Human Rights Abuses in Afghanistan Rooted in Political, Religious Culture

By Lauren Maccarone '11

Rarely a day goes by that we don’t hear about the vast number of human rights abuses occurring in Afghanistan. Advocates, both on the ground and here in the United States, are working tirelessly to gather information on the seemingly endless abuses and to report them in the media. Sadly, this is the only tactic available under the current circumstances.

Human rights abuses in Afghanistan are extremely difficult to overcome because they are deeply rooted in the country’s political and religious culture. Taliban rulers perpetrate much of the violence. Despite the U.S. and NATO military forces’ efforts to remove these leaders, they continue to control many of the Afghan territories and to obtain high-level governmental positions. Civilians are responsible for the remaining abuses. Individuals often torture their own families and neighbors as punishment for non-compliance with notoriously rigid Sharia customs. These customs, like Taliban rulers, seem to be woven into Afghanistan’s history in a way that cannot be undone.

But what if human rights advocates had the opportunity to lessen the influence of Sharia extremism and Taliban rule? The Afghan transition movement may give them the chance they have been waiting for.

The current plan is for NATO to orchestrate the transition by systematically replacing its own forces with trained Afghan forces, while the U.S. and Afghan governments negotiate reconciliation with the Taliban.

This reconciliation entails the reintegration of Taliban leaders into Afghan society. The process will require detailed discussions on land ownership and control, governmental and military leadership and the many laws that are implicated. One can already predict proposals for land cessation, for constitutional amendments, and for the reinstatement or election of new political officials and judges. In short, the stage is set for a total makeover from the bottom up.

The transition will undoubtedly produce a new way of life for Afghan civilians. The fear is that those running the show will miss out on opportunities to make the human rights improvements that Afghans deserve. Will NATO or the U.S. ask that there be new legislation implemented to protect women’s rights? Will they create a vetting process to ensure that Taliban extremists are not given leadership positions in their newly formed society?

On the contrary, these issues are often swept to the wayside for the sake of a peaceful agreement. Human rights advocates must insert themselves into the transition discussions on behalf of civilians to ensure that the latter’s interests are represented.

A version of this article appeared in print in the December 2010 issue of the Bridge.