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MISSING: ACCURATE INFORMATION ON WOMEN AND THE ELECTION…IN AFGHANISTAN

October 1, 2004

In the first presidential debate of the 2004 election season, President Bush made claim to “victory” in Afghanistan, stating that: “Ten million citizens have registered to vote.” He went on to say: “Forty-one percent of those 10 million are women.” What Bush neglected to mention was that those statistics have recently come into serious doubt. In a report released on September 29, 2004, Human Rights Watch found that these claims ignore “widespread multiple registration by voters.” These findings partially explain the discrepancy between original UN estimates of the eligible voting population of Afghanistan—9.8 million—and the number of registered voters—10.3 million.

The Bush Administration’s claim that 41% of the 10 million registered are women also deserves further exploration. First, the Human Rights Watch report counters this claim, stating that it “ignores the likelihood that tens of thousands of women have been registered more than once (some believing their voting card would entitle them to benefits or food rations), and masks regional variation in the figures, including data from some southern provinces showing that less than 10% of those registered are women.” Secondly, according to the Women’s Edge Coalition and Women for Women International, women have been attacked in Afghanistan while involved in voter registration. These attacks, attacks on male voting rights workers, and other security concerns were the reasons the June elections in Afghanistan were postponed until October 2004. Thirdly, the claim that women are registered to vote and therefore “free” ignores the reality of Afghani women’s lives. A recent Asian Foundation survey found that women voters in Afghanistan are subject to intimidation, that “87% of all Afghans [interviewed] said women would need their husbands’ permission to vote, and 72% said men should advise women on their voting choices.” Thirty-five percent of the women surveyed said that they were not certain they would be given permission by their husbands and/or male family members to vote. In addition, 90% of Afghani women are illiterate and/or have not had enough education on voting rights and responsibilities to effectively exercise their right to vote. Finally, considering the fact that women in Afghanistan actually make up over 60% of the eligible voting population, 40% representation is unacceptable.

While there is certainly no doubt that women’s rights were severely curtailed under the Taliban regime, in light of the information above, it is also important to acknowledge the fact that women’s rights in Afghanistan have a long way to go. Once again, this makes us more aware of the disconnect between rhetoric and reality: out of the $2.5 billion Congress has appropriated for Afghanistan since 2002, only $72.5 (that’s 3%) of that has been earmarked for women’s programs.

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