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CNN Live Sunday

Afghan Women Likely to Face Major Challenges After the Taliban

Aired December 09, 2001 - 15:49   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: The end of the Taliban rule in Afghanistan has allowed women there to resume roles in jobs that they were denied for years, but Afghan women still face some major challenges on the issues of human rights and reproductive health.

Joining us now for some perspective on those challenges, is Abubakar Dungus of the United Nations Population Fund. Thank you so much for being with us today.

ABUBAKAR DUNGUS, UN POPULATION FUND: Thank you for inviting me.

CALLAWAY: We do not mention reproductive health lightly. The rate of women in Afghanistan that die from pregnancy-related issues that are easily preventable is just abysmal in Afghanistan. Certainly we've seen some of the restrictions by the Taliban, but that by far has to be one of your main concerns in Afghanistan is those type of deaths.

DUNGUS: As we speak, in about 30 minutes one woman in Afghanistan will have died from pregnancy or childbirth related causes. If you are a woman born today in Afghanistan, you have a one in fifteen chance of dying of childbirth or pregnancy-related causes. Our concern today as refugees keep trooping out of Afghanistan into Pakistan, Iran and Central Asia, is to put in place measures to reduce the number of women who die during childbirth.

At least 1.5 are going out of the country. Of those, more than 300,000 are women of childbearing age. About 66,000 are pregnant, and of these 10,000 will have high-risk pregnancy.

What the UN is trying to do is put in place reproductive health kits, which include very basic things such as soap, plastic sheeting, and razor blade to cut their umbilical cord so that women can have a safe and clean environment to have their babies.

Most importantly, we do not choose when a baby may be born. The baby can decide to come out to enter the world at any moment. What the UN tries to do is to make sure that when the baby is being born, there are clean hands, warm hands, trained hands to welcome that baby into the world.

There was a recent story of a man who was fleeing from Afghanistan by a donkey and his wife had to give birth. We hope to be there to save such women. CALLAWAY: Well, before we run out of time, I want to ask you now we obviously - we know that obviously it's a horrific situation there for women when it comes to having children. How optimistic are you that this new government, the interim government at least, will take immediate steps to see that the aid is given to these women, that the issues are addressed as one of the first things when the interim government takes place here on December 22nd?

DUNGUS: After representatives of Afghanistan concluded and reached an agreement, the Security Council of the United Nations noted the agreement as effective towards the establishment of a broad-based gender sensitive multi-ethnic, fully representative government.

They also urged all sides of the Afghan government to facilitate the provision of assistance to people who need such assistance inside Afghanistan, and around Afghanistan, and the UN is in a position to help women who may need assistance with delivery, trained doctors, midwives, and so on.

This is all related to the rights of women. You give women the right to education. They could train to become doctors, nurses, midwives, who help their fellow sisters have childbirth with skilled attendance, which is something that is quite short today in Afghanistan.

CALLAWAY: Oh my goodness. Abubakar Dungus, thank you for sharing that information with us today.

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