VERVEER PRESSES FOR JUSTICE FOR AFGHAN WOMEN

UNCLAS KABUL 001797

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM AF KDEM
SUBJECT: VERVEER PRESSES FOR JUSTICE FOR AFGHAN WOMEN


1. (U) SUMMARY: In June 24-26 meetings visiting
Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues Melanne Verveer
affirmed the strong U.S. commitment to Afghan women and
pressed government officials and other leaders to address the
extreme challenges confronting women. President Karzai
defended his record on women's issues but admitted there were
still problems and promised improvements if re-elected.
Opposition candidates told Verveer they would prioritize
increasing women's political participation and educational
and economic opportunities. During a trip to Badghis
province, the provincial governor and local women's affairs
office director prioritized women's needs there as education
and literacy training, economic opportunities, and health
care. Women provincial council candidates cited security
concerns but expressed determination to mount vigorous
campaigns. Verveer also toured a women's prison, a domestic
violence shelter, and met with women journalists and male and
female Parliamentarians. Verveer and the Ambassador
announced a 27 million dollar fund of small grants targeted
to empower Afghan NGOs working on women's issues. Media
coverage of the entire trip was positive.

Karzai: Defends his record, Promises to increase support to
women if re-elected
--------------


2. (SBU) Verveer pressed Karzai on the plight of Afghan women
urging him to do more. She noted that during her visit to
Badghis province women were discouraged and pleaded with her
to weigh in for them with Karzai. Verveer acknowledged there
had been some improvements, but that in some ways it seemed
women's rights were regressing. She cited Karzai's signing of
the original Shia Family Law and the delays in his Cabinet's
consideration of the draft domestic violence law. Verveer
also observed that Karzai regularly meets with groups of men
with barely any women present or engaged on important issues.
Karzai agreed that many women were still not benefiting from
his government's initiatives. He guaranteed, however, that
the U.S. will be "surprised" at how much he will do for women
if re-elected. Karzai claimed concern about the small number
of women employed in professional civil service positions.
He said he would explore an affirmative action program for
women in order to increase the numbers.

MOJ: Shia Law re-draft will protect women's rights, but under
pressure from religious conservatives
--------------


3. (SBU) Verveer told Minister Danish that a revised Shia
Family Law in line with constitutional guarantees of gender
equality and a strong domestic violence law were priority
issues for the U.S. Danish reported the Ministry had almost
completed its revision of the Shia Family Law. The Ministry
had reviewed hundreds of pages of suggested amendments
including those submitted by civil society. Danish had
shared some of these changes with civil society leaders
several days prior and described the leaders as 100 percent
satisfied. Danish also said religious groups were pressuring
him and President Karzai to enact the original version of the
Shia Family Law. MOJ had met four or five times with the
Ulema Council. Danish expressed contempt for the women who
had protested against the original version of the law. "If a
doctor protested about a legal issue, the doctor's criticism
would not be considered, because she does not have legal
training. Thus, the women protesting the Shia law should not
have spoken up." "There was no need for protests, and civil
society's objections rather than the actual law caused all
the problems,8 he added.


4. (SBU) Verveer pressed the Minister several times to share
the complete revision with national and international
stakeholders prior to finalizing it. Danish would only
commit to meeting again with Afghan women and civil society
representatives. He specifically declined to share the
amendments with internationals, citing concerns about
provoking another public uproar. Danish said the draft
Elimination of Violence against Women bill was with the
Cabinet, and he expected the Cabinet would approve it.


Abdullah: Women's vigorous participation in the electoral
process gives him hope
--------------


5. (SBU) Presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah
acknowledged that Karzai's government had presented
opportunities for women's advancement, but said Afghanistan
was still far behind where he had hoped it would be. Women's
enthusiasm for the electoral process was giving Abdullah and
others hope for the future. Women were demanding progress in
human rights issues such as domestic violence and increased
representation at every level of government. If elected,
Abdullah plans to allocate 30 percent of cabinet posts and
civil service positions to women. He would give the Ministry
of Women's Affairs (MOWA) additional authority to implement
its programs and insist that other ministries implement their
parts of MOWA's programs.


Ghani: Economic empowerment crucial for women; advocates
decentralized government
--------------


6. (SBU) The greatest threat to Afghanistan comes from its
current government, opposition candidate Ashraf Ghani told
Verveer. Narcotics and the insurgency are only by-products
of the government's weakness. Discussing his campaign
platform, he advocated election of most local officials,
transfer of 50 percent of the national budget to local
governmental units, and clarification of property rights
within municipalities. Many municipalities lost
opportunities for business and market sites due to confusion
over land titles. Increasing economic opportunities is the
key to empowering women. Ghani advocated a "made by Afghan
women" label as a marketing strategy. He also urged
development of women's industries in the areas of jewelry
production, fashion and embroidery, and animal husbandry.

