Despite the loud rhetoric promising new opportunities for women, the Afghan government is lagging behind in bringing real changes. The presence of only one female name on President Hamed Karzai’s list of Cabinet nominees has raised serious doubts about his administration’s commitment to ensuring gender equality.

The lone woman among Karzai’s ministerial picks, Husn Bano Ghazanfar, was nominated to hold on to her present post as Minister for Women’s Affairs. But even this modest step towards women’s rights was threatened when Ghazanfar failed to gain confirmation in Parliament – one of 17 nominees to be rejected by the legislature out of a field of 24.

Once the badly flawed presidential elections were resolved in Karzai’s favor, both Afghans and international observers waited anxiously for the president to make good on his promises to construct a merit-based government with fair representation of women.

But the almost complete absence of female nominees has provoked negative reactions from human rights and women’s advocacy groups. Karzai has bowed a bit to their pressure and has promised to appoint a woman to head the newly-formed Ministry for Literacy. But this is a far cry from gender equality, say women’s rights activists.

“President Karzai has not kept his word to involve more women in his cabinet,” said Parliamentarian Fawzia Kofi.  “The international community must put pressure on Afghan government to fulfill its commitments.”

The reason for the under-representation for women is simple, she explained. The Cabinet is merely a reflection of the balance of power in Afghanistan, with major groups able to gain entry by virtue of their position.

“Afghanistan’s new cabinet is like a joint-stock company in which every power broker and tribal leader has his own men,” said Kofi. “However, since women have no relations with Mafia bands and do not have weapons, they have less of a presence in the cabinet.”

Kofi, who served for a year as the deputy speaker of parliament, a rotating post, insisted that women have the talent and capacity to head ministries such as Education, Higher Education, Social Affairs – even the prestigious Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“This proposed Cabinet is politically expedient. It has nothing to do with competence,”  she said.

Kofi was forced to acknowledge that the Ministry for Women’s Affairs has had very limited successes over the past eight years, but replies that this is due in large part to a lack of support by the government. The Women’s Ministry is chronically under-funded, she said, and has not had the funds to carry out major programs.

 “I personally witnessed the constant disputes over the approval of the budget for the Women’s Ministry in the Parliament,” said Kofi.

Women have made some gains since the dark days of the Taliban. There are now 68 women in the Parliament, a number mandated by law. There is one woman governor in the country, a few women mayors, and one woman minister.

But this has not translated into major progress for Afghan women.

Dr. Masouda Jalal, the first women to run for president, in 2004, and a former Minister for Women’s Affairs, said that the lack of attention to women’s rights and their under-representation in the halls of government is the work of entrenched power brokers, many of whom actively oppose equality for women.

 “Those who squander our public assets ignore women’s rights, too,” she said. According to Jalal, the failure to promote women’s rights shows a disregard for Afghanistan’s Constitution, as well as a flouting of international conventions.

Article 22 of the Afghan Constitution clearly states that “all discrimination or distinction between citizens of Afghanistan is forbidden. All citizens of Afghanistan, man and woman, have equal rights and duties before the law.”

Women make up half of society, said Jalal, and according to law they should contribute equally to the political life of the country. She called on the Ministry of Women’s Affairs to implement its pre-planned programs for ensuring women rights.

Abdul Samad Azizi, a member of Afghanistan’s Academy of Sciences, says that the government should represent all parts of society. But he emphasized that this proposed Cabinet cannot represent women.

 “Parliament would be within its rights not to vote on Karzai’s nominees until there is an acceptable level of representation for women,” he said.

But Nasrullah Stanekzai, a lecturer in the PDepartment of Political Science at Kabul University, disagrees. “Legally, there is no specific number of posts allocated for women,” said Stankzai. “The law urges merit-based appointments.”

Presidential spokesman Siyamak Herawi insists that it is not necessary for there to be numerous women in the new Cabinet. The important thing is that the government pay serious attention to women’s rights and women’s issues, he said.

 “In deference to the suggestions of women’s groups, the president is trying to appoint more women as deputy ministers and heads of departments,” said Herawi.

The Afghan Human Rights Commission has issued a statement supporting women’s rights, stating: “Women make up half of our society and should not be made victims in a political game.”