By Mumtaza Abdurazzakova and Kate Francis

Mumtaza Abdurazzakova is The Asia Foundation’s Director for the Ministry of Women’s Affairs Initiatives to Strengthen Policy and Advocacy (MISPA)project in Afghanistan. Kate Francis is the Foundation’s Deputy Director of the Women’s Empowerment Program based in Washington, D.C. They can be reached at mabdurazzakova@asiafound.org and kfrancis@asiafound-dc.org, respectively. All names below have been changed.

Ara called in to Radio Zorha in Kunduz Province, imploring her fellow Afghans to be aware of the dangers of being tricked by promises of a better life through employment opportunities in foreign countries. Upon hearing radio messages about human trafficking, she wanted others to hear the story of her 16-year-old son who had left with a group of friends to find work in Iran, and hasn’t been heard from since. Had Ara heard about human trafficking earlier, she would have counseled her son to make different decisions.

Sadly, Ara is not alone as she awaits news of her son. The outpouring of personal stories and cautionary tales from radio listeners across Afghanistan who have heard the Ministry of Women’s Affairs’ radio campaign on human trafficking is an indication that the problem is as vast as it is complicated. Many listeners have called in to express concern about issues ranging from the kidnapping of women and children for the purpose of sexual exploitation, to drug cartels deceiving illegal immigrants into unknowingly smuggling drugs to Iran.
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By Ellen Laipson

Ellen Laipson is President of the Stimson Center, a non-profit, non-partisan institution dedicated to international security issues and is a Trustee of The Asia Foundation. She was Vice Chairman of the National Intelligence Council from 1997 to 2002. The below opinion piece originally ran on NPR.org, and is included here with permission from the author.

President Obama’s meetings this week with the presidents of Pakistan and Afghanistan focused on the immediate security crisis – the eroding situation in Pakistan and the continued threat of the resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan. But chances for lasting and effective cooperation between Washington and the beleaguered governments in Kabul and Islamabad will require more than intense leadership summits.

It will also require rebuilding of trust and persuading presidents Zardari and Karzai and their compatriots that Washington can balance its military and counterinsurgency know-how with a deep and sustained interest in the security and well-being of their societies.
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By V. Bruce J. Tolentino

Bruce Tolentino is The Asia Foundation’s Chief Economist and can be reached at btolentino@asiafound.org. He blogs here about George Varughese, the Foundation’s representative in Afghanistan, who leaves Kabul to take the reins in our Nepal office starting May 1.

After four years of stellar service in Afghanistan, George Varughese is moving on to represent The Asia Foundation in Nepal. Earlier this year, I was fortunate to participate in one of many going-away tributes to George – one organized by The Asia Foundation’s Kabul staff. The events of that day are going to be difficult to forget.

By Afghan tradition, non-family events are exclusive to either men or women, so the farewell tributes I attended were all-male. Earlier in the week, an all-female event had already been held in honor of Kala Gurung, George’s wife (fondly referred to in Kabul as “Mrs. George”).
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Karl Inderfurth, a member of The Asia Foundation’s Board of Trustees, was published in the New York Times in an op-ed offering a strategy for Afghanistan to become a permanently neutral state via a multilateral process. Read the full op-ed “Ultimate Exit Strategy”.

By Gordon Hein

Gordon Hein is The Asia Foundation’s Vice President for Programs. He can be reached at ghein@asiafound.org.

Next Sunday in The Hague, the United Nations will gather top diplomats from Afghanistan, the United States, and more than 80 other countries to discuss development and stability in Afghanistan. The Obama administration is expected to unveil details of its new Afghanistan strategy at this conference. It has been over seven years since the international community came together in Germany to establish the Bonn Agreement on Dec. 5, 2001. In Bonn in 2001, the intent was to provide a roadmap for Afghanistan’s transition to a stable democracy. Next week in The Hague, the focus will be on how to avoid the country again being overrun by the Taliban and becoming a safe haven for terrorists.

This spring and summer, Afghanistan is preparing for its second presidential election on August 20, while 17,000 more American troops - and a rumored surge of diplomats and aid workers - will begin arriving in the country. The Obama administration’s new strategy is reportedly focused on creating stability, but efficient and democratic governance in the long-term will remain one of the priorities.
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By Bulbul Gupta

Bulbul Gupta is The Asia Foundation’s Grants Manager for Programs and Private Philanthropy. She can be reached at bgupta@asiafound.org.

Rabia-e Balkhi Girl’s High School was established in Kabul, Afghanistan, over 40 years ago. Before Afghanistan’s civil war, many of its graduates were accepted into prestigious university faculties to study medicine and law. During the civil war, however, nearly 90 percent of the school’s facilities were destroyed. In late 2001, after the Taliban fell and girls were allowed to return to school, Rabia-e Balkhi suddenly had to accommodate more than 2,000 new students in make-shift tents or jerry-rigged spaces amongst the rubble of the original school grounds. These “classrooms” lacked windows, doors, chalkboards, or furniture - making school an uncomfortable environment for learning, to say the least.