Minister of Public Health: Significant progress; concrete
plan for addressing women's health challenges
--------------


7. (SBU) Minister of Public Health Sayed Amin Fatimie said it
will take a concerted and coordinated effort for different
ministries and sectors to appropriately address women's
health and mentioned partnering with the Ministries of
Women's Affairs, Agriculture, and Religious Affairs as
crucial. His ministry's main strategies and interventions
for reducing maternal mortality include expanding coverage of
quality health services, expanding community midwifery
training, strengthening community-based services through
community health workers (volunteers),and reinforcing
community mobilization and behavior change to increase
utilization of quality health services.

Badghis: Remote and poor but standing up for women
--------------


8. (SBU) Badghis Governor Delbar Arman, who accompanied the
delegation to all Badghis meetings, told Verveer he was
working hard to bring justice to all citizens, men and women.
Improved security is the most important requirement for
improving girls' access to education, the first step in
combating the traditional marginalization of women. Arman
listed increased investment in the agriculture sector and
establishing a source of potable water as two other
priorities. He asked for machinery and irrigation technology
in order to increase the province's wheat yield. Verveer
emphasized the U.S. commitment to working with both men and
women to improve women's social indicators. "If you don't
work with men, you don't work with women," Arman agreed.

Badghis IEC: 11 out 47 provincial council candidates are women
--------------


9. (SBU) Eleven of the 47 candidates for the Badghis
provincial council are women, the provincial Independent
Election Commission (IEC) gender coordinator, Najima, told
the delegation and an assembled crowd of local leaders. The
IEC has two mobile voter registration teams-one registering
men and one registering women. The province has 163 polling
centers and 500 polling stations, of which 50 percent are for
women and 50 percent for men. Forty-six percent of
registered voters in Badghis province are women. Female
provincial candidate Sherzad welcomed the delegation and
identified the province's biggest challenges as insecurity
and a weak economy. Another female candidate, Yaseema, asked
Ambassador Verveer what her plan is for helping to bring a
better future for Afghan women. "The best investment a
family can make is to send their daughters to school,"
Verveer said. "The reason for our trip is to better
understand how we can most effectively partner with Afghans
to grow economic opportunities, improve access to health
care, and reduce societal violence against women," she added.
She also told the women that they needed to press the
presidential candidates on their plans for women and their
families.

Badghis Department of Women's Affairs: priorities are
education, economic opportunities, and health; U.S. should
turn attention to rural areas
--------------


10. (SBU) Badghis Department of Women's Affairs Director
Halima Rahpyma identified the main problems facing Badghis
women as forced marriages, lack of access to health care,
insecurity, and poverty. Her office has conducted projects
to address these problems including vocational and literacy
training. Ambassador Verveer told the assembled women that
Afghanistan cannot go forward if its women are left behind.
"You are the key to our success," she added. Rahpyma
identified priorities for international assistance to Badghis
women as literacy and civics training for adults and
increased access to education for girls, increasing
employment opportunities, and health care. Several attendees
emphasized that women in villages face many more challenges
than women in the provincial capital and asked that the U.S.
focus assistance efforts on rural areas.

Women's rights activist: Constitution is just a paper until
the government puts it into action
--------------


11. (SBU) Women's rights activist Orzala Ashruf and Member of
Parliament Fawzia Koofi highlighted an evening discussion of
the way forward for Afghan women, chaired by UNAMA Deputy
Special Representative of the Secretary General Peter
Galbraith. "The Constitution gives equal rights to men and
women, but it is only a piece of paper until the government
puts it into action," Ashruf said. The government hires
educated women to be secretaries and other low-level
employees, she noted. Ashruf also urged the Afghan
government and its international partners to do more to
support women at the district and village level in remote
areas. She also urged that the government give MOWA the
authority and funding to implement its programs, rather than
just make policy. MP Koofi urged the government to include
women in any potential peace talks and noted the need to
implement UN Resolution 1325 in that regard.

Domestic Violence Shelter and Women's Prison: two well-run
organizations assisting victims of societal ills
--------------


12. (SBU) During Verveer's tour of the U.S. NGO Women for
Afghan Women-run domestic violence shelter, several clients
described fleeing forced marriages to much older men. A
17-year-old girl's family had forced her to marry when she
was 11. Inmates at the U.S.-supported Kabul Women's Prison
told Verveer they were satisfied with prison conditions and
their treatment by prison officials. The inmates, serving
three to five year sentences for adultery, seven years for
narcotics, and 10-20 years for homicide explained that the
prison offered literacy, computer, sewing, and beadwork
instruction. In both venues, Verveer emphasized the strong
U.S. commitment to addressing poverty and lack of access to
education, factors which caused some women to end up in
either a shelter or prison.

Media Coverage
--------------


13. (U) Media outlets reported widely and positively on the
visit. The reports focused on Verveer's demand for increased
women's participation and leadership in the next government
and her re-affirmation of the USG's neutrality in the August
election.
EIKENBERRY