A legal requirement that women make up at least a quarter of all provincial elected officials was quietly removed by conservative male parliamentarians, officials said, the latest in a series of decisions undermining advances in women's rights in Afghanistan. The change, engineered in mid-May, was only discovered by women members of parliament a few days ago.
The action has sparked fears among women's rights activists that President Hamid Karzai's government is increasingly willing to trade away their hard fought gains to placate the Taliban as part of attempts to coax them to the peace table.
Activists said it could also reduce the number of women serving in parliament's upper house, as most women are elected there via their role as elected provincial officials.
We invite our users to read the complete article published June 17 2013
A legal requirement that women make up at least a quarter of all provincial elected officials was quietly removed by conservative male parliamentarians, officials said, the latest in a series of decisions undermining advances in women's rights in Afghanistan. The change, engineered in mid-May, was only discovered by women members of parliament a few days ago.
The action has sparked fears among women's rights activists that President Hamid Karzai's government is increasingly willing to trade away their hard fought gains to placate the Taliban as part of attempts to coax them to the peace table.
Activists said it could also reduce the number of women serving in parliament's upper house, as most women are elected there via their role as elected provincial officials.
We invite our users to read the complete article published June 17 2013