On October 16, both the House International Relations Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee held hearings to examine the coordination and implementation of U.S. policy in Afghanistan. Although most of each hearing focused on security issues, the status of women and girls in Afghanistan was highlighted.
The State Department Coordinator for Afghanistan, Ambassador William Taylor, began his testimony by describing the social and economic state of Afghanistan just after the war ended in 2001. “The Taliban government had essentially stopped providing health care, education and other services to the Afghan people, leading to a dramatic decline in social indicators, particularly affecting women and girls. The enrollment rate in primary education had dropped to only 38 percent for boys and barely 3 percent for girls. Infant mortality was estimated to be among the highest in the world, with malnutrition affecting 50 percent of children under the age of five,” he said.
Ambassador Taylor later described the steps that had been taken to improve the lives of the Afghan people and stated, “Women are more free to work and to go to school. Increasingly, as they appear in public, women are replacing their burqas with scarves.” He also noted that Afghan President Karzai’s administration has established judicial and human rights commissions to protect the rights of women and minorities.
Testifying on behalf of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), James Kunder pointed out that problems in Afghanistan still exist. “As just one grim reminder of the harshness of this long-suffering land, one of four Afghan children dies before the age of five,” he lamented. He described USAID’s efforts to invest in basic health care and education and to provide assistance to private organizations of women professionals and reformers. “The generosity of the U.S. people has provided 25 million textbooks for Afghan children. We have repaired or rebuilt 121 health clinics and facilities and will rebuild or construct 400 more over the next three years. We have also repaired or rebuilt 203 schools and will build or rebuild another 1,000 by 2006.” In addition, U.S. assistance has helped to create a Ministry of Women’s Affairs and establish women’s centers throughout the country.
In his opening statement before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Chair Richard Lugar (R-IN) said that the United States must “continue to support efforts to improve education and expand the role of women in Afghan society.” He lauded the progress that had been made in Afghanistan and cited a speech that First Lady Laura Bush gave to the National Association of Women Judges concerning the status of women and girls. She noted that 4 million Afghan children now go to school, including 1 million girls. Mrs. Bush also announced efforts to establish a teacher training institute and an American school in Kabul. Finally, she also praised the work of the University of Nebraska at Omaha, which has assisted in editing and printing 5 million textbooks in Afghanistan.
Former Special Envoy to Afghanistan Peter Tomsen highlighted the security concerns in Afghanistan and noted, “Deteriorating security will also block or delay implementation of women’s programs, from school attendance to seeking employment opportunities outside the home.”
