Tornado Alley (PROG)

[fuagf]

Dr Sima Samar, Afghanistan IHRC

Hope is not something you expect to find in plentiful supply in a country torn apart by decades of conflict.

However, despite years of war and a chronic lack of basic services, there is a growing sense of optimism in Afghanistan today, according to Dr Sima Samar, Chairperson of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC)

Last month the AIHRC released a report on Economic and Social Rights in Afghanistan, which aims to guide development planning in the country and achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

The report was based on interviews with 11,000 people in 32 of the country’s 34 provinces. It looked at Afghanistan’s progress towards achieving 17 basic rights, including the right to shelter, water, health and education. It also assessed the security situation and people’s confidence in the future.

“Despite greater insecurity in the country and the slow pace of development, almost 80 per cent of people said they were positive about the future,” said Dr Samar. “It was an astonishing figure.”

Dr Samar credits the presence of the international community in Afghanistan for the growing optimism.

“In 1989 when the Russians left Afghanistan and the Russian-backed government collapsed, the international community left us alone. The internal conflict that followed destroyed the country,” she said.

“This time the people feel that the international community hasn’t abandoned them. They feel they have made a commitment to help us overcome our problems and promote democracy, justice and equality in our country.”

While sharing the positive assessment of the Afghanistan’s future, Dr Samar acknowledges the difficulties of leading a human rights commission in a country that is still in conflict.

“There are many challenges, many obstacles, however we have no choice but to be hopeful,” she says. “I think it is the confidence and support we have from the ordinary Afghans that keeps us going because we face a lot of opposition, very powerful opposition.”

Not that Dr Samar is easily deterred by opponents or challenges. Her personal history is a testimony of courage and compassion.

In 1982, studying at Kabul University, she was the first Hazara woman to obtain a medical degree in Afghanistan. However, two years later she was forced to flee to Pakistan with her son following the arrest of her husband under the Russian occupation. He was never heard from again.

Distressed by the lack of health facilities in Pakistan, Dr. Samar began setting up medical services for Afghan refugees. In 1987 she helped open the first hospital for women, staffed by women, in Quetta, and in 1989 she established the Shuhada Organisation, an NGO dedicated to providing health care and education for Afghan women and to training medical staff.

These were dangerous pursuits under the Taliban regime.

“I've always been in danger, but I don't mind,” she said at the time. “I believe we will die one day so I said let's take the risk and help somebody else.”

In 2002 Dr. Samar returned to Afghanistan to serve as the Deputy Chair and Minister of Women’s Affairs in the Interim Administration. However, she was forced to resign after receiving death threats for questioning conservative Islamic laws, especially sharia law.

A newspaper advertisement in 2003, taken out by religious conservatives, condemned her as the ‘the Salman Rushdie of Afghanistan’.

Undeterred she accepted the position of Chairperson when the AIHRC was established in 2002 and today leads an organisation of more than 530 staff.

The AIHRC investigates around 3,000 complaints each year and resolves around 80 per cent of these matters. Despite this success, the opposition continues.

“There are people holding power in Afghanistan who oppose justice, who oppose accountability and who oppose the existence of the human rights commission,” says Dr Samar.

She nominates security issues and the lack of good governance as significant barriers to the work of the AIHRC and, more broadly, to people achieving access to basic rights and services.

“For any improvement in the country, whether it is development, peace or justice, security is a must. However, we should not use the excuse of not having proper security in the country to not make steps to improve other aspects of people’s daily lives.

“The achievement of security, peace and development must happen at the same time. Security cannot be without justice. Security cannot be without development. Security cannot be without education.”

Dr Samar also plays a leading role in another of the world’s most troubled and volatile regions, as the United Nations special envoy to Darfur. A tireless and outspoken advocate, she has received numerous international awards for her contribution to the promotion of women’s rights.

Little wonder that in 2006 she was ranked 28 in the Forbes list of the world’s most powerful women.

Despite the many accolades she has received, Dr Samar is focused on continuing to build the capacity and reputation of the AIHRC.

“The ordinary Afghans trust the investigations of the AIHRC. When they have problems they look at us as a final hope,” she says

“I am proud to be part of an organisation that has the trust of the public and the confidence of the international community.”
Find out more

Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission .. http://www.aihrc.org.af/

Economic and Social Rights in Afghanistan (report released August 2007) ..
http://http//www.aihrc.org.af/Rep_Eng_Economic_Soc_Rights_II_30_aug_2007.htm

http://www.asiapacificforum.net/news/apf-people-dr-sima-samar.html/