VZCZCXRO7890
OO RUEHPW
DE RUEHBUL #3342/01 3661228
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 311228Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6580
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 4458
RUMICEA/USCENTCOM INTEL CEN MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KABUL 003342 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR SCA/FO DAS CAMP, SCA/A, DRL, GTIP, PRM, INL, GIWI 
NSC FOR JWOOD 
OSD FOR MCGRAW 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPOL PREL PHUM AF
SUBJECT: AFGHAN MINISTRY OF WOMEN'S AFFAIRS: NOT SPEAKING 
UP FOR AFGHAN WOMEN 
 
------ 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) Civil society actors largely agree the Ministry of 
Women's Affairs (MOWA) is a weak advocate for Afghan women. 
The Ministry receives one of the smallest budgets of all 
Afghan ministries, and four women have rotated through as 
Minister over the past seven years.  MOWA leadership 
envisions the Ministry as a policy-making body and relies 
with little success on other ministries to implement its 
programs. Some argue the Afghan government should not have a 
MOWA, as MOWA's existence gives other government entities an 
excuse to neglect issues affecting women.  The story is not 
all negative, however, as some functions performed in Kabul 
and by MOWA's Department of Women's Affairs (DOWA) offices in 
the provinces benefit thousands of extremely needy women who 
arrive on MOWA's and DOWAs' doorsteps with nowhere else to 
turn. 
 
----------- 
MOWA Basics 
----------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Although a women's commission of sorts has existed 
in Afghanistan since 1922, the organization first achieved 
ministry status following the December 2001 Bonn Agreement. 
Since then four women have served as Minister of Women's 
Affairs, Dr. Sima Samar (Chairperson, Afghan Independent 
Human Rights Commission), Dr. Habiba Surobi (Governor of 
Bamyan), Dr. Massouda Jalal (Director and Founder, Jalal 
Foundation), and Dr. H. B. Ghazanfar (current).  Dr. 
Ghazanfar, an Uzbek originally from Balkh Province, earned 
her doctorate in Philosophy at St. Petersburg University. 
Prior to her August 2006 appointment as Minister of Women's 
Affairs, she served as Dean of Language and Literature at 
Kabul University.  MOWA employs 183 staff in Kabul (112 
women, 71 men) and 311 staff (196 women and 115 men) in DOWA 
offices in all 34 provinces.  In 2008 MOWA received 0.2% of 
GoIRA's operating budget.  USAID supports MOWA financially 
and logistically including through The Asia Foundation whose 
programs include capacity building and leadership training 
for MOWA senior management. 
 
¶3. (SBU) MOWA's largest accomplishment is the drafting and 
promulgation of the 10 year National Action Plan for the 
Women of Afghanistan (NAPWA), a policy document which 
outlines how the Afghan government will implement its 
commitments to women made in the Afghan Constitution and in 
the Afghanistan National Development Strategy.  The areas of 
government responsibility include security; legal protection 
and human rights; leadership and political participation; 
economy, work, and poverty; health; and education.  The 
document is an important step toward identifying challenges 
Afghan women face and assigning responsibility to address 
these challenges. However, the move from policy to 
implementation is stalling largely due to MOWA's inability to 
advocate counterparts in other ministries more forcefully or 
successfully. 
 
---------------------------- 
Questioning MOWA's Existence 
---------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Civil society and government actors describe MOWA as 
ineffective in advancing women's rights and quality of life. 
More sympathetic observers attribute MOWA's failures to lack 
of cooperation from other Afghan government entities. MOWA 
leadership views its role as a policy-maker and depends on 
other ministries to implement its polices.  Minister 
Ghazanfar admits she feels uncomfortable speaking out as the 
only woman present during cabinet meetings and thus, does not 
aggressively lobby her counterparts to do their share under 
the NAPWA and other women's rights initiatives.  Not only do 
many ministries do nothing to support the MOWA agenda, some 
have blocked MOWA actions. For example, last year MOWA 
abandoned a public information campaign against domestic 
violence under pressure from the Ulema Council and the 
 
KABUL 00003342  002 OF 003 
 
 
Supreme Court, MOWA Deputy Minister Mojgan Mostafavi said. 
Mostafavi, exemplifying MOWA's passive attitude towards 
advocacy, said "perhaps" MOWA would re-attempt the campaign 
"in another ten years." 
 
