Afghan women don't struggle alone

Afghan women face many challenges; cultural, societal and religious views create barriers that often prevent them from entering the work force, attending school or joining their military. The minority of women who do confront the status quo are faced with attitudes about women’s roles in society, discrimination and sexual harassment.

Currently there are 301 women serving in the Afghan National Army and just fewer than 1,000 in the Afghan National Police. While the ANA is on schedule to meet its overall recruiting goals of 134,000 by October 2010, the Ministry of Defense (in charge of the army) is struggling to fill the mandate of having women make up 10 percent of the army’s end strength.

A few weeks ago, I was invited to attend a women’s forum that was going to be hosted by a group of NATO Training Mission – Afghanistan mentors. The purpose was to try to improve conditions for women in the ANA by giving them an opportunity to meet with other women in the military and learn from their experiences. I haven’t seen a lot of female Afghan soldiers, so I was very interested in going; Rachel, one of my female co-workers, and I joined a group of U.S. military women on Sunday, along with another civilian journalist, Gayle Lemmon for the forum.

When we arrived, Afghan Gen. Khatool Mohammadzai was speaking to the crowd of about 60 women, both civilian and military. The women all had lots of stories of being passed over for promotion, or in the cases of the civilian women, not being allowed to join the military because their families didn’t approve. One woman in particular stood out to me; she stood up to speak, saying she had been working for the army for 20 years but in all that time, had never received a promotion or pay raise. With tears in her eyes and her voice cracking, she told that every time asked for a promotion, the men would ask for a kiss or say she had to spend the night with them.
During a break, I had a chance to interview General Mohammadzai, who has served in the ANA for 30 years, as a parachute instructor to education director at the ministry.

She told me that there are many hardships facing Afghan women today; families won’t let women join (they have to attend a two-week training which requires them to stay overnight at the training center, away from home) or people will say bad things about those who do join. I asked her if there were any plans to modify the training program so that women can attend but also leave at night to take care of their families – currently the police training allows women to leave at the end of each day. Mohammadzai didn’t directly answer the question, but rather told me that when she joined, people talked about her but she didn’t care. She said education and training was necessary for females and males and that they need to learn the same things.

“I didn’t receive this position the easy way, I work very hard. I’m very proud I’m alive right now to see women in the uniform,” Mohammadzai said, after telling me that during her early years in the parachute unit, she broke her hand and leg and lost teeth.

I interpreted her answer to mean no, training most definitely would not be adjusted and that women were going to have to continue to fight for their freedoms and rights. In a way I could understand her position – by giving in to pressure to accommodate the training schedule, it would somehow undermine the struggle and lessen the accomplishments a few women have fought so hard for. If women are demanding equal rights and freedoms, taking the easier path is almost like cheating.



“We started from zero, but we’re improving and creating a good facility for women. It has improved the last eight years,” she said. “Other countries have men and women in the military; Afghanistan should be the same.”

One of the American speakers, Marine Col. Sheila Scanlon sought to acknowledge the struggles they face, while praising the women for their courage and perseverance.

“You make many sacrifices just doing what you need to do for your families but when you serve your country, you have to make more sacrifices,” Scanlon said. “Even in the U.S., men say women do not belong in the Marines, but it hasn’t stopped us; it has made us stronger.”

Several of the American women who attended the forum had been influenced in some way by a woman challenging the standards. Some had mothers who joined the Marines or male-dominated career fields at a time when women were still new to the military, or like Colonel Scanlon, were paving their own way.
Air Force Capt. Stacy Eskridge, one of the forum organizers, has taken up the ANA women’s cause. She is also working to get women the use of a gym, daycare services, and computer classes; she has also helped start a women’s driving course that will begin after Ramadan.

While we ate lunch I got to chat with her about why she was helping; she was very passionate about helping these women, and took their advancement personally. Stacy told me that in many cases, even once a woman is able to join the army, the men in their units won’t let them do work; they are often made to make tea or clean offices.

“They didn’t join to serve chai, they joined to be in the military,” she said. “They don’t get to see very many females in the military, just each other, which is why is so important to have events like this. The same battle our mothers had is what they’re dealing with here.”

