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Women
have never had it good in Afghanistan. Theirs has been a history of oppression
and suffering, of second-class citizenship, subservient to their fathers,
male relatives and husbands. There have been some exceptions, most notably
Queen Gawhar Shad who, in the early 15th century, ruled an empire that
stretched from the Tigris River to the borders of China. Her husband,
King Shah Rukh, was a weak man. She held the reigns of power politically,
and was also a great patron of the arts and architecture, of poetry and
philosophy, all of which thrived, under her court. But these exceptions
are few and far between and for the most part, women have long suffered
under male domination. Yet even so, they have had basic freedoms; to move
around, to gather together, and certainly in private anyway, to hold authority
in the household and over their children.
- The 20th century initially saw
some positive changes for the improvement of women’s lives.
Between 1919 and 1929 Amanullah Khan ruled as King of Afghanistan.
His was a modernizing period and women’s emancipation was part
of it. Changes were modest (he encouraged women to discard the veil)
but it was a start.
- General Mohammed Daoud became
Prime Minister in 1953. Under his tenure, women were encouraged to
be educated, to take an active part in government and to join the
workforce. In 1959, women, for the first time, were allowed to enroll
in Kabul University. By 1965 women were allowed to vote. These changes
took place largely in the urban context; how much they were embraced
or not was determined largely by which ethnic group the women belonged
to, for example the Hazaras (central Afghanistan region) were more
liberal than say the Pashtuns ( south and eastern Afghanistan). Rurally,
life went on much as before, though some changes did manage to trickle
down even in those parts of the country.
- When the communist regime took
over in 1978, the government insisted on forced literacy and mixed
education for women. However, this proved to be too much for many
of the male powers. Many Afghan men vehemently opposed the freedom
accorded women and began to agitate against it, using ‘the role
of women and womanhood’ as a tool for guarding against the erosion
of their traditions, culture and very identity.
- Ironically, it was during the
Soviet invasion of Afghanistan that women made their greatest strides.
The Soviet occupation offered them greater opportunities in education,
professional training and work, and thousands of women took advantage
of these opportunities. In Kabul, women held 70% of all teaching jobs
and constituted a significant part of the professional workforce,
holding government as well as civilian posts. They worked in television,
radio and as reporters. Style of dress became more liberal: many women
in Kabul and other cities did not cover their faces or heads, mini-skirts
were in vogue, etc. Despite these improvements, however, most women
despised the fact of occupation. Thousands of women joined in the
mujahideen movement, struggling alongside their male counterparts
to oust the Soviets from their country.
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