Millions of Afghans voted Sunday for a new parliament, defying a Taliban boycott and militant attacks. The U.S. and UK authorities have hailed the elections a success, acknowledging it as a big step made for the reconstruction of the war-torn Islamic country.
"I congratulate the Afghan people and Afghan Government for today's successful parliamentary elections, which are a major step forward in Afghanistan's development as a democratic state governed by the rule of law," said U.S. President George W. Bush from the White House on Sunday.
Sunday’s polls were the first legislative elections in Afghanistan since 1969. They were also part of an international plan to restore democracy after U.S.-led forces overthrew the hard-line Taliban government in late 2001, according to a report by Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Monday.
Though conditions for freedom of religion or belief improved markedly after the fall of the Taliban regime and the establishment of the transitional government in 2002, religious rights groups say concerns about religious freedom have remained.
Due to continued security problems, the government does not exercise full control over the country, the noted the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) in its annual report. As a result, the situation for religious freedom and other human rights remains “both precarious and problematic in some parts of the country.”
Taliban remnants remain active in various regions and continue to pose a threat to the stability of the government, the Commission reported.
The USCIRF noted that the right to religious freedom is now largely respected in the areas under government control, in contrast to the Taliban era, but also said that “some discrimination continues.”
Christian persecution watchdog groups such as Open Doors report that under the Sharia (Islamic law) legislation – which the current government of Afghanistan kept even after the Taliban was overthrown – Afghan Christians and other religious minorities are subjected to severe persecution.
Under Sharia law, conversion from Islam to Christianity or any other religion is considered apostasy and is punishable by death. Furthermore, persecution watchdog groups report that evangelism is restricted, that Christian churches are not permitted, and that freedom of worship is not present. In addition, the equal rights between men and women have long been a highlighted issue in the Islamic society.
Currently, Afghanistan is on the USCIRF’s Watch List for its violation of international human rights standard in terms of religious rights.
There have, however, been improvements.
In January 2004, Afghanistan adopted a new Constitution that contains an explicit recognition of equality between men and women and a reference to Afghanistan’s commitment to its international human rights obligations.
The USCIRF also noted in its 2005 annual report that conditions for freedom of religion or belief also improved markedly after the fall of the Taliban regime and the establishment of the transitional government headed by President Hamid Karzai, who was popularly elected president under Afghanistan’s new Constitution in October 2004.
In an address on Sunday, President Bush commended “the tremendous progress that the Afghan people have made in recent years.”
