Karzai Backing Rights for Women
Meg Laughlin
Knight Ridder News Service

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Afghanistan's interim prime minister, Hamid Karzai, unexpectedly signed a document Saturday that demands basic human rights for Afghan women, long oppressed under the puritanical Taliban.

"This is extremely important because his signature puts on the record to his Cabinet and to all of Afghanistan in what direction the country will be going," said Nasrine Gross, an Afghan-American women's rights advocate, who was with Karzai when he signed the Declaration of the Essential Rights of Afghan Women.

The document, written in June 2000, has been signed by prominent exiles fighting for the rights of Afghan women.

The document states that the women of Afghanistan are entitled to: "equality between men and women, equal protection under the law, institutional education in all disciplines, freedom of movement, freedom of speech and political participation and the right to wear or not wear the burqa or scarf."

"The signature of Karzai makes clear the direction of the authorities in our country, and we are so thankful for this," said Shoukriaq Haidar, president of Negar, a leading support group for Afghan women.

Gross, Haidar and a small delegation of women had been invited by Karzai to the presidential palace Saturday to meet U.S. Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del.

Karzai invited about five women, including Gross and Haidar, into a private office and surprised them when he asked for a pen so he could sign the declaration. According to the women, Karzai told them that it was part of the Afghan tradition to give equal rights to women and it was also in keeping with the laws and spirit of Islam. He mentioned the 1964 Afghan Constitution, which is being used as a model by Afghanistan's interim government, and said it clearly gave women their rights.

Under this 38-year-old constitution, women held prominent jobs in Afghanistan as doctors, professors, lawyers and legislators.

But during the Taliban regime -- from September 1996 through November 2001, Afghan women were not allowed to hold jobs (except in the medical profession, treating other women). They were not allowed to go to school after age 8.

Nor was a woman allowed to go out in public without being accompanied by a male family member. When she did, she was required to cover her face and body completely with the burqa -- 30 feet of cumbersome material.

As a result of the Taliban's oppression, women were forced out of schools and universities, had to give up their jobs and became prisoners in their own homes. Denied the right to work, thousands of widows became beggars.

President Bush commented on the harsh treatment of Afghan women at the Nov. 6 Warsaw Conference on Combating Terrorism: "Women are imprisoned in their own homes and are denied access to basic health care and education. A girl of 7 is beaten for wearing white shoes."

But Saturday, when Karzai signed the rights declaration, he sent a strong message that those days are over.

The declaration concludes: "Afghan women affirm and demand for themselves the inalienable rights that had been assured by previous Constitutions of Afghanistan. This is essential for a durable, honorable and legitimate peace in a country whose women have experienced so much suffering."

By signing the declaration of the essential rights of Afghan women, Karzai added his name to a list that includes Gloria Steinem, Betty Friedan and Catherine Deneuve, along with hundreds of thousands of men and women around the world.

"This is a great moment for Afghan women," said Gross. "The Phoenix is rising out of the ashes and it's a new day."