Afghan women have endured countless human rights violations, many of them under the Taliban, the brutal regime that ruled the country until it was overthrown in 2001. Between 1996 and 2001, women were completely shut out of public life, unable to work, go outside without a male escort, or expose a single body part, including their eyes. They were literally prisoners within their homes. Today, Afghan women have increased rights, including a guarantee for gender equality in the new constitution, but they still face many obstacles in everyday life. Especially in rural Afghanistan, women continue to be excluded from participating in civic life. Many are denied the opportunity to attend school, and those who do make it to the classroom risk being attacked.

LCHR’s initiative in Afghanistan centers around five ongoing capacity-building training programs led by Afghan women. Participants include the most vulnerable women, especially widows. Project coordinators have also reached out to men in their communities and have received broad-based support. The initiatives are currently running in four Afghan provinces – Kabul, Faryab, Nangarhar, and Parwan. Special emphasis has been placed on literacy, human rights awareness, traditional democratic values, skill building, and economic empowerment. LCHR’s holistic approach has allowed participants to generate desperately needed income, while cultivating a substantive dialogue about women’s rights and civic responsibilities. The project has had immediate, tangible results in a place where too often everyday Afghan people, especially women, do not feel the impact of international aid.

In addition to securing rights for women, Afghanistan is faced with a great number of other concerns. The country has experienced a continued increase in Taliban violence, and a shortage of successful alternative livelihood programs have left poor farmers dependent on poppy, strengthening the grip of drug lords while opium profits fuel the Taliban’s resurgence. Amnesty granted to notorious warlords in Afghanistan’s Parliament has ensured continuing government corruption. Human rights activists and journalists continue to face death threats and have been assassinated for their work.

 
In light of these myriad problems, LCHR has formed a working group of Afghanistan experts to educate decision makers about the reality on the ground for everyday Afghan people. Through ongoing outreach and networking efforts, LCHR has created this coalition of Afghans, Afghan-Americans and American experts on Afghanistan who are intimately familiar with the many problems facing the country and the holistic approach needed to address them. In addition, the group has worked to correct the growing disconnect seen with U.S. decision makers who lack the firsthand knowledge necessary to craft effective polices that will help the Afghan people.

LCHR has partnered with Omar Hadi, Executive Director of the U.S.-Afghanistan Reconstruction Council (US-ARC) to compile the report, Afghanistan: Struggling toward Democracy, Facing Significant Obstacles.

To read LCHR's white paper on Afghanistan, click here.

To read “Struggling toward Democracy,” click here.

To read the U.S. State Department's 2005 report on human rights in Afghanistan, click here.