how to prevent these gains from going down
the drain, given the imminent drawdown of international support to Afghanistan
and the growing influence of fundamentalists in society and national decision
making. UNAMA’s disclosure of the
negligible utilization of EVAW decree to prosecute VAW offenders bespeaks of
law enforcers’ inadequate commitment to justice, low regard for the well-being
and rights of the survivors, and lack of interest to eliminate VAW. The unspoken bond between VAW offenders and
law enforcers prevail in the guise of preserving harmony, even at the expense
of denying justice and entrapping survivors to a lifetime of ever-escalating
dehumanization and violence. That women
must endure violence for the sake of harmony is a fundamentalist tenet that has
no space under the reign of democracy. Needless to say, it is the
responsibility of the government to use everything within its power to stop all
forms of gender based violence.
The
fact that some senior police officers are themselves embroiled in sexual
harassment and rape incidents under the condoning noses of their superiors does
not augur well with generating public faith on the police establishment. A primary point of intervention, therefore, is
the police. The Ministry of Interior needs to weed out its scalawags and
continue to raise the professionalism and competence of its frontline staff in
dealing with VAW survivors. The MOI
should also address weaknesses in its case handling procedures. For example,
mediation should never be taken as an option unless the offenders submit to
mandatory EVAW counseling which eradicates the roots of
their violent behaviors toward women and girls.
The
most remarkable aspect of UNAMA’s annual analysis is the set of recommendations
addressed to concerned government and international entities to improve the
implementation of the EVAW decree. The
recommendations are substantively robust because they deal with the strategic and
procedural obstacles to VAW case management. Yet, among the 40 recommendations
raised by UNAMA, only 4 were completed, 12 were partially implemented, 9 could
not be assessed due to lack of data, and 15 were never implemented at all. Even
recommendations that are not difficult to implement, such as inviting “civil
society, including representatives of women’s rights NGOs, shelter managers and
international partners, to attend High Commission meetings as observers, to
report specific issues, and to actively support the Commission’s work” was not
done by the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and the Commission on EVAW, the
entities responsible for its implementation. Likewise, the fact that nine of
the recommendations could not be assessed due to lack of data bespeaks of a
weak oversight system to monitor its implementation. The government obviously needs to work
harder, and in a more organized way.
UNAMA’s
analysis considers the 28 per cent increase in VAW reporting as a positive
trend. Indeed it is. Nevertheless, this positive trend could be easily reversed
unless the consistent failure to bring justice to survivors is corrected. The
extraordinary magnitude of VAW in the country calls for extraordinary
competence and political will to implement the EVAW decree. There is a need to
step up the building of capacities within MOI and other actors in the justice
system. But it is even more important to focus on preventive measures.
The
implementation of EVAW decree will never flourish unless the social and
cultural contexts that sustain and reproduce female-directed violence are also
dealt with. Government should actively bring society into the framework of EVAW
decree implementation. It should promote community interventions that: (a)
inform potential offenders about the EVAW law, (b) empower community leaders
and local police to intervene before and during the acts of violence, (c)
support family heads and male members in securing women and girls from becoming
VAW victims, and (d) make local councils capable and accountable for the
reduction of VAW in their respective jurisdictions. Local leaders must be
equipped with counseling skills and authority to compel survivors and offenders
to learn non-violent ways of settling discord. Financial incentives for
communities that are able to substantially reduce VAW incidents may be
considered. In the immediate future, the government should also endeavor to
adapt an emergency response mechanism, similar to the 911 system of the United
States, especially in the light of the expected deterioration of human rights
situation in the country after the departure of NATO in late 2014.
Yes,
the implementation of the EVAW decree is still a long way to go and the road
continues to be thorny. But significant grounds have been covered and turning
back is not an option. The identification of a high-level authoritative
oversight mechanism to monitor implementation and hold concerned agencies
accountable, the productive engagement of local leaders through community-based
interventions, and the adaptation of an emergency response system are only
among the many measures that could be tried to improve the implementation of
Afghanistan’s EVAW decree. Afghan women
will continue to count on the United Nations to continue holding the Afghan
government accountable for the performance of its obligations to women. True, the implementation of the EVAW decree
is still a long way to go, but distance and time are immaterial when moving
forward is the only option.