Winning in Afghanistan by winning over women

Some American women soldiers will soon be playing a new role in the war in Afghanistan. They'll be diplomats who reach out to Afghan women.

According to the New York Times, the U.S. military will train American female troops to serve in "female engagement teams" to meet and spend time with Afghan women. According to Afghan custom and cultural mores, Afghan women cannot talk with men and must remain in the home. The military reasons that this new program will allow American women (and Americans) to gain trust and cooperation from Afghan women and the larger Afghan community. This will help the military to infiltrate Afghan communities in order to secure "vital" military recon, like the Taliban's location. It will also allow the military to learn about problems that exist in the area, such as poor sanitation, so that the military can sweep in and fix these issues.

American women soldiers interviewed by the Times appear thrilled for the new task, as they feel it will really help the war effort and allow them to connect with a community that had been largely off-limits. Says Cpl. Vanessa Jones, “When I heard about this, I said, 'Oh, that’s it, let’s go.'"

Though the plan might sound valid, it rings hollow when one considers the implications of our country's current position and broader strategies in Afghanistan in addition to its approach to Afghan women. Anand Gopal, an Afghanistan-based journalist, noted last year that U.S. support of the Hamid Karzai administration is suspect in light of its Taliban-esque stance on women, as illustrated by the passage of the Shia Family Law, which legalizes marital rape. Gopal writes, "Many observers say that unless the rural, tribal structure of the society is changed, the patriarchal prison will continue. But that might be something only the Afghans themselves can accomplish. In the meantime, many Afghan women say that the West can help this process--by dropping support for fundamentalists and misogynists." As American women soldiers attempt to gain the trust of Afghan women, other U.S. soldiers will continue their military efforts of drone attacks, night raids, and more violent activities that continue to hurt women, especially as women suffer far more in armed conflict conditions than men.

Samhita of Feministing wrote last fall that the continued U.S. narrative to help Afghan women is "drenched in racism and colonial fantasy...where often what we are calling for is not what 'others' may want in their home countries, but our ideology on war, terror, justice and feminism guides our political affiliations nonetheless." Perhaps women soldiers will listen when Afghan women continue to ask for aid, not more war, and certainly not tactical friendly visits and infiltration. Afghan women, after all, are making it known that they're unhappy with being left out of negotiations to end violence thus far. -Jean