It is great to hear that an Afghan woman is among four winners of this year’s Courage in Journalism Awards announced by a Washington-based media organization on Friday, May 03. The achievement is really huge, considering the status of women in the Afghanistan and the attitude of society towards them. Nonetheless, it remains a fact that Afghanistan, like any other country, has many talented women who can play their role in earning a reputable name for the country and introducing the necessary positive changes within the society. Unfortunately, the circumstances and the misconducts of our political and so-called religious leaders have made the situation unsuitable for such individuals and they are not able to utilize their talents and help themselves and their society appropriately.
A statement from the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) said that Najiba Ayubi, managing director of The Killid Group, was among this year’s winners.
It said the 45-year-old had spent more than a decade working under anonymous threats and attacks from government entities for her reporting on politics and women’s rights.
Among the news of the terrorism and the deteriorating position of women in the country, the news item depicted that Afghan society would have been in a different position, had it been safe from filthy extremism and disorder and women would have definitely shown that they have the capability to play tremendous role for bringing good name to the society and performing valuable services.
Najiba Ayubi leads a team of reporters working in print, broadcast and online media and has defied calls for censorship. It is really encouraging to see an Afghan woman achieving something extra-ordinary among all the women in the world. Another award winner is Nour Kelze, a photojournalist for Reuters in Syria. Also honoured by the organisation are Bopha Phorn, reporter for The Cambodia Daily, and Edna Machirori, the first black female newspaper editor in Zimbabwe, who will receive the IWMF Lifetime Achievement Award. The Courage in Journalism Awards and Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented at ceremonies in New York on October 23 and in Los Angeles on October 29.
Afghan society has a history of discriminatory behavior towards women and it can be easily observed that even now the incidents violating women rights have not been stopped though there have been many claims of developments. In fact the changes are prevalent only on the exterior while from within the Afghan society still lacks the modernity and development it needs in order to reach to a respectable position. The support and assistance of the international community has only been able to provide clean and beautiful attire not a praiseworthy soul to Afghan society and this attire is going to get dirty very soon.
The Afghan social structure has been vehemently dominated by religious extremism and tribal nepotism. Though these factors have affected almost everyone, women have been intensely influenced as they belong to the weaker strata of the society. Most of the self-designed religious doctrines and tribal norms are against the women and discriminate their basic rights. Unfortunately, these norms and doctrines have even gone to the extent of violence and have tortured women physically – mostly in the public. They, in the name of dignity of women, have in fact degraded them. The concept of so-called tribal honor and dignity has not been able to provide safety and respect to Afghan women.
In accordance to parochial tribal norms and extremist religious beliefs women are not meant to get education. Their duties are bound to be inside the boundaries of their houses, which they do not have the right to leave in any condition except after the permission of an authoritative male member. Though there have been some improvements made to counter the traditional beliefs regarding the female education, they are mostly limited to only a couple of large cities, while most of the small cities and villages do not have proper or any arrangement for the education of women.
Moreover, the efforts that are carried out in some way or the other are not without opposition - most of the times the opposition comes in the form of ruthless violence. There have been many incidents when the lunatic culprits have thrown acids on the faces of the girls who go to schools. Parents, who are interested to let their girls get education, have to think thousand times because for them the lives of their children are dearer than their education.
It is unfortunate to note that Afghan authorities and many important personalities themselves have favored the recommendations and suggestions to limit the participation of women in social and political lives. As most of these authorities are themselves nourished in an extremist patriarchal society and do not have much consideration regarding the role and empowerment of women and consider it against their tribal values that they come out of their houses, they would never follow a movement to save women from violence and make them achieve their due place in Afghan society.
It is really important that government must not support the discriminatory ideas against the women. Afghan society is a society that has been dominated by male chauvinism and its history has been filled with various incidents of ruthless violence against women. There are different sorts of such incidents every now and then in different parts of country even in today’s Afghanistan. Government can prove to be a hope for the women. If it itself encourages the intentions that may undermine the rights of women, it would be very difficult to expect the same from common people.
Moreover, the international community in this regard can also play an important role. Though it has mentioned on almost all the important occasions that human rights, especially women rights, have to be given top priority by the Afghan government if it wills to have the support of major countries, it has not been able to make Afghan government pursue a really practical and comprehensive strategy regarding the issue, which is the only solution for preserving the women rights and dignity to a certain extent in Afghan society.
If given their due rights, Afghan women have all the potential and prudence to inspire the world with their abilities and prove that they are not inferior to men at all.