WUNRN
AFGHANISTAN - CHALLENGES OF WOMEN'S POLITICAL PARTICIPATION & EFFECTIVENESS
__________________________________________________
Direct Link to Full 16-Page 2014 Publication:
Afghanistan’s Parliament in
the Making
©Aina Photo Agency, Kabul, 2005
January 20, 2014
After more than a decade of an international
intervention and close to the proclaimed second post-2014 transition phase,
women's political participation remains precarious and volatile in Afghanistan
despite inroads made. Regardless of violence and discrimination faced by
society and politicians, women participate at all levels of Afghan society and
politics – as voters, candidates, lawmakers, council members, ministers,
governors, bureaucrats, civil society activists, members of the security forces
or the judiciary. Many women parliamentarians were reelected and became more
experienced as lawmakers; others moved from civil society or provincial
councils into national politics, trying to make a difference for Afghanistan's
people, in particular women. Discriminatory attitudes among key power-brokers,
opinion- and decision-makers, continuously high levels of insecurity and threat
along with a decreasing political interest and will of national and
international key actors to support gender policies and women's political
mainstreaming are some of the key obstacles identified.
Women activists and lawmakers demand due
diligence for promises made, inroads built, spaces carved out and steps to be
taken to ensure a more peaceful post-2014 Afghanistan. For them, their
sociopolitical struggle as lawmakers needs to be supported by responsible
intervention and transition actors – be it within Afghanistan's political
system and during peace negotiation processes or at regional and international
levels.