Afghan women defying limitations

For more than 100 years, women have been blazing new trails in society, science, medicine, business, sports, literature and military fields. In America, women have fought to be treated equally, for the right to vote, to hold office and receive equal pay. Women have demolished societal and cultural barriers, set world records and established new standards; in the process they have paved the way for countless other women behind them.

For most of the developed world, it is commonplace to have women working alongside men, and as their list of accomplishments grows longer and longer, the limitations placed on women grows smaller. Afghanistan, stunted by three decades of war, a repressive Taliban regime and conservative Islamic views about women, is far behind the rest of the world in terms of women’s rights. All the things we, as American women, assume as our given rights – the freedom to go to college, wear clothes that express our individuality, drive a car, have a job, join the military, vote, date, marry for love or not at all, leave an abusive relationship - are not granted here, or easily earned.
As the people of Afghanistan work, with the help of the international community, to rebuild their government and military forces, the country is seeing traditional beliefs clash with progressive attitudes. More and more women are entering the work force, holding government positions and serving in their military. I recently had a chance to speak with several women who had graduated from the Afghan National Police Academy in Kabul.

Petite and trim in her grey police uniform with a black scarf tucked neatly around her hair, 3rd Lt. Marzia Fazai recognized her country’s need for female police officers. In a religious culture that has strict rules about male and female interaction, women are needed to search females during police operations. Fazai enrolled in a six-month accelerated police officer’s course and has spent the past four years working in the Afghan Uniform Police and as an academy instructor.

With just under 1,000 women police in all of Afghanistan, Fazai is in the minority, but she hasn’t let that stop her from pushing through countless cultural boundaries. When she joined the academy, Fazai said that her fellow male students weren’t respectful and often gave her a hard time. Fazai’s family was supportive of her decision and when she wanted to drop out to attend a civilian university they encouraged her to keep pursuing her goals.

Now four years later Fazai said that despite initial interference with her work from male colleagues, she is able to teach both male and female students. She has also had her share of real-world police work; Fazai was part of an operation that rescued a female journalist who was kidnapped.

Joining the Fazai among the ranks of policewomen in the field, 2nd Lt. Zar Mina, a recent graduate of the three-year officer’s course, works academy legal department. Like Fazai, Mina sees the societal necessity of having women in the police.

Initially her family was not in favor of her joining the academy; she said they heard rumors of an unsafe, bad environment for female trainees and people said bad things about women in the police. After her family visited the campus, they changed their mind and supported her decision. The only woman in her graduating class, Mina had to prove herself to her male students and teachers; she was first in her class for academics, marksmanship and physical fitness.

“The first semester was the hardest; the males were saying bad things and I had a lot of bad days, but I never thought about quitting,” she said. “The second semester was easier and the third even more; my classmates and I had competitions to see who the best was.”

Overseeing the female training, living conditions and treatment at the academy is Col. Naiz Bibi, head of the Women’s Training Department. A 29-year police veteran, Bibi spends much of her time recruiting, often traveling to other provinces to speak with women and their families. Her support and recruiting work is more important than ever; President Karzai announced that an additional 5,000 women need to be added to the police force over the next five years. Although Bibi takes a bodyguard on her trips out, she told me she isn’t afraid of the danger; she has lived through the grip of the Taliban and has seen what she described as dark days. When I asked Bibi about life under the Taliban, she wouldn’t say much other than life was difficult and women didn’t dare leave their homes. Her husband was also a police officer, and he encouraged her to pursue her career – she said she loves being an officer and being in the military is part of a female’s duty, just like being a doctor, teacher or an engineer.

The fact that her husband was also in the police and one of her biggest supporters is something Bibi is quick to mention when speaking to young women and their families. With the police force having a reputation as a dangerous place for women to serve and rife with corruption, families are often reluctant to allow their daughters, wives, sisters or mothers to join.
“My message for those females who don’t dare to come here is that they should revolt against their roles and join the police; we are here beside them to help them,” she said. “My great ambition is to make a lot of females like myself. I encourage females and their families to come and join because this job is a holy job in Islam.”

While their experiences, backgrounds and education levels differ; Fazai, Mina and Bibi are united in their goal to serve their country and the future women of Afghanistan. Fazai, who hopes to have a family of her own one day, said she will only marry someone who will not interfere with her chosen occupation. And Mina, who is just starting out in her career, said that she knows the women of Afghanistan still face many challenges, but there are signs of improvement.

