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KHOST PROVINCE, Afghanistan— Standing just over five and a half feet tall, Gulandama Dina, the director of women's affairs for Paktika province, wears a black hijab, or traditional headscarf, though many find her words about the rights of women far from traditional.
For the last 16 months, Dina has been the representative of the Ministry of Women's Affairs in a province which UNICEF's "Best Estimate" fact sheet ranks among the 5 worst of Afghanistan's 32 provinces in both "overall primary school" and "women's primary school" categories. UNICEF also ranks the province among the bottom 15 in maternal health. The most optimistic numbers place the literacy rate below 10 percent.
"It's a big challenge working as director of women's affairs in this community," she said with the aid of a translator. Nevertheless, she added later, "Males and females working together will solve this problem."
The Afghan Ministry of Women's Affairs and "line director" positions at the provincial level, like Dina's, help the Afghan government fulfill the promises to women made in the Afghan constitution. The constitution, which became official after the Loya Jirga (Great Council) approved it by consensus January 4, 2004, states that all Afghan citizens will have equal rights before the law (Article 22.2) and that the government will implement effective plans to balance the education of women and eliminate illiteracy (Article 44).
When the Afghan congress convened for the first time in 30 years during 2005, 68 of the 269 representatives in the lower house were women. This compares favorably to the 1964 Loya Jirga which established Afghanistan as a constitutional monarchy under Zahir Shah. Then, only six of 452 participants were female.
Six years after the passage of the new constitution, the Afghan government and partnering members of NATO's International Security Assistance Force are struggling to fulfill its promises. There are few places this struggle is more difficult than in the region comprising the Paktika, Paktia and Khost provinces. UNICEF rates all three among the bottom 10 of Afghanistan's 32 provinces in terms of girls' primary school education. Two of the three provinces, Paktika and Khost, are also below the Afghan average for maternal health, though Paktya fares better in that regard.
Many people working closely with women's affairs issues have said progress has been slow to take root.
For instance, U.S. Army Lt. Col. Clayton Morgan, who is in charge of civil affairs for Paktika Provincial Reconstruction Team, described the traditional Pashtu dominated culture in the region and Paktika in particular, as "repressive beyond anything you can imagine."
He cited the practice of giving young girls to older men for marriage in reparations to avert inter-tribal conflict.
However, others, such as Genevieve Libonati, a State Department representative for Gardez Provincial Reconstruction Team in Paktya province, are beginning to see flickers of hope, especially in education.
"There's an ever increasing demand both from men and women... to learn more about their rights," Libonati said. "That has been a surprise and a success."
This demand has been growing ever since ISAF began implementing civics training courses in the summer of 2009. The courses, which are funded through the U.S. military's Commander's Emergency Response Program, train village elders and tribal leaders in the basics of law, human rights and the prevention of corruption. Those who complete the six day course are encouraged to spread the information to those in their villages who do not have direct access to civil education.
"Ultimately, the goal is to reach the local people, not only the officials, who already should have some basic knowledge of their government," said U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Brooke Brzozowske, a public affairs officer for Paktika Provincial Reconstruction Team, which implements the same program.
The civics training has been successful in Paktia province, said Staff Sgt. Quitze Garcia, a civil affairs noncommissioned officer who specializes in women's affairs for the Paktia Provincial Reconstruction Team.
"Women have been calling the [radio disc jokeys] and asking for the civics training," Garcia said. "Even more remarkable, men have been calling the DJs and asking where they can send their wives and daughters to training."
In addition to the civics training, a number of construction projects in Paktya province are beginning to show promise. One of the more important of these is a women's detention center in Gardez, which is in the second phase of construction and should be completed by the middle of 2010. Seven female corrections officers have been trained for that facility.
The detention facility may not seem like great news for women, but under the Taliban no women's prisons existed because women were put to death for any infraction, Garcia said.
"Whenever we do anything, whenever we implement anything, the girls are really excited about it," Garcia said.
In neighboring Paktika province, Morgan expressed doubts about the efficacy of the existing programs, but said radio has the best chance of leading to lasting reform.
"What program could actually help them? Radio," he said. "Radio is the only thing that's going to impact [Paktika women] in significant numbers."
Radio has the advantage of educating large numbers of women directly.
ISAF has distributed hundreds of thousands of hand crank radios to Afghans, hoping to boost education. They have also encouraged government friendly voices to broadcast their views.
Dina has long sought to establish a weekly show that would discuss women's hygiene and rights issues. This wish may soon by realized. On Jan. 3, several ISAF troops showed her a new 300 watt "radio in a box" that has the power to broadcast to everyone in the eastern half of the province. The broadcasting system is not far from the governor's compound where she often comes on official business and the Afghan DJs there said they were happy to give her some time.
Khost province boasts a number of recent successes with regard to women's affairs. A number of female journalists are broadcasting in Khost, though they need body guards much of the time. Khost City, the capital of the province, has a girls' school with a female teacher. Eighteen graduates of this school are expected to be the first female students at Khost University (also known as Shaik Zayed University) once living quarters can be built, said U.S. Air Force Capt. Angela Webb, a public affairs officer for Khost Provincial Reconstruction Team.
ISAF troops like Libonati hope to see the positive trends continue.
"I think the education opportunities here, difficult though they are, are still better for most girls," Libonati said. "In time girls and women will have more equal rights and more equal roles in society, so I'm still an optimist."
Garcia said she believes that her service in Afghanistan is already changing the minds of Afghans. With her mixed Puerto Rican and Guatemalan ancestry, Garcia is the same complexion as the women here and locals take notice she said. On a humanitarian aid mission, Afghan children pointed to her and shouted something in Pashtu, which the interpreter conveyed as "Woman soldier! Woman soldier!"
On a separate mission to a women's clinic, the Afghan women tried talking to her through pantomime. Garcia, who was suited up in her body armor, realized what they were saying was "you're strong!"
"You're strong, too," she said. "You don't even know how strong you are."
| Date Taken: | 01.22.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 01.22.2010 21:52 |
| Story ID: | 44307 |
| Location: | KHOST PROVINCE, AF |
| Web Views: | 473 |
| Downloads: | 397 |
This work, Afghan women tune in to women's rights through education, by SGT Spencer Case, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
