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Gender Imperatives in the Afghan Refugee Crisis

November 7, 2001
Council on Foreign Relations

[Note: A transcript of this meeting is unavailable. The discussion is summarized below.]

November 7, 2001

This roundtable meeting focused on the impact of gender in the Afghan refugee crisis, and specifically addressed problems and policies involved in the protection and support of Afghan refugee women. Approximately 60 people representing NGO, government, UN, business, legal and academic perspectives attended.

Carolyn McAskie, U.N. Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, discussed the responsibility of the U.N. in the Afghan refugee crisis and the need to intensify the effort to include gender in the solution to the crisis. Paula Lynch, Deputy Director of the Office of Policy and Resource Planning of the State Department, provided a detailed overview of current conditions for women in Afghanistan and U.S. policy toward the situation in Afghanistan and the region. Mary Diaz and Sippi Azerbajiani-Moghaddam of the Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children discussed the conditions of refugees and internally displaced persons in Afghanistan. The presider for the meeting, Jennifer S. Whitaker, Director of the Council’s Project on Women’s Human Rights and U.S. Foreign Policy, led the discussion, which addressed the following questions:

  • Looking at the track record of existing programs supporting refugee women, both in Afghanistan and Pakistan, what are the main imperatives for the US and the UN in strengthening protections and fostering the welfare of this group?

  • Are there potential opportunities for Afghan women's organizations in the refugee camps and in Afghanistan to play a more significant role in meeting humanitarian needs? How can international actors seize these opportunities and avoid pitfalls?

  • How important are efforts to safeguard the rights and support the welfare of women refugees to the U.S.efforts against terrorism and for peace in Afghanistan?

FINDINGS AND KEY QUESTIONS

  • More than 75% of Afghan refugees are women and children. The desperate situation of Afghan women – more than 20% of whom are now refugees or internally displaced— is well-known. Oppression of women by the Taliban severely impedes their access to health care, education, income, and basic sustenance.

  • Over the last decade, donors have recognized that the particular needs of women refugees – ignored in the past -- need to be addressed. Stresses women face when they are uprooted from their homes and placed in the setting of refugee camps are different from those men experience. As a response, donors have instituted gender awareness in policies about design of refugee camp facilities,distribution of resources, and protection against gender-based violence. Programs like those in Kosovo and Bosnia, for example, have provided a new focus on protection for women. While these programs represent a great improvement, they have not gone far enough. Resources for the key programs supporting women -- in education and health -- have been meager.

  • U.S. and U.N. declaratory policy supports women’s rights and women’s participation throughout the process from refugee crisis through transitional decision-making to reconstruction. The U.S., however, is wary of appearing too concerned with women’s rights. The U.S. military also has been seen as less than forthcoming on the implications for civilian safety in military operations. The U.N., which passed Security Council Resolution 1325 a year ago, mandating women’s involvement in peace-building, still needs to show that it can deliver on that pledge.

RECOMMENDATIONS

  • Improving programs will necessitate the active involvement of effective gender advisors and require gender-sensitivity training for all who work with refugees, and ultimately, for reconstruction. Resources for these programs should be greatly increased.

  • More support, with particular provision for gender programs, should be given to Pakistan, whose resources are greatly taxed by the sheer number of refugees.

  • External actors should address gender issues in context. That is, they need to address men’s attitudes every step of the way, while also focusing on outcomes for women; they need to involve Afghan men who have been active in helping women’s efforts in education and skill-building; they need to include boys as well as girls in education programs.

  • Above all, external actors need to listen to Afghan women, letting them make decisions wherever possible about the design of programs, their participation in institutions, and gender politics.

  • Since women’s participation is essential to stability and development, both the U.S. and the U.N. should give their participation in negotiations and peace-building very high priority.