11 October 2002
U.S., Coalition Partners Contributed to Afghanistan's Progress
(White House fact sheet compares state of Afghanistan then and now)
(580)
The White House released October 11 a fact sheet detailing the
progress Afghanistan has made in the course of a year. With the help
of aid from the United States and its coalition partners, the fact
sheet states, Afghanistan has averted famine, allowed for displaced
persons to return to their homes, reopened schools, restored religious
and political freedoms and strengthened its corps of trained doctors.
Following is the fact sheet, "Afghanistan: Then and Now":
(begin fact sheet)
Fact Sheet
White House
October 11, 2002
Afghanistan: Then and Now
By October 2001, 24 years of poverty and civil war had eroded the
physical infrastructure and demoralized the people of Afghanistan. The
civil war that brought the Taliban to power, and the subsequent strict
rule by the regime, worsened life for most Afghans. More than 4
million Afghans abandoned their homes for refugee camps in neighboring
countries. The Taliban gave safe harbor to Osama Bin Ladan and the al
Qaeda network, turning Afghanistan into a haven for terrorists. While
the Taliban and al Qaeda officials lived well and enjoyed impunity,
average Afghans faced repression and poverty.
That was then. Today, lives are better and hope is real. America and
our coalition partners have made a major difference in just one year.
Fear of Starvation
10/11/01 -- International relief organizations feared that hundreds of
thousands of Afghans might starve during the winter.
10/12/02 -- Famine was averted during the winter of 2001. As of June
2002, 575,000 metric tons of food were delivered to Afghanistan,
feeding over 9.8 million people.
Refugees
10/11/01 -- Out of a population of 26.8 million, more than 3.5 million
Afghans were in refugee camps outside the country and over 1.3 million
were internally displaced.
10/12/02 -- 2 million refugees have returned to Afghanistan, and
approximately 630,000 internally displaced persons returned to their
homes.
Education
10/11/01 -- Schooling for girls over the age of 8 was banned. Many
girls had not been in school for six years. 7,800 women teachers, or
74 percent of the total, were prohibited from teaching, leaving most
girls and 148,000 boys without schooling. Kabul University was closed.
10/11/02 -- Over 3 million children have returned to school. Afghan
girls comprise 30 percent of the total student population. Eight
million new textbooks, nearly 2 million supplementary teaching
materials, supplies, and 6,000 temporary classrooms accommodate the
sudden surge of schoolchildren. The University reopened in Spring
2002.
Religious Freedom
10/11/01 -- Freedom of religion, severely restricted due to the
absence of a constitution and the ongoing civil war, was determined
primarily by the unofficial, unwritten, and evolving policies of the
Taliban.
10/11/02 -- Religious freedom restored. Legal basis for religious
freedom is found in the Bonn Agreement and the 1964 Constitution,
which says "non-Muslim citizens shall be free to perform their rituals
within the limits determined by laws for public decency and public
peace."
Political Freedoms
10/11/01 -- The Taliban issued edicts prohibiting or severely
restricting the most ordinary activities, such as listening to music,
publishing, shaving, kite flying, and dancing. The government would
exact severe punishments for those caught engaging in these
activities.
10/11/02 -- Afghans have elected a representative interim government
through a representative Loya Jirga process. Newspapers, radio, and TV
have been reborn. Individual and political freedoms are being
reestablished.
Health
10/11/01 -- Although 40 percent of Afghanistan's doctors are women,
the Taliban banned most female doctors from practicing medicine. Male
doctors were prohibited from treating women.
10/11/02 -- Women doctors have returned to work, and male doctors may
treat women once again. Many medical professionals have returned from
exile.
(end fact sheet)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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