Sole Afghan woman governor in a man’s world

The traditionalists want her out but governor says "They won't hush me up."

Masooma Muradi, the only female provincial governor in Afghanistan, walking through Nili, capital of Daikundi province, the remote region she governs on May 11, 2016. Shah Marai / Agence France-Presse

FEATURE TREATMENT

NILI, AFGHANISTAN // Surrounded by male advisors and condescension, Masooma Muradi cuts a lone but fearless figure. In a society entrenched in sexism and not only unaccustomed but deeply opposed to women exercising authority, she is breaking new ground as Afghanistan’s only female governor of a province.

To do it in the remote province of Dalkindi is a doubly remarkable feat in a country where progressive ideas about a woman’s place in the world must constantly battle against implacable patriarchal tradition. But barely a year after President Ashraf Ghani appointed Ms Muradi, her job hangs by a thread, with growing calls from religious conservatives and opponents for her to be ousted.

“People claim to be open-minded but many cannot bear having a woman in this position,” said Ms Muradi, 37. “But I won’t allow them to hush me up. Society is not used to that from a woman.”

She works from an office in Nili furnished with an overstuffed sofa, fake sunflowers and a large portrait of a piuting child. But such feminientouches belie a steely resolve. A mother-of -two, she was handpicked by President Ghani in Kabul to lead Daikundi, a mosaic of rolling hills and boulder-strewn ridges in central Afghanistan, hemmed in by provinces wracked by insurgency.

But protests erupted even before her arrival with political opponents -- almost all men -- pillorying her lack of experience of governing. She has managed to hold on to job but the resentment is palpable when she steps out in Nili with an entourage of Kalashnikov-toting guards.

“Useless,” barked one man barked as she passed by.

“Maybe she should be a governor just for women,” growled another.

Women have made giant strides since the Taliban regime was toppled in 2001, but they are still so absent from public life that a the social media hashtag #WhereAreTheWomen is now well-known in Afghanistan.

“The attitudes throughout Afghanistan still are such that not everyone is ready to be governed by a woman, and women leaders need all the support they can get,” said Douglas Keh, Afghanistan country director at the United Nations Development Programme.

Daikundi’s administration has long been a boys’ club. A recent provincial council meeting was attended by more than a dozen men but just one woman.

Swaddled in a blue scarf, she sat at the edge of the room doodling on the sofa upholstery using her finger as an imaginary pen.When she tried to speak, the man chairing the meeting stuck his palm up to shut her up.

Only when a woman UNDP official attending the meeting asked for her view, was she able to speak.

“I recently replaced a man in the provincial council,” she began.

A council member interjected with a smirk.

“Say something about men’s problems too,” he said, setting off a ripple of titters. “We really are worried about men’s rights.”

As international organisations like the UNDP know all too well, paying lip service to women’s empowerment is one thing but real empowerment comes with deference to a woman leader’s authority. And that is a constant battle for Ms Muradi. Her degree in business administration gives her little political clout against a system ruled by warlords and strongmen who govern other provinces through a deep-rooted system of patronage politics.

The antipathy towards her, observers say, highlights not just sexism but also clashing political interests.

Daikundi is among the most difficult of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces. It is cut off from the outside world by snow for several months of the year and the mainstay of its economy - the cultivation of almonds - is at the mercy of the climate.

There is rampant unemployment and most development plans exist only on paper. Funding from international donors is decreasing. Local businessman Haji Rasouli, who sells groceries in Nili said, “There are schools but most don’t have buildings, there are hospitals but many don’t have doctors. I support women’s empowerment but will having a woman governor solve all these problems?”

The deputy governor of Daikundi, Habibullah Radmanesh said, “Anyone in that position -- man or woman -- would struggle with dwindling resources.”

President Ghani has appointed four female ministers since he came to power in 2014.Last year, for the first time in Afghanistan’s history he nominated a woman to the supreme court, but when she was rejected by parliament he appointed a man instead.

He also dismissed the only other woman governor, of central Ghor province, after protests from religious conservatives.There are fears that Ms Muradi might meet the same fate.

But she can count on the unbridled support of at least one person -- her husband.

Late one evening, after Muradi returned home, Khalil Hashem walked into the room and uttered words very seldom heard from an Afghan husband : “Dinner is served.”

But he has also been at the receiving end of sexist wisecracks.

“People call me her secretary, her baby sitter,” he said. “But I am very proud of her.”

* Agence France-Presse