Overall, Mina is right –things are slowly getting better for women here, but more are needed to stand up and push through boundaries. I think I heard the plight of Afghan women described best by Col. Shafiqa Quarashi, the Police Chief of Gender and Human Rights Division. Recognized by U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton in March as one of 10 international women of courage, Shafiqa gave a speech to a group of police women where she made a powerful statement. “Who is saying women can’t do anything? We can do everything, anything you want,” she said. ““No one will give your rights to you as a gift, you have to take them.”

Wedding crashers, Afghan style

At the insistent tug on my hand, I suddenly found myself part of a clapping, cheering circle of dancing women, a player in a foreign wedding dance ritual. Immediately I became self-conscious – what if I wasn’t dancing right, or moving the right way? What was expected of me? As I looked around at the laughing, encouraging faces, I realized it didn’t matter what I did as long as I participated. I kicked off my shoes and enthusiastically danced along.

It wasn’t the wedding of anyone I knew and I was definitely in unfamiliar territory but all the same, it was a captivating experience.

Last night as I was eating dinner with a co-worker, I received a phone call from an Air Force captain who used to live and work in Afghanistan before she joined the military. Did I want to go to an Afghan wedding? Of course, I replied. Could I be ready in five minutes? Um, of course.

I dropped everything, ran to her room where she had laid out a few outfits that were appropriate for an Afghan wedding. I put on a pretty dark red flowing tunic top and loose pants and beaded pointed shoes and ran back to my office for my camera, all the while feeling completely conspicuous. In a small base where everyone wears either a military uniform or khaki pants with a polo shirt (the standard contractor uniform), an American woman in Afghan garb stands out.

The large wedding hall was filled to the brim with women and children running around. For the most part, hte men were in a separate room, with the younger boys and children mixed in with the women. The women were decked out in their finest, with the dresses ranging from garish to beautiful, some in bright gaudy colors and some decorated elaborately with hundreds of beads and intricate designs. Everything sparkled under the soft yellow lights – their sequins, jeweled hands, hair pieces and shimmery make-up.

Although the celebration had started an hour or so before we got there, in typical Afghan fashion, nothing ever starts on time, so we hadn’t missed much. After we arrived, the band got started and the dancing began. Other than the circle dance where a large group of women were dancing at once, the rest of the time just one or two dancers were out on the floor.

Shortly after the band started, the bride and groom, who had completed the formal part of the wedding ceremony the day before, showed up. They sat in a pair of chairs on a platform behind a table decorated with lots of flowers. One by one, guests came up to have their picture taken with them; although the guests smiled, I noticed the bride never did. I was told it wasn’t appropriate for her to look cheerful; even though the bride and groom knew each other and were both agreeable to the union, it would be an insult to the bride’s family for her to look happy.

Overall, the women were so welcoming and open with me. Some stared at me curiously, probably wondering who I was and what I was doing there, but all were friendly. They smiled, nodded and encouraged me to dance, tried to communicate and let me hold their oh-so adorable babies. And while I wasn’t able to take as many pictures as I wanted, the kids absolutely loved my camera, and kept coming around my table hoping I would snap a photo. They were a curious and open bunch; we wrote down each other’s names, drew birds, hearts and stars, and I taught them how to play tic-tac-toe. Several of the women spoke fluent English, including one young woman who had spent most of her life in Germany; she made the trip to Afghanistan for the wedding and was meeting most of her extended family for the first time.

Like American weddings, Afghan celebrations can go long into the night; when we left at 10, the food was just getting ready to be served; I’m sure it would have been an impressive spread. From what I learned about Afghan traditions, the dancing would have gone until well after midnight.

Despite all the unfamiliar rituals and language barriers, I had an amazing time. I know with my pale skin and red hair, I stood out, but these women, who had to know I was no relation the bride or groom, made me feel completely welcome. It was definitely a once in a lifetime experience, and something I’m thankful I got to participate in.

And I'm not 100 percent sure but I might have participated in some obscure Afghan wedding rite; a very insistent mother kept pushing me to talk to her son and she liked to play with my hair. When she gave me a baby to hold, I knew it was some sort of a test to see if I liked children. Unfortunately, I think I passed ... as I left, the son slipped me his phone number. So the next wedding I dance at just might be my own!

