Afghan women to miss out on vote in landmark election
By Jerome Starkey in Kabul and Kim Sengupta Monday, 17 August 2009
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Millions of Afghan women will be denied their chance to vote in presidential elections this week because there aren't enough female officials to staff the women-only polling stations.
A desperate shortage of female staff is threatening to undermine the legitimacy of the elections, which are the pinnacle of western-led efforts to build a peaceful democracy. Strict cultural norms mean women can’t vote in male-run stations.
Women’s activists said the Independent Election Commission (IEC), which is organising the polls, still needs to recruit 13,000 women before Thursday’s elections.
The IEC refused to comment on recruitment figures, but papers leaked to The Independent suggest the shortfall is much worse, at more than 42,000.
Without female staff to operate the strictly segregated stations, and more importantly, without female searchers to frisk women voters as they arrive at those stations, conservative men across the country will ban their wives and daughters from taking part.
“If half of the population can’t participate, the election is illegitimate,” said Orzala Ashref, a director of the Afghan Women’s Network. “Without women’s votes, without women’s participation, of course the election is not going to be valid.”
Under the Taliban women were banned from working, beaten for laughing, and only allowed outside their homes with a male relative to escort them. Improving women’s rights has been a central pillar of the US-led mission, but in many parts of the country medieval customs still prevail and women are treated like property.
“You need female staff,” said leading women’s rights activist Wazhma Frogh. “Otherwise women won’t dare go out. Their families won’t let them.”
The problem is most acute in the south east, where there are just 2,564 women on the IEC books, less than 20 percent of the 13,400 target. In the south, they have less than half the 10,428 women required.
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By Jerome Starkey in Kabul and Kim Sengupta Monday, 17 August 2009
Article Link
Millions of Afghan women will be denied their chance to vote in presidential elections this week because there aren't enough female officials to staff the women-only polling stations.
A desperate shortage of female staff is threatening to undermine the legitimacy of the elections, which are the pinnacle of western-led efforts to build a peaceful democracy. Strict cultural norms mean women can’t vote in male-run stations.
Women’s activists said the Independent Election Commission (IEC), which is organising the polls, still needs to recruit 13,000 women before Thursday’s elections.
The IEC refused to comment on recruitment figures, but papers leaked to The Independent suggest the shortfall is much worse, at more than 42,000.
Without female staff to operate the strictly segregated stations, and more importantly, without female searchers to frisk women voters as they arrive at those stations, conservative men across the country will ban their wives and daughters from taking part.
“If half of the population can’t participate, the election is illegitimate,” said Orzala Ashref, a director of the Afghan Women’s Network. “Without women’s votes, without women’s participation, of course the election is not going to be valid.”
Under the Taliban women were banned from working, beaten for laughing, and only allowed outside their homes with a male relative to escort them. Improving women’s rights has been a central pillar of the US-led mission, but in many parts of the country medieval customs still prevail and women are treated like property.
“You need female staff,” said leading women’s rights activist Wazhma Frogh. “Otherwise women won’t dare go out. Their families won’t let them.”
The problem is most acute in the south east, where there are just 2,564 women on the IEC books, less than 20 percent of the 13,400 target. In the south, they have less than half the 10,428 women required.
More on link
. Any chance of delaying elections (again) as millions won't be able to vote? They delayed it for security (if I recall correctly) but now that it's more secure there's no women power to man the polls. Either that or ship 40,000 women from ISAF and volunteer countries in three days which would be a logistics nightmare. Why are we finding this out now? If we knew earlier something could have been done. Just my $.02.
