Activists: Afghan women no better off

Chicago Tribune ^ | Thu, Sep 23, 2004 | Sarah Frank

[Area Freeper]

Human-rights organizations criticized the Bush administration Wednesday, saying in the three years since the Taliban was ousted from most of Afghanistan, the U.S. has not fulfilled promises of safety, freedom, education and health care for Afghan women.

"They have failed, misguided and betrayed Afghan women by giving them false hope," said T. Kumar, an Amnesty International advocacy director for Asia and the Pacific, at a news conference addressing Afghan women's issues. "Three years later, they are still dreaming, and it may be a pipe dream."

Kumar said he believed the Bush administration "used the Afghan women" when it said liberating them was a major reason to remove the Taliban from power. He contends that Afghan women's rights were never a concern of the Bush administration until after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

On Oct. 9, Afghan citizens are scheduled to elect a president. Millions of women are registered to vote, and most of the 19 candidates have women's issues as one focus of their political platform, Kumar said.

But there is minimal voter education in Afghanistan, and many women are expected to vote the same as their husbands or not at all, said Malaly Volpi, director of the Policy Council on Afghan Women.

"Ninety percent of Afghan women are illiterate. How will they know who to vote for?" Volpi said.

After the Sept. 11 attacks, President Bush ordered troops to Afghanistan to drive out the Taliban, which had harbored Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Bush said the war also would mean freedom for Afghan women, who had few rights under the Taliban.

Since then, "remarkable progress" has been made, said White House spokesman Jim Morrell.

[diamond6]

Excellent point.

[bray]

Where's the video of the woman getting shot in the head in the stadium???

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