Rabia-e Balkhi’s teachers and staff needed help in removing the rubble, rebuilding classrooms and infrastructure destroyed in the war, and providing a safe, vibrant learning atmosphere for these deserving - and long-deprived – female students. For the school’s long-term future, Rabia-e Balkhi’s leaders also needed to build the capacity of the school’s administration and manage their resources effectively. There is a significant gender gap in Afghanistan’s education system, now being felt in its workforce.
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By Melody Zavala

Melody Zavala is Director of The Asia Foundation’s Books for Asia Program. She can be reached at mzavala@asiafound.org.

International Women’s Day brings attention to the enormous challenges and opportunities that women from developed and developing countries alike face in their pursuit for equality in schools, the workplace, and community and political life. At Books for Asia, we are especially proud of the increased access to education our program extends to girls and women throughout Asia.

Unfortunately, female literacy rates still remain far lower than that of males. According to the International Women’s Day website, women represent two-thirds of the over 1 billion illiterate adults who have no access to basic education. In many countries, girls are still denied basic education and women lack marketable skills they need to earn an income, resulting in a vicious cycle of poverty, illiteracy, and ill-health for them and their children. Nowhere are these problems more serious than in Asia, home to more than half the world’s female population.
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By Sudhindra Sharma and Pawan Kumar Sen

Sudhindra Sharma is the Executive Director of Interdisciplinary Analysts, a research and consulting organization based in Kathmandu, Nepal. Pawan Kumar Sen is a Consultant-Researcher at Interdisciplinary Analysts in Kathmandu, Nepal. Below is an excerpt from their chapter, “Institutionalization of the Justice System” in the recently released State Building, Security, and Social Change in Afghanistan: Reflections on a Survey of the Afghan People.

A key function of any state is to establish a monopoly over the legitimate use of physical force and ensure the security of its citizens. In order to do this the state needs to apprehend those who use violence illegally and commit crime. This is the job of the law enforcement and security forces. Once apprehended, the state must then hold offenders to account for their actions. This is done through the justice system. Thus there is a clear link between the justice system and the core law and order functions of the state.

In Afghanistan, however, dispensing justice is complex because, unlike in other states which generally have a single justice system that is prominent or dominant, Afghanistan has two systems: the formal state system and the informal traditional system. These systems have emerged and coalesced at different historical junctures and draw on various traditions, yet they have evolved to become a part of the same continuum.
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By Russell J. Dalton

Russell J. Dalton is Professor of Political Science and former director of the Center for the Study of Democracy at the University of California, Irvine. Dalton’s research focuses on the role of the citizen in the democratic process. Below is an excerpt from his chapter, “The Road to Democracy in Afghanistan” in the recently released State Building, Security, and Social Change in Afghanistan: Reflections on a Survey of the Afghan People.

Afghanistan began its transition to democracy in the early 2000s with great expectations. A member of the Afghan parliament tells the following story about constituents in his district: As the first presidential election approached, a homeowner was having his roof repaired. A storm was approaching, as well as the election. Nevertheless, the roofers decided to stop working for a day - and lose a valuable day’s pay - in order to travel home to their village to vote. Even though the homeowner worried about his house if the rains came, he supported his workers’ decision. Voting was more important than fixing his roof.
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By Harjot Kaur and Najla Ayubi

Harjot Kaur is a Consultant for The Asia Foundation in Afghanistan and a gender specialist with over 16 years experience in the Indian government. Najla Ayubi is a Technical Advisor with The Asia Foundation in Afghanistan and a former lawyer, judge, and Commissioner of the Independent Election Commission (IEC) and the Joint Electoral Management Body (JEMB) of Afghanistan. Below is an excerpt from their chapter, “Status of Women in Afghanistan” in the recently released State Building, Security, and Social Change in Afghanistan: Reflections on a Survey of the Afghan People.

Historically, Afghan women have always been marginalised and accorded subordinate status. The position of women in the family and society has been shaped by many factors and there are strong cultural and historical roots of gender discrimination. Afghanistan is a multi-ethnic and traditional society that has been governed along tribal lines and by a weak central state. In addition, the long years of war and violence in the country, and the resulting unstable political and economic situation, have had a particularly severe impact on women. There were some attempts to introduce reforms but these were often met by strong tribal and religious opposition and resistance from conservative patriarchal forces, and later undermined during the civil war in the early 1990s when Mujahideen leaders fought for control. The rights of women were eroded even further when the Taliban came into power in 1996.
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