Afghanistan: Economy, Human Rights, and Women's Status

Overview of Afghanistan's Economy

This paper examines Afghanistan, its history, and its economy. It also addresses such important issues as the human rights situation and women's rights in this part of the world. Experts maintain that religion has never been the root problem — it is the economy of a country that leads to a poor human rights situation. Afghanistan has been torn apart by more than 23 years of warfare, and its economic, political, and social structures are in shambles.

To say Afghanistan is a poor country would be an understatement. Afghanistan is simply one of the poorest countries in the world, with a negligible GDP growth rate and more than 53% of its economy coming from agriculture, which remains at a primitive stage. Afghanistan's dependence on agriculture contributes to extreme poverty because no sophisticated methods are being used to increase productivity and the government has done little to exploit land that contains abundant mineral resources (CIA World Factbook, 2003).

Warfare, Displacement, and Their Impact

According to The Columbia Encyclopedia, 5th edition (1993), "Agriculture is the main occupation, but less than 10% of the land is cultivated, and a large percentage of the arable land was damaged by warfare during the 1980s. Largely subsistence crops include wheat, fruits, and nuts. Grazing is also of great importance in the economy. Mineral wealth is virtually undeveloped, except for natural gas, which is produced in exportable quantities."

With this kind of economy, Afghanistan could not possibly afford another war. Yet over the past decade, Afghanistan witnessed a growing trend toward conflict, which became the primary mode of governing the country. Twenty-three years of warfare completely destroyed what was once a flourishing nation, leaving its economy in ruins. Extreme poverty created hopelessness and disillusionment among the population, and many people came to believe that no government could pull Afghanistan out of its deep economic problems. They were probably right, because sincere efforts were not being made to revitalize the economy, and the damage done by wars and the Taliban regime would require many years to undo (Larry P. Goodson, 2001).

The warfare not only damaged the country itself but also displaced millions of its people, resulting in massive brain drain and a sharp decrease in available manpower. Many people migrated to neighboring Iran and Pakistan. Pakistan has served as an important refugee host for Afghan displaced groups for many years. Because of more than 23 years of war in Afghanistan, millions fled their country and sought shelter in the Pakistani cities of Peshawar and Quetta. Some Afghan groups relocated to more industrialized cities such as Karachi and Lahore, but the significant majority still reside in Peshawar and Quetta. Political persecution along with economic hardship has been the main cause of displacement; between 1979 and 1992, some six million Afghans were driven from their homeland. Most sought refuge in Pakistan and Iran, and according to one estimate, the number of Afghan refugees in Pakistan reached 3,272,000 in 1990 and rose sharply to approximately 2 million in 2001. Several hundred thousand more refugees moved to Iran or Tajikistan. Because of its historically warm ties with Afghanistan, Pakistan became the largest host of Afghan refugees, even as its own resources were strained by the massive refugee influx.

Afghanistan has more displaced people than almost any other country because its endless conflicts have created political, religious, and economic crises. Since these problems remained prevalent, the movement of Afghans did not stop after the U.S. war on Afghanistan. From September 2001 onward, more than 1,100 Afghans entered the United States, with most resettling in California, Virginia, Texas, Florida, New York, and Massachusetts. The State Department continued to process refugee cases through the U.S. embassy in Pakistan, handling an average of 8 to 10 cases per week. Since 1996, more than 6,000 Afghan refugees had been admitted to the United States, with many also resettling in Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Washington, and Missouri (Paul Sperry, WorldNetDaily.com).

Women's Rights Under the Taliban

While the Taliban did great damage to the already impoverished country in economic terms, they also inflicted mental and emotional torture on women, who were stripped of every right they had. It is striking that such a government could remain in power for five years — five years is a long time for anyone who faces suppression and oppression on a daily basis. Afghan women became a neglected entity, confined to their homes and not permitted to leave even in times of emergency. Women were subjected to violence that was not always physical; denying someone their rights is an equally brutal form of violence, but the Taliban appeared to have no understanding of what they were doing to the female population (Hannah Beech et al., 2001).

The Contemporary Women's Issues Database (1997) reported: "Violence against women has always existed in Afghanistan. Violence is commonplace in the daily lives of Afghan women; however, it escalates during racial or political violence and when other groups enter the conflict. In times of crisis — whether political, economic, or community — the family tends to exert greater control over women, there is state and social repression of women, and there is an increase in violence against women. Conflicts affect men and women differently, putting increased burdens on women and leading to the increased oppression of women by families and society."

Understanding the situation under the Taliban requires recognizing that the economy also plays a role in the oppression of women. While most people associate economy with national prosperity, its area of influence extends far beyond any single sector. Poor countries consistently show the weakest human rights structures. The link between economic deprivation and human rights violations is not difficult to trace: when countries cannot financially support their populations, violence follows. In some parts of the world that violence is limited to street-level conflict; in other poor regions it can permeate every aspect of an individual's life — as it did in Afghanistan.

Some observers attributed the suppression of women in Afghanistan to religion, but this explanation does not hold up to scrutiny. Islam does not promote the subjugation of women in any form. Men and women are given equal obligations before God, and stripping women of their basic rights in the name of religion is a political manipulation of faith rather than a genuine religious mandate. Kristin Brustad, a professor of Middle Eastern Studies, stated plainly: "It doesn't have anything to do with religion. In those economies where women fare poorly, men also fare poorly. Poverty leads to a lack of democracy. It's as simple as that" (The Atlanta Journal, 2001).