Wed Feb 27, 3:16 PM By Stephanie Levitz, The Canadian Press
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan – Many Afghan women only look at the conflict in their home country through the pinholes of a burka.
The military wants to know what they see. A first-of-its kind study into Afghan women has been launched by Canadian soldiers in conjunction with coalition forces throughout southern Afghanistan.
Aid groups and non-governmental organizations have focused on Afghan women’s needs for years, but for the military, the study is an example of the newest front in the war in Afghanistan: getting to actually know Afghans.
When it comes to women, the military knows little more than what they catch through a glimpse of a fabric-clad wraith gliding silently through war-torn villages and cities.
But Capt. Chelsea Braybrook believes it’s time to metaphorically lift that veil.
“If you look at why we are in Afghanistan, to promote the legitimacy of the government of Afghanistan, the group of people trying to take that legitimacy away are men,” said Braybrook, a Canadian.
“It’s most important to understand that group of fighting men first, followed by men at large as they are the biggest influencers in society. Then the logical next step is to move that understanding into women.”
The goal of the study is to examine what role women play in Afghanistan, in the context of understanding how women are affected by military operations and how they can play a role in keeping Afghanistan stable and secure.
It will be carried out by three soldiers and an analyst over the next year, part of what the military calls psy-ops, or psychological operations – the winning of trust and consent among the population.
Half the battle is trying to understand the population, the other half is trying to get the population to understand what the military is doing.
It’s an effort that’s attracted more attention in recent months.
Public affairs officers now routinely invite Afghan media to events and news conferences, and NATO runs its own Afghan newspaper staffed by local journalists.
the Canadian Provincial Reconstruction Team base outside Kandahar City, Afghan media are often invited for exclusive interviews with Canadian leaders or given access to projects and programs to which Canadian reporters are not invited.
But much of that reaches men only, and the Canadian military believe women have a role to play as well.
“Behind all of these men are women who can help eradicate the problems of the population itself,” said Capt. Michel Larocque of the Civil Military Co-operation Team.
“Illiteracy, poverty, these things can be improved through women.”
Braybrook, who works for Regional Command South, the designation given by the International Security Assistance Force to the six southern provinces of Afghanistan, is spearheading the study along with another Canadian soldier.
“(Women) are the ones raising the children, they are the ones who can have the most influence on the next generation,” said Annick. She asked that only her first name be used as she was among the soldiers from the 22nd Regiment in Quebec who received hate mail from opponents to the military’s work in Afghanistan before leaving for her tour.
“If we want to change the attitudes of the people, and I’m not talking about changing their values, but changing what they believe they can do, we need to start working with the women.”
Outreach to women is not something the military has been able to do with ease.
It’s a simple problem of gender. Male soldiers cannot approach women as they conduct their military and reconstruction campaigns throughout the country.
Even when female soldiers are out on patrol, they say it is hard to get women to come out and talk to them.
“Sometimes the men will come and ask me to speak with their women,” Annick said.
“But because I’m with a male translator, even then it is difficult.”
There aren’t enough female soldiers to do the kind of outreach that only they can do, Annick said, so a focused plan and study was needed to find another way around the problem.
Annick and Braybrook will work with a team of female soldiers and local women’s rights activists to try and reach the population.
“It’s a good sign that they are making an effort to learn,” said Rangina Hamidi, a prominent women’s activist in Kandahar, who is helping organize focus groups of women to meet with soldiers.
“But women are probably the most vulnerable group of people in society and don’t have much impact on decisions that influence security.”
Braybrook agrees, but says further study is important.
“Women are not well-understood,” she said.
“I’m not going to say that women are an important target audience here. I’m not going to say they have a lot of influence. But I am going to find out.”
In addition to focus groups, the military will also use the largescale outreach programs they run to reach women.
At recent medical clinics, hundreds of women arrived for treatment, giving Braybrook a rare chance to speak with them one-on-one.
She sat patiently outside the women’s waiting tent for hours, painstakingly gathering details on how women learned about the clinic, whether they knew about a large road-paving project in the area or just simple things on whether they listen to the radio and when.
“You can’t just ask someone about security or the insurgency,” said Braybrook.
“She doesn’t know me, why should she trust me? It’s about getting to figure out what’s important to them and not assuming.”