A place for women?

A few weeks ago I was invited by a female captain at Camp Eggers to attend a planning session at the European Police headquarters. As a civilian and non-government organization outreach liaison, Aheather is responsible for working with Afghan, U.S. and NATO groups to facilitate progress and implement change.

She’s worked on everything from getting Afghan National Security Forces to invite and help pay for families to attend basic training graduations to facilitating women’s rights talks. The planning session centered around a team of engineers, Afghan National Police leadership and European police who were meeting to discuss how to adapt existing and future Afghan police office buildings for female police officers.



The challenge was multi-faceted – policewomen need a separate area to receive female citizens, question suspects and if necessary, incarcerate them. They also need a safe and again, separate, area for themselves to work, including a break area and bathroom facilities. Women also need a separate entrance to their facilities from the men, which must be secure and clearly marked so the local female citizens will feel comfortable enough to visit the police office. All of this needs to be kept apart from the men’s facilities – separate but equal, right?


And the biggest challenge of all – however they designed the women’s facilities, they couldn’t be too nice, or the male police would take over the area for themselves. Very gentlemanly.

The initiative to provide a space for female police officers is just that – it’s in the very beginning stages, but with the help and cooperation of Afghan police leadership, it will hopefully come to fruition. It has multiple benefits – women citizens will be able to seek help or report crimes to the police, women suspects can be kept separate from male suspects (something that should always happen, no matter what the culture) and it serves as a recruitment tool; husbands, fathers and brothers will be more likely to grant permission for their female relatives to join the police force if they know that cultural and religious sensitivities will not be violated.


Already there are police office buildings being modified for women. While I would personally like to see a solution that includes men and women working together, I realize that it might take their culture a very long time (if ever) to get to that point. In the meantime, it’s an encouraging sign that they are indeed making a place for women in the workforce.

Paving the way

The room was filled with movers and shakers – generals, colonels, counter narcotics investigators, prosecutors, Drug Enforcement Agency leaders and judges. And me. Myself excluded, it was a powerful group of people gathered from all different backgrounds and life experiences, cultures and nationalities … in fact; one of the only things they had in common was their gender. That and these women were all there because they had achieved what they did in spite of great obstacles, and they wanted to make the path easier for the women behind them.

Facilitating the meeting of the minds was Brig. Gen. Anne MacDonald, NATO Training Mission – Afghanistan assisting commanding general for police development, and Michele Leonhart, acting administrator for the Drug Enforcement Agency. General MacDonald’s focus is police development and one of the big pushes right now is how to make the police force a safer, more appealing place for women to serve.

Earlier this year, President Hamid Karzai mandated that an additional 5,000 women would be added to the police force by 2014; currently there are roughly 1,000 women serving. Lack of familial support, corruption, cultural beliefs about men and women working together, low pay and dangerous duties are just some of the issues facing the brave few who choose to enter the police force.

Each woman got to tell a little about herself and her personal experience and as I listened, I heard the same struggle over and over again. Some, who were policewomen before the Taliban came into power, recounted tales of violence toward women, financial hardships and freedoms destroyed. Younger women spoke of lack of respect from male colleagues, lack of promotions and of being forced to administrative tasks rather than real police work.

Michele Leonhart shared some of her experiences first as a uniformed police officer, then as a DEA agent. Like the other women at the table, she had her own challenges to face as a woman police officer in the 1970’s: low numbers of women in the police force and negative attitudes from her fellow policemen and even their wives. But she made it to the top of her game and while I’m sure it was frustrating and difficult at times, something she said really struck me. She told the women that ‘it didn’t matter if you were a male or female, people are just looking for good leaders.’

I think that was something these Afghan women really needed to hear, to know that they weren’t alone and that while it may take some time, things will improve. I think it helped them to see that even in a country as modern and advanced as the U.S., women still faced similar attitudes and obstacles, and not that long ago. Their struggles are something I can’t even imagine, that I don’t have to imagine, because people like them and Ms. Leonhart, paved the way.

