The main critique of the constitution in the article seemed to be that it gave the president too much power, but other than that, most of the statements made by various folk were fairly positive. That the constitution is rooted in Islam gives it a certain legitimacy, in that it seems less a purely Western product but rather a compromise that does incorporate what the locals want. In addition, the step of protecting minority language rights seems pragmatic and more likely to draw broader support. Equal rights before the law for women can only be a good thing, though I suspect in practice this will take a long time to secure (heck, abolition of slavery and the big Civil Rights movement were a century apart!). I saw no mention of freedom of religion, which is a bit puzzling (are other religions outlawed?).
In any case, to my untrained eyes, the document looks like a step in the right direction, though implementation seems like it will depend a lot on interpretations of Islam. In the current climate of the country, I’m not sure how this new constitution will fit in. Will it actually have teeth, or will regional warlords laugh in the face of it? Will the government it leads to be too fractious or corrupt to be much good? Will the document be respected in the long-run?
I guess this all leads to: is the quality of life in Afghanistan on the way up?
Where else can it go? Now that the Republic of Kabul has a rudimentary constitution, the 200 square miles under its control will, no doubt, experience some sort of cultural and political renaissance.
In the countryside, all politics is local. And heavily armed, with fresh hardware due to the generosity of America, the baskets and carload of $100 bills we rained down upon them to rent their unswerving loyalty. I have little doubt that they will examine this document with the utmost attention, fervently and patrioticly obeying whichever of its provisions they find convenient.
HHmmm… I am from a third world country… no matter what constitution you have the problem is enforcement. Its no good having a solid constitution if you can’t make people obey it.
Should be interesting to see how Afghanistan goes though… do other Muslim countries even have constitutions ? (It is a western thing I suppose ).
Personally, I would be supportive of any and every Parliament, Assembly, Congress, whatever, on this planet having 50% female representation, or split houses.
25% female representation in the Afghan constitution seems good at first glance, but in the final analysis, we have:
That trumps all.
At the end of the day, the women of Afghanistan will end up under Burkhas, as usual.