Afghanistan will hold four major elections over the next two years: presidential and provincial council on August 20, 2009, and parliament and district council in 2010. IFES-STEP (Support to the Electoral Process), along with Counterpart International Afghanistan, will work closely with the Afghanistan Independent Election Commission (IEC) and civil society to promote and increase women’s participation in the elections as voters and candidates.

Development indicators show that women in Afghanistan trail behind Afghan men, and women in most other countries, in the areas of health, civil rights, education, literacy, economic opportunity, protection against violence, and public participation. Widespread poverty and traditional practices limit women’s access to services, opportunities and resources needed to achieve their full potential.

A recent report from the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)¹ on the situation of women in Afghanistan as it relates to governance and decision-making found:

• One cabinet member is female (Minister of Women Affairs)
• Women represent 27% of the National Assembly (68 out of 249 seats in Wolesi Jirga [lower house of the Afghan parliament], 23 out of 102 in the Mesherano Jirga [upper house])
• Women account for 26% of all civil servants
• There were not enough female candidates to meet the 124 seat quota at Provincial Council elections, and three seats had to be given to men
• In 17 of the 36 Ministries there are less than 10% female employees
• In 2004, 87% of Afghans believed that women need a male relative's authorization to vote; 35% of women believed they would not have permission to vote; and 18% of men admitted they would not allow their wives to vote.

Notably, the Afghanistan Electoral Law reserves 25% of seats for women in both the Wolesi Jirga and Provincial Councils. Although five provincial council seats in the conservative south and east were left vacant because few candidates registered, women obtained the 68 seats reserved for them in the Wolesi Jirga.

Given the dire need to improve gender balance, the Government of Afghanistan (GoA) has committed to improving the situation of women. To begin with, it has acknowledged the importance of gender equality under the Bonn Agreement and the Afghan Constitution. In doing so, the GoA recognized that participation of women and attention to their rights and status are both a requirement and a necessity for the national peace and reconstruction process. In 2002, the Declaration of the Essential Rights of Afghan Women was signed into law, guaranteeing women: life with dignity; the right to be equal to men; freedom from discrimination on account of sex, race, or religion; personal safety; equal protection under the law; freedom of movement, thought, speech, assembly and political participation. Further, the GoA ratified The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in March 2003, which the U.S. has still not done.

These rights, enshrined in law, provide opportunities for women and men to benefit equally in development and reconstruction activities. Marina Nawabi, Gender Advisor for IFES/Counterpart International Afghanistan STEP, points out that women have begun to play a prominent role in elections. For the 2005 parliamentary elections, women voters registered in greater numbers than they did in Afghanistan's 2004 presidential election. However, while important shifts have occurred in the legal and regulatory environment, significant cultural, social, and economic constraints to women’s full participation in Afghan politics remain.

In Afghan society women and men are very segregated. Social norms prevent women from leaving their homes without permission from their husbands or other male family members. This often results in women having little access to public space. For many women, weddings and funerals provide the only opportunities to meet with other women outside the extended family. This is especially so in rural areas where there are fewer opportunities to interact outside of family compounds.

Anusha Ahmadi, public outreach coordinator for IFES/Counterpart International Afghanistan - STEP, points out that these social norms have led many women to consider the public and political spheres to be men’s domain. Therefore, they don’t feel that voting is their responsibility. By extension, they also feel that making candidate choices or standing as candidates is something that should be done with their husband’s or family’s guidance or approval.

At a recent series of focus groups held by STEP on public outreach, most participants recognized that Afghans need more information on the elections. Men’s relative freedom of mobility and the freedom to socialize in public allows them access to information through both formal and informal channels. Women, on the other hand, lack access to media and information. The very high rate of illiteracy amongst women in Afghanistan exacerbates this.

Security is another barrier to women’s participation in politics that was also seen during the 2005 parliamentary and provincial council elections and might be aggravated during the 2009 and 2010 elections. This not only keeps women from venturing out to vote, it also precludes the participation of women in the election process. In 2005, there was an insufficient number of female election staff. During the 2008/2009 voter registration outreach campaign by the IEC Public Outreach Department, great efforts were made to recruit equal numbers of men and women civic educators. Out of a total of nearly 1500 civic outreach educators only 400 women could be hired. In two provinces, no women could be recruited. Given the rather limited time for public awareness campaigns, this will potentially place women’s access to information, largely conveyed through face-to-face meetings with civic educators, at even greater risk.

Religious scholars and mullahs (religious leaders) are essential conveyers of information for both men and women. However, as in the past, there is likely to be a lack of cooperation among many of the more conservative mullahs. This has been redressed somewhat by a Conference of Scholars convened in November 2008 at which an agreement was issued promoting women’s participation as being compatible with Islam. However, the degree to which this agreement has been taught by mullahs is unknown.

The IFES-STEP program aims to increase women’s political participation by addressing these issues in multiple ways. Civic and voter education will play a major role through Counterpart International Afghanistan’s outreach to 31 of 34 provinces. Technical advisors are working closely with counterparts at the Afghanistan Independent Election Commission to ensure that a gender perspective is integrated into all outreach and media activities. Likewise, another of IFES’ programs in Afghanistan, IFES-CEPPS, is working closely on advocacy training for women and journalists to ensure candidates are held accountable for their views on women’s rights.

Marina Nawabi is a Gender Advisor with Counterpart International, Anusha Ahmadi is public outreach coordinator for IFES-STEP/Counterpart International Afghanistan, and Vic Getz is IFES-STEP Gender Specialist.