One of the UN treaties signed and adopted by countries in 1979 is the CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women), a critical document aimed at protecting the rights of women and reduce any gender-based violence against them. This response journal mainly aims to highlight the main points of Farhoumand-Sims’ 2009 article titled CEDAW and Afghanistan, including how it has been used, its benefits and limitations, the current situation in the country, and the role of advocates like Charlotte.
Discussion
How CEDAW has been used to respond to GBV in Afghanistan
According to Farhoumand-Sims (2009), CEDAW is one of the critical human rights documents the international community has used to rebuild Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban. CEDAW has ensured that women’s rights were taken into consideration at the early and critical stages of "nation-building." The charter has guaranteed women participation by providing their social, political, and economic issues are factored in.
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The Benefits and Limitations of CEDAW in improving the situation in Afghanistan
Farhoumand-Sims argues that CEDAW has played a significant role in Afghanistan by ensuring the rights of women were enshrined into the country’s constitution during its drafting in 2004, disregarding the Taliban rules. CEDAW was the impetus that powered Afghan women activist groups to marshal and champion for their inclusion in the constitution. During the Taliban regime, Afghan women were denied education and employment opportunities, faced public execution and flogging, and were obliged to wear a burqa (Gohari, 2000). All these changed with the entrance of CEDAW.
Despite serving a significant role in ensuring women inclusion in Afghanistan, the implementation of CEDAW has been met with maximum resistance from a particular group of Islamists who feel the empowered women threaten their position and religion. Some of these conventional forces view CEDAW as a tool that the western powers like the U.S. are using to undermine Afghanistan’s religious and cultural heritage, especially the gender roles of women and other sensitive issues surrounding integrity and honor.
The Current Status of Women’s Rights in Afghanistan
According to Farhoumand-Sims (2009), contemporary women in Afghanistan enjoy several rights, which deeply contrast the Taliban era. For example, women now can organize demonstrations in public without facing gender-based violence, including flogging or prosecution. Women are also attaining higher education degrees and are holding bigger positions in the government and other private firms. However, there are still minor incidences of violence reported against women (Mashal & Shah, 2017).
The Primary Charge made by Women’s Rights Advocates like Charlotte Bunch Against CEDAW in the 1990s
Bunch (1990) is one of the few early advocates, especially in the 90s, who condemned the male dominance against women. He categorically acknowledged and called for the intervention of the U.N. through CEDAW campaigns to alleviate the torture, humiliation, terrorism, and starvation women and other vulnerable groups were facing. Contemporary activists like Farhoumand-Sims (2009) also hold a similar position, arguing that women need protection from international humanitarian bodies like CEDAW.
Conclusion
In summary, it can be deduced that CEDAW has been an essential tool in fighting gender-based violence directed against women by the rogue male-ruled governments. In particular, it has managed to include women's rights in Afghanistan's constitution, which was drafted and promulgated in 2004. Thus, Afghan women, today can go to school, seek employment, walk freely, and are not subject to state punishment.
References
Bunch, C. (1990). Women’s rights as human rights: Toward a re-vision of human rights. Human rights Quarterly, 12 (4), 486-498.
Farhoumand-Sims, C. (2009). CEDAW and Afghanistan. Journal of International Women’s Studies, 11 (1), 136-156.
Gohari, M. J. (2000). The Taliban: Ascent to power. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Mashal, M., & Shah, T. (2017. July 17). Afghan more deadly for women and children, U.N. says. The New York Times, Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/17/world/asia/afghanistan-civilian-deaths-united-nations-report.html
