DATE=05/18/2002

TYPE=EDITORIAL

NUMBER=0-09891

TITLE=EDITORIAL: AFGHAN WOMEN

INTERNET=Yes

CONTENT=THIS EDITORIAL IS BEING RELEASED FOR USE BY ALL SERVICES.

Anncr: Next, an editorial reflecting the views of the United States Government:

Voice: For more than two decades, the people of Afghanistan have suffered. They endured a Soviet occupation followed by anarchy and civil war and oppressive Taleban rule. The Taleban regime, said President George W. Bush, was "one of the most brutal regimes...in modern history, a regime allied with terrorists and a regime at war with women."

Afghan women had worked as teachers, physicians, and government workers. And the Loya Jirga, the Afghan national council held in 1977, included eleven female delegates. The Taleban changed all that. "And in the process," said President Bush, "they offered us a clear image of the world they and the terrorists would like to impose on the rest of us."

When the Taleban came to power in 1996, the regime began to enforce a series of extremist Islamic laws, many of which repressed the human rights of women. Most were banned from working outside the home. Girls over eight years old could not go to school. Access to medical treatment was restricted. There was a brutally enforced dress code, which required women to be covered from head to toe. And women were forbidden from leaving their homes unless accompanied by a male relative.

Following the defeat of the Taleban by the U.S.-led coalition, the situation of Afghan women began to improve. Women are now able to move freely in the cities and, if they wish, they are returning to the outside work force. Afghan schools are re-opened to both boys and girls.

In December 2001, representatives of many Afghan factions met in Bonn, Germany, and signed an agreement committed to democratic principles and human rights in its arrangements for creating an interim government. This includes protecting the rights of women. In fact, two women were appointed to important positions in the interim administration. They are Sima Simar(PRON.: see-mas sa-mar) , Vice Chair of the Afghan interim administration and Minister of Women's Affairs, and Suhalla Siddiq (sa-hall see-diq), Minister of Public Health. A new Loya Jirga will convene next month to form a more permanent government.

The U.S. continues to aid efforts by Afghan women to assist them in the reconstruction of their country. As President Bush said, "A liberated Afghanistan must now be rebuilt so that it will never again practice terror at home or abroad. This work begins by ensuring the essential rights of all Afghans."

Anncr: That was an editorial reflecting the views of the United States Government. If you have a comment, please write to Editorials, V-O-A, Washington, D-C, 20237, U-S-A. You may also comment at www-dot-ibb-dot-gov-slash-editorials, or fax us at (202) 619-1043.