Anjuman-i Himayat-i-Niswan

Anjuman-i Himayat-i-Niswan ('Association for the Protection of Women') was a women's organization in Afghanistan, founded in 1928.[1][2] It was the first women's organization in Afghanistan.

It was founded by Seraj al-Banat and Queen Soraya Tarzi. Its purpose was to encourage women to use the new reformed laws in women's rights introduced by King Amanullah Khan, such as the ban on polygamy and the new marriage and divorce law, and to enforce the policy of women's emancipation introduced by the government. Women were encouraged to refuse the veil and gender segregation in the example of the Queen, to educate themselves and become professionals to contribute to society. The society was chaired by the king's sister, Kubrah.[3]

The emancipation policy was however extremely controversial and difficult to enforce in Afghan society, and King Amanullah Khan and Queen Sorya Tarzi were deposed in 1929. Their deposition from power was followed by a severe backlash on women's rights under their successor Habibullah Ghazi, who banned school for girls, reintroduced the veil and forced women back into gender segregation.[1] The women's movement in Afghanistan was not resumed until after the Second World War, with the foundation of the Women's Welfare Association, which was founded in 1946.[4]

References
  1. Julie Billaud: Kabul Carnival: Gender Politics in Postwar Afghanistan
  2. Fahima Rahimi (1986). Women in Afghanistan. Stiftung Bibliotheca Afghanica. p. 42.
  3. N. Inayatullah, R. Riley: Interrogating Imperialism: Conversations on Gender, Race, and War
  4. Rahimi, Wali Mohammad: Status of women: Afghanistan, UNESCO Principal Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (Thailand). Regional Unit for the Social and Human Sciences in Asia and the Pacific (1991) BKSS/91/277.1000
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.