Dear Mr. Chair and members of the committee, I am honoured to have the opportunity to express my opinion regarding Bill C-41.
I am Shabnam Salehi. I was the women's rights commissioner at the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, and besides that, I was a lecturer at Kabul University. Now I am a visiting lecturer at the University of Ottawa.
In my opinion, the bill will grant the Canadian government the necessary permission to effectively address the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan.
As you all are aware, Afghanistan is facing a humanitarian crisis that is affecting millions of people. According to OCHA, 28.3 million people have been found to have severe food insecurity, and nearly 19.9 million people suffer from acute hunger. According to the UNDP, as of mid-2022, almost 97% of Afghans were living below the World Bank's $1.90-per-day international poverty threshold.
Additionally, poverty in Afghanistan is likely to become even worse. Before August 2021, Afghanistan's economy was 75% dependent on foreign aid. According to the World Bank, a rapid reduction in international grant support, loss of access to offshore assets and disruption in financial linkages are expected to lead to a major contraction of the economy, increasing poverty and macroeconomic instability.
The de facto authority has been continuing to engage in discriminatory actions against women, exemplified by the Taliban's unjustified ban on girls' education. This ban is a result of the Taliban's extremist ideology, which promotes gender apartheid and seeks to exclude women from social life. The Taliban gradually enforced the bans through a series of decrees, starting with prohibiting male teachers from educating girls, followed by the implementation of gender-segregated classes and, ultimately, the closure of secondary education for girls. Additionally, the Taliban limited women's ability to choose certain academic fields and eventually prohibited female university students from pursuing higher education. This further exacerbated the issue, as women were prohibited from working, including in UN agencies. As of the beginning of this week, the Taliban has extended this crackdown on women's education by closing primary schools in four provinces of Afghanistan.
Canada faces a crucial decision: whether to permit the oppressive regime in Afghanistan to continue its discriminatory practices or to take affirmative action to counter its suppression, specifically by empowering the people of Afghanistan, especially women. If Canada opts for the latter, I think the proposed bill allows a blueprint for implementing, executing and assisting the response under the current regime. I believe this bill will present a viable path forward by providing a plan to support the Afghan people, particularly women.
My request to the committee is to ensure that the bill prioritizes the empowerment of women, social mobilization and civil movements as a means of confronting the discriminatory policies imposed by the regime. To achieve this, I propose that the bill strongly emphasize the distribution of aid towards women's empowerment, the protection and promotion of human rights, and widespread social mobilization.
To achieve this mission, I believe that subsequent legislation, policies and programmatic interventions would align Canadian diplomatic and humanitarian assistance with that of other allies to accelerate pressure on the regime to change its discriminatory policies. This will provide Canada with the opportunity to actively engage in the process of empowering and supporting the people of Afghanistan towards a positive change that aligns with Canada's core interests and international commitments.
By working in co-operation with other allies, Canada can pool resources and efforts towards a shared goal of creating a more just and equitable society in Afghanistan. This will also provide an opportunity for Canada to showcase its leadership in promoting human rights and gender equality globally.
Thank you so much.