There is no question that the oppression suffered by women
under Afghanistan's Taliban government is intolerable. But as
feminist voices gain volume in the complex political climate
surrounding the United States war on terrorism, it is important
to remember why the U.S. is engaged in this fight.
The proximate cause of the current conflict is the terrorist
attacks of Sept. 11 — not the oppression of Afghan women. The
stated goals of the war are to punish those responsible for the
hijackings and to prevent further terrorist attacks — not to
achieve equality for women in Afghanistan. If the American
military is used as a vehicle of social justice — whether the
cause is racial equality, gay rights, or equity for women — the
world will be at perpetual war.
And if feminist conditions are placed upon the peace
negotiations, it will be disastrous. At worst, the cultural
differences inherent in such conditions would doom peace talks
to failure. At best, such conditions would place an immense
burden on the already Herculean job of creating a lasting peace
between Afghan tribes and factions with very different notions
of women in society.
But though using the American military to enforce social
causes such as feminism — even if the causes are good ones — is
counter to the objectives of the military and U.S. diplomacy —
this is what the most prominent feminist organizations are
attempting to do by demanding that the U.S. configure a
post-Taliban government in Afghanistan to ensure full
participation for women.
As a matter of law, Afghan women are denied the right of free
association, access to medical care and education, the right to
an unbiased trial...the list of crimes against women scrolls on.
But most feminist voices are now insisting upon more than
protecting Afghan women from harm. They are demanding equality
of representation in power. For example, the left-wing Feminist
Majority is circulating a petition that reads, in part, "We must
help ensure that Afghan women's rights are restored and women
are at the center of the rebuilding of the country."
The National Organization for Women has posted an Action
Alert which reads, "We need your help to demand that the U.S.
include Afghan women Leaders ..." in the post-war government and
"at the table" in the peace negotiations. NOW asks supporters to
phone and send e-mails to President Bush, Secretary of State
Powell, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Biden and U.N.
Secretary General Annan.
The Washington-based Women's Alliance for Peace and Human
Rights in Afghanistan, along with other feminist groups, is
asking not only the U.S. but also the United Nations to make
recognition of women's rights a precondition for peace. They
have already delivered a rough draft peace plan to the U.N.
This is not a call to fund refugee camps, schools or
hospitals — humanitarian measures with no necessary political
overtones. The demand that Afghan women be fully represented in
the peace negotiations and post-war government is a blatantly
political demand for equality for women.
To their credit, NOW and the Feminist Majority have
publicized the horrors of the Taliban. To their shame, they are
now trying to use the war and U.S. foreign policy as a tool to
impose a social agenda upon Afghanistan and, perhaps, upon some
allies as well. An increasing amount of criticism is being
directed specifically toward Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.
Such demands might be dismissed as wartime opportunism by a
special interest group if Senators were not listening and
nodding their heads in approval.
On October 15th, the Feminist Majority proudly announced that
Senator Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., had won passage of an amendment
to the Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill that included
Afghan women in the establishment of a new Afghan government.
Boxer reportedly called the war on terrorism, "an opportunity to
return women to their rightful place in Afghan society."
Under Boxer's amendment, the U.S. government's foreign policy
would be used to impose a "social good" on a foreign nation. The
American military would be used as leverage to force a
non-western culture to abandon its attitudes and some of its
religious practices regarding women.
Feminists are being hypocritical. On the "700 Club"
television show of Sept. 13, Rev. Jerry Falwell declared that
feminists and gays bore some responsibility for the terrorist
events of Sept. 11. The backlash was swift. On Sept. 14, the
Feminist Majority excoriated Falwell for attaching his own
agenda to the tragedy.
Now it's the feminists who are viewing the war as an
opportunity.
Consider one example. Afghanistan's powerful Northern
Alliance — the military and political opponents of the Taliban —
has been openly critical of the Revolutionary Association of the
Women of Afghanistan, the group that has emerged as the main
voice of Afghan women. NA representatives have accused RAWA of
being a communist front. Whether the accusation is accurate or
not, it illustrates the difficulties "feminist" demands would
create at a peace table.
For arguing that the war is not a feminist issue, I will be
branded as "anti-woman." What I am really trying to do is
separate humanitarian issues from political ones in order to
help women. A lasting peace is the prerequisite for improving
the lives of every human being in Afghanistan. It is in that
peace where Afghan women will almost certainly make remarkable
advances. The global attention and money now directed at their
cause almost guarantees this progress. It can occur through
diplomacy, global pressure, the funding of women's rights
agencies. But any "advance" for Afghan women that occurs due to
a fear of U.S. or U.N. military action is unlikely to last.
Equality for women should not be put on the peace table for
negotiation because it is not part of the war and could be an
obstacle to peace; and it is an enduring peace that is the key
to restoring human rights to women in Afghanistan.
