Misogyny and Lawlessness in Afghanistan: The Women's Fight for Equal Rights

Authors

Susan Farooqi, Esq

Abstract

(Excerpt)

This Note examines some important areas where Afghan women face discrimination and explores how legislation, such as a Civil Rights Act, could ensure the protection of women’s rights. Part II.A of this Note provides a historical perspective on Afghan women before the Taliban regime. Part II.B provides a brief history of the power struggle in Afghanistan that lead to the rise of the Taliban, a group solely responsible for creating the misogynistic culture in Afghan society today. Part II.C discusses five basic fundamental rights that Afghan women have been deprived of under the Taliban regime and explains that the deprivation of those rights still has adverse effects on Afghan women today, even after the fall of the Taliban in 2001. These deprivations include restrictions on the freedom of movement; the right to employment; the right to education; the right to healthcare; and the right to expression, association, and assembly.

Part III uses a comparative approach to propose a Civil Rights Act in Afghanistan. Specifically, this Note proposes that Afghan women’s rights advocates and political and legal leaders use the American Civil Rights law model as a guide. To demonstrate the similarity between the early struggle for women’s rights in the United States and Afghanistan’s struggle today, Part III.A discusses the shortcomings of the Nineteenth Amendment in the United States Constitution. Part III.B then discusses how the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in the United States led to further guarantees and rights for women. Part III.C discusses the shortcomings of the Afghan Constitution. Finally, Part III.D proposes a Civil Rights Act in Afghanistan that has a similar effect to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in the United States. With the support of jurists, lawmakers, and government, change can be implemented to end female oppression in Afghanistan once and for all.