¶5. (SBU) Some civil society actors argue MOWA should not 
exist.  Global Rights Country Director and Afghan Women's 
Network (comprised of 67 women-led NGOs) leader Wazhma Frogh 
opposed establishing MOWA in 2001 and still thinks the 
ministry is counter-productive.  Frogh (an Afghan American) 
contends that MOWA's existence gives other ministries and 
government entities an excuse to do nothing to help women. 
Meanwhile MOWA receives one of the smallest budgets of any 
Afghan ministry, showing a lack of government-wide commitment 
to supporting the Ministry. Furthermore MOWA is always led by 
a Uzbek or Hazara, which in a country dominated by Pashtuns 
and secondarily by Tajiks, diminishes the Ministry's clout. 
She argues the Palace checks the box of minority 
representation for the Uzbeks or the Hazaras with the 
Minister of Women's Affairs position.  Frogh and those who 
share her view argue all ministries should take 
responsibility for advancing women's issues and should be 
held accountable for lack of progress. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Afghan Women Council Director Fatana Gailani also 
thinks MOWA should be eliminated in favor of a women's 
affairs office within each ministry. When we talk about 
democracy and gender, she said, we should not separate men 
and women, who have equal rights and should be treated 
equally.  The government must work to empower women 
economically, politically, socially, and culturally by 
providing a wide range of programs and services such as 
protection from violence, adult literacy classes, parenting 
classes, health education, legal rights awareness, and skills 
and capacity building.  These areas pertain to many different 
ministries, and thus, all ministries should have an office or 
section devoted to implementing these programs and ensuring 
women make equal progress with men in these areas.  She 
criticized Karzai for selecting an unprepared Minister 
(Ghazanfar) and characterized the ministry as having "no 
achievements." 
 
-------------------------- 
MOWA's Luke-warm Advocates 
-------------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Others disagree, including 2004 presidential 
candidate and ex-MOWA Minister Massouda Jalal.  Jalal, who 
currently heads a women's capacity building and literacy 
training foundation, favors any institution dedicated to 
women.  She attributed MOWA's weakness to current Minister 
Ghazanfar.  Jalal views Ghazanfar as ill-prepared for the job 
and unable to lobby her counterparts or empower her 
subordinates.  When Jalal was Minister she had a memorandum 
of understanding with the Ministry of Transportation (MoT) 
and would meet him each month to ensure MoT was fulfilling 
its obligations to implement MOWA's transportation-related 
policies.  She suggests each Ministry have a dedicated 
contact person for liaison with MOWA and the Minister hold 
other ministers accountable at cabinet meetings and through 
pressure in Parliament to fulfill commitments made to MOWA. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Afghan businesswoman Hassina Syed agreed MOWA should 
be maintained, but sharply criticized the Ministry's lack of 
leadership and activism on women's issues.  MOWA's existence 
forces Afghan men to incorporate women into government. 
Recognition that women have a role to play is an important 
first step.  Unfortunately, MOWA staff spend most of their 
time "chatting about their jewelry, their daughters getting 
married to their friends' sons, sipping tea, and eating 
rice."  MOWA should have made the loudest protests when the 
Taliban threw acid on the Kandahar schoolgirls, and when 
President Karzai pardoned a convicted rapist. Syed believes 
it is not feasible for all ministries to have a section 
devoted to women's issues - there is a clear lack of 
government-wide support for advancing women's rights.  Also, 
many families who allow female relatives to work at MOWA 
would not allow them to work in a male-dominated office at 
 
KABUL 00003342  003 OF 003 
 
 
another ministry. 
 
-------------------- 
What is working well 
-------------------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) Notwithstanding all of the problems outlined above, 
MOWA is doing some important and effective work on behalf of 
Afghan women. In Kabul, MOWA's legal department carries a 
heavy caseload counseling distraught victims of family 
violence and providing legal advice and representation to 
needy women.  Legal department Director Fawzia Hamini is 
knowledgeable, professional, and works tirelessly counseling 
the dozens of walk-in clients the department assists each 
week.  Hamini spearheaded MOWA's drafting of a domestic 
violence bill and is working with the Ministry of Justice to 
produce a final version in anticipation of the March 8 
commemoration of International Women's Day. 
 
¶10. (SBU) DOWA offices in the provinces often are the only 
hope for women escaping cases of extreme violence and 
cruelty.  Despite inadequate funding and shortages of service 
providers, DOWAs in many parts of the country carry out their 
mandates to the best they can.  The Herat DOWA office 
provides legal and family counseling and refers women to 
shelters. The Kunduz DOWA office hosts community roundtables 
on women's issues, counsels families, and provides space for 
human rights training for judicial officials.  These 
functions, of course, could be performed by NGOs or other 
civil society groups, which run Afghanistan's 19 women's 
shelters.  However, like MOWA, these groups, where they 
exist, often lack funding and organizational capacity. 
Afghan NGOs also frequently suspend operations indefinitely 
or close up shop all together when a grant runs out or the 
director moves to a higher-paying job elsewhere. 
 
¶11. (SBU) COMMENT. The first three MOWA Ministers are all 
outspoken progressive leaders.  Minister Ghazanfar is much 
different -- conservative, quiet, and probably in over her 
head. MOWA's lack of success under the first three ministers, 
however, means the choice of minister may not float or sink 
the ship. The debate over MOWA's existence is one for Afghans 
to lead and resolve. In the meantime, MOWA is doing important 
things for women, particularly in the provinces.  AID is 
providing much needed capacity training and financial 
support, both elements MOWA needs more of, particularly 
directed to the provincial offices.  We will give MOWA 
support as it works within the government to advance its 
initiatives and presses other agencies to increase the number 
of women in government positions. 
WOOD