MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on Women's rights in Afganistan and Pakistan

13.12.2011

with request for inclusion in the agenda for the debate on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law
pursuant to Rule 122 of the Rules of Procedure

Fiorello Provera, Lorenzo Fontana, Nikolaos Salavrakos, Rolandas Paksas, Jaroslav Paška, Mara Bizzotto on behalf of the EFD Group

See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B7-0702/2011

B7‑0702/2011

European Parliament resolution on Women's rights in Afganistan and Pakistan

The European Parliament,

- having regard to its previous resolutions on Afghanistan and Pakistan, in particular its resolutions of 16 December 2010 and 24 April 2009,

 

-having regard to the statements of Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of 5 December 2011, 20 February 2011 and 15 December 2010,

 

-having regard to the Council conclusion on Afghanistan of 18 July 2011,

 

-having regard to the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's statement on July 20 about America's commitment to Afghanistan's women in light of any future negotiations on a peace agreement with the Taliban,

 

-having regard to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights statement about the implementation of the 2009 Elimination of Violence against Women (EVAW) law,

 

– having regard to Rule 122(5) of its Rules of Procedure,

 

 

A. whereas after ten years since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, women in Afghanistan continue to be victims of attacks, harassment, and women continue to wear the burqa for their own safety, and western aid agencies have warned that improvements in the rights of Afghan women could be sacrificed to secure a political deal with the Taliban;

 

B. whereas half the women inside Afghanistan's prisons have been sentenced for "moral crimes", which include running away from home, extramarital sex and adultery; rape is not considered a crime under the laws of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, and the numbers of women in prison has risen to 600 from just 380 in 2009;

C. whereas Afghan women have made modest gains in their role in society, as women make up 28% of parliamentarians and teachers, fifteen percent of teachers and forty percent of the media, and 2.4 million girls are enrolled in school, yet 87 percent of Afghan women are illiterate, 30 percent of girls have access to education in Afghanistan, 70 to 80 percent of women face forced marriages in Afghanistan and 44 years is the average life expectancy rate for women in Afghanistan;

D. whereas the United Nations Afghan women have to confront "chauvinist attitudes, conservative religious viewpoints and the domination of Parliament by MPs with a history of warlordism", which means women in the [government] are silenced;

 

E. whereas Afghanistan's Supreme Court made a ruling in late 2011 which entails that a woman who flees her home and goes anywhere other than the police or a close relative should be locked up as a precaution against illicit sex and precaution, which has led to a steady rise in the numbers of jailed;

 

F. whereas on 1 December, a 19-year-old Afghan woman jailed for adultery after she was raped by a relative is set to be freed, but only after agreeing to marry the man who attacked her;

 

G. whereas Afghan judicial and law enforcement officials have made slow progress in implementing the Elimination of Violence against Women (EVAW) law, first enacted in August 2009;

 

H. whereas the Islamic Republic of Pakistan has a poor track record of protecting its minorities and women against social injustice and under the country's Hudood Ordinances and the Law of Evidence Order both introduced by General Zia ul-Haq, women were relegated to inferior status, and in some cases rendered their testimonies to half the weight of man's;

 

I. whereas honour killings, or karo-kari frequently occur and is a deeply entrenched cultural practice in Pakistan, and the country severely lacks the proper implementation of laws and assurances that men who commit honour killings are not given tougher sentences;

 

J. whereas in parts of Pakistan such as Waziristan which is a self-proclaimed state of the Taliban, women are prohibited from receiving an education or leaving the house unaccompanied by a male relative;

K. whereas in Pakistan less than half of all women over the age of ten are literate, and only 52 per cent of girls complete primary level education; similarly 25 per cent girls reach the secondary level whereas only 4.2 per cent are enrolled for higher level education;

L. whereas there are concerns that the gradual reduction in NATO troops serving under ISAF could lead to a resurgence in Taliban military and strategic successes which poses immediate dangers for the meager successes achieved by Afghan women over the past ten years

 

1. Condemns the mistreatment and harassment of both Afghan and Pakistani women who are frequently the target of choice for members of the Taliban and other radical Islamist groups;

 

2. Urges the Afghan government to offer greater support to women's non-governmental organizations, civil society actors and human rights' defenders, particularly those who are under risk from the Taliban and other Islamist insurgent groups;

 

3. Expresses the urgent need for the Afghan government to uphold its international obligations to build a stable, democratic society based on the rule of law, where the human rights and fundamental freedoms of its citizens, including the equality of men and women, are guaranteed the Constitution;

 

4. Calls for the Afghan government to take greater steps to implement the Elimination of Violence against Women (EVAW) law of 2009;

 

5. Calls for both Pakistan and Afghanistan to push for greater female participation within the public sphere as according to a 2000 United Nations resolution, this can significantly contribute to the maintenance and promotion of international peace and security;

 

6. Condemns the imprisonment of both Afghan and Pakistani women on the basis of committing “moral crimes” and asks that the Pakistani government takes swift steps to stamp out the practice of honour-killing using precise and thorough legal instruments, and take steps to amend Pakistan' Hudood Ordinances and the Law of Evidence ;

 

7. Urges the Pakistani government to integrate gender equity perspective in health and education policies and to formulate national standards to reduce gender imbalance in policies and resource allocation,

 

8. Urges the government of Hamid Karzai in Afghanistan to appeal to the country's Supreme Court to revoke a ruling that makes it acceptable for a woman who flees from home to be locked up as a precaution against illicit sex and prostitution;

 

9. Encourages the European Union and other international bodies to continue highlighting the issue of women’s rights in of Pakistani and Afghan women, when engaging in future talks with the their respective governments;

 

10. Asks that the Pakistan government works to support women's rights and all women who trying to give girls access to education in North Waziristan, as well as working to eliminate illiteracy across Pakistan, as this is critical for the long-term economic and social development of Pakistan;

 

11. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, NATO officials based as part of the ISAF Mission, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the government and parliament of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the United Nations Secretary General and the Secretary General of the United Nations Human Rights Council.