Afghan women face discrimination

WOMEN in many parts of Afghanistan continue to face discrimination and intimidation more than a year after the fall of the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban regime, according to a UN report issued yesterday.

The country's emergence from 24 years of conflict and the Taliban's ousting in late 2001 by a US-led coalition had led to some significant progress for women.

But many "Taliban-like" restrictions on women remained in parts of the country and a lot more still needed to be done to ensure their full and equal participation in society, the UN said in the report, issued ahead of International Women's Day tomorrowOK.

In rural areas, especially in the more conservative tribal belt where powerful warlords hold sway, the situation of women had not changed to any great extent, it said.

"Despite positive developments regarding women's rights, intimidation and violence by regional and local commanders against women continue unabated," the UN said. "Women are reported to restrict their participation in public life to avoid being targets of violence by armed factions and elements seeking to enforce the repressive edicts of the previous regime."

The report will be presented at a UN session in New York discussing the status of women worldwide, lasting until March 14, said UN spokesman in Afghanistan Manoel de Almeida e Silva.

Under the Taliban, women were banned from all forms of education and most outdoor work. The fundamentalist regime also forced women to wear the burqa, a loose garment which covered the figure from head to toe with veiled eye holes, outdoors.

Women had moved from this complete denial of rights to participation in several key state institutions, but many restrictions remained, the report said. "The fact that women in many parts of the country continue to face gross violations of their rights, is a matter of concern," it said.

"Women are primary victims of insecurity Taliban-like restrictions continue to be applied to women in some parts of the country by local leaders."

The report urged the US-backed government of President Hamid Karzai to work harder to bring those responsible for violence against women to justice.

Reformers in Karzai's government have been struggling to introduce greater democracy and more liberal concepts since replacing the Taliban.

Even though there is no longer any formal requirement, many women still feel obliged to wear burqas, even in comparatively liberal Kabul.