Asia

In Afghanistan, corruption affects people’s lives in many ways. In an interview, Yama Torabi, Director of the Afghan NGO Integrity Watch Afghanistan, criticizes the international perception that corruption is an inherent aspect of Afghan culture. There are alternatives howerer.

To the degree that the international community is concerned with the intra-Afghan agreement and security handover, so should it also be concerned that the process does not harm Afghan civil society, but rather ensure that it has an active voice in the process. 

In his Interview, Aziz Rafiee, Managing Director of the Afghan Civil Society Forum, assesses the developments in Afghanistan during the last ten years. Where can we mark successes and where do gaps persist? Which role does the Afghan civil society play and will the Taliban be invited to the table at the Bonn conference on Afghanistan in December?

After strong criticism voiced by Afghan human rights and civil society organizations, the Ministry of Justice has modified the draft law on how to celebrate weddings in Afghanistan. The result is disappointing: The changes are merely technical and do not address the common concern of too much interference in people’s private affairs.

In view of the upcoming December 2011 Bonn/Petersberg Conference on Afghanistan, leaders from Afghan civil society have appealed to members of the German Bundestag in an open letter. In the letter, they demand, among other things, more transparency in the Afghan government’s negotiations with the Taliban, as well as increased access by the Afghan civil society to the national decision-making process.

In December 2011, ten years after the Petersberg Conference, the future of Afghanistan will be discussed anew. How can Afghanistan increasingly become militarily, politically and economically more independent? And where does the Afghan parliament and civil society stand in this year’s Bonn Conference? Will they be included? Or will they – as is so often the case in international conferences – be excluded?

The number of attacks by the Afghan army and police on their own citizens could increase strongly when the international forces withdraw. This fears e.g. the NGO Human Rights Research and Advocacy Consortium (HRRAC), a longtime partner of the HBS.

The violence against women and girls in Afghanistan continues to rise. For this reason, the Afghan Women's Network turns in an open letter to political leaders and urges them to act.

Even though the working conditions for Afghan journalists are slowly improving, a free reporting is still not possible and many of them have to take high risks for reporting. Furthermore, the Afghan officials prefer talking to Western correspondents rather than with representatives of local media outlets.

Over the past three years, Rights & Democracy has been directly involved in the reform of family law in Afghanistan. In this publikation four authors reflect the central themes: the evolution of reforms in 20th century Afghanistan; the participation of civil society in the legislative process in the post-Taliban era; the marriage contract and registration of marriages; and the gap between the theoretical discourse and practice with regards to protecting the rights of women.

Again and again the government of Hamid Karzai has shown that she has no interest to fight corruption seriously. Now the Afghan youth wishes to speak. They have seen the progress made by the peoples movements in the Arab World. They oppose the ideology of the Taliban, demanding an end to corruption and Karzai's withdrawal.

Maria Bashir, an Afghan female prosecutor, fights corruption and domestic violence and promotes the right of Afghan women to work.

Abasin Azarm was born in Kandahar Afghanistan in 1983. He has managed and run several radio projects in Afghanistan and worked there as a journalist for over 9 years. Now he talks about the changes in his country and the freedom of speech.

Many people in Afghanistan believe it is shameful for women to play any sports, especially football which is thought to be men’s sport. Yet over the last years female football is on the raise in Afghanistan. It all kicked off with the establishment of Afghanistan’s first female football club in 2004.

Afghan civil society has become remarkably strong and self-confident over the last years. It is impressive how much power and sovereignty my male and female counterparts here in Kabul show. It is necessary to further support the efforts of Afghan human rights activists. Women’s rights are a priority for them.

Never will women’s rights be sacrificed in talks with the Taliban and never will the Afghan government close women shelters. These are the promises President Karzai made to his people in the middle of a heated debate on women’s rights in Afghanistan. These are two major commitments. Judging by the overall political trends in the country, it might not be easy to stick to them.

After ten years of international involvement in Afghanistan, a second conference will take plan in Bonn this December 2011 to discuss the country’s future. Since 2002, the Heinrich Böll Foundation has actively supported the development of civil society in Afghanistan and has promoted exchanges between the German and Afghan public. The following dossier provides a venue for comments, analysis and debate ahead of the Bonn Conference on Afghanistan.

It is young people at the heart of the Arab revolt who are rebelling not for jihad but for freedom and democracy. Nevertheless, bin Laden's death opens up huge opportunities worldwide. President Barack Obama needs to follow up on the promise he made in Cairo, two years ago, when he pledged to build bridges to the Muslim world. 

Wedding ceremonies have become ruinous for many Afghans. A new law now aims at limiting the expenses. The good intention of the initiative is tarnished, however, because the draft at the same time sanctions heavy governmental interference into personal affairs.

Environment protection is one those issues that require education and discussion. Perhaps, a lot of parents do not consider environment issues significant enough to be taught because they think that the children themselves might know about it once they are grown-up. Or, they might think that it is the responsibility of schools and teachers to educate the children on these issues.