A woman of courage

Today I had the unique opportunity to interview a very dynamic woman; her name is Shafiqa and not only is she a colonel in the Afghan National Police, she’s been nominated by Secretary Hilary Clinton as one of 10 International Women of Courage. Colonel Shafiqa joined the police almost 28 years ago, when she was a young girl hoping to serve her country, and has seen destruction and devastation brought by the civil war and the rise of the Taliban that I can only imagine. During the eight years the Taliban was in charge, she was forced to stay at home but she quickly returned to service and advanced through the ranks despite the many cultural obstacles in her way … and in a few days time she’ll not only celebrate her first wedding anniversary, but also her promotion to general.

Although during our interview, Colonel Shafiqa said she wasn’t scared to wear her uniform to and from work, there are many policewomen who are; they leave their homes in a burqa and change at work. This isn’t the result of paranoia – in September 2008, two Taliban assassins shot and killed a senior policewoman, Malalai Kakar, who served as the head of the department responsible for investigating crimes against women.

A few weeks ago I attended a police women’s conference in Kabul where I spoke with several policewomen; a few mentioned that security was a big concern and one of the main reasons women are so reluctant to join the police force. One woman, an 18-year police veteran, told me that if the Taliban kills 100 men, it’s nothing, but to kill one female is a significant accomplishment. That is the fear and power these insurgents have over the Afghan women, yet there are a brave few who risk everything to make a better life for themselves and for their people.

Despite the inherent risks involved with police work, Colonel Shafiqa is listening to the fears and wishes and is doing everything she can to make the ANP a safer place for women to serve, including offering reduced hours and having a choice over assignment location. Unlike their male counterparts, female trainees will be allowed to go home at night to be with their families, while existing female police members will only work during the day to mitigate risks associated with nighttime duty.

It is my hope that Colonel Shafiqa’s goal of seeing women commanding large units and serving at high-level ministry positions, happens in her lifetime. With her serving as an example for the women of Afghanistan, I have no doubt it will.

Seeing stars ...

Ok, I have to admit it … sometimes my job is SO cool. While I don’t love it all the time (I’ll be the first to admit I have my days!) I couldn’t imagine doing anything else in the Air Force. No other job lets you get outside the office and meet so many people from all different career fields and walks of life. I’ve gotten to meet music stars, First Lady Laura Bush, military leadership from every branch, and most importantly, I’ve gotten to see the bigger picture Air Force – learning how other career fields train, work and get the mission done. For someone who loves to talk, it’s the perfect job.

Yesterday was one of those days where nothing went as planned; bad weather delayed the arrival of two general’s, one who was going to take a tour of the Kabul Military Training Center, where the Afghan National Army and Army Air Corp train. I was scheduled to document the visit but it wasn’t until the advanced security team, including me, was already there, that we learned the visit had been cancelled. Making the best of it, I snapped away, pictures of trainees, the British soldiers I was riding with having a snowball fight, having tea with the Afghan’s and more Afghans. They absolutely LOVE to have their photo taken.

The second visitor of the day, Gen. Ann Dunwoody, was someone whom I really wanted to meet, so I was disappointed to know she had been delayed due to all the snow, rain and sleet we’d gotten the last two days. Then late in the day, our chief came to my desk and said she would be here tonight so the photo shoot was still on. For those who don’t know, General Dunwoody was the first women to reach four-star status, out of ANY branch of the military, and she is currently, the only female to hold that rank. It wasn’t until 1970 that the U.S. military had its first female one star – Brig. Gen. Anna Mae Hays, chief of the Army Nurse Corps. Now there are 57 active-duty female general officers in the U.S. armed forces, five of whom are lieutenant generals or vice admirals, the Navy's three-star rank. When the nomination announcement was made, General Dunwoody said, “While I may be the first, I know I won’t be the last.” I can’t imagine all that she has seen and done in her 33 years of service … and all that she has seen change. And General Dunwoody just so happened to have graduated from the State University of New York at Cortland … just a hop, skip and a jump from where I graduated at the State University of New York at Albany. Needless to say, I was excited to meet her.

As I snapped pictures of General Dunwoody and Lt. Gen. Caldwell, I casually let it slip that I was a SUNY graduate too … actually I was so eager to talk to her, I think I blurted it out as thrust my hand in her face. I think they could both tell I was excited, so General Caldwell offered to take my picture with her. As I stood next to her in front of the United States flag, I couldn’t help but think how crazy it was … there was a three-star general, the commander of NATO Training Mission – Afghanistan, taking MY picture with the military’s only female four-star general. Wow. I really love this job.