Country : Afghanistan

Topic : Preventing of Teenage Pregnancy

Committee : United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund
Delegates : Nabila Azzahra, Dzaky Gibran Noor Fadhilah & Desnita
Amalia Megafitri

Patriarchal political culture is one type of political culture that emerges in society. Patriarchy is derived
from the word patriarchate, which denotes that men's roles are prioritized. Gender disparities are caused by
the patriarchal system in many aspects of human existence. As a result, women do not play a significant part
or have equal rights in broad sectors such as politics, society, and the economy. Trust and conventions are
characteristics that impact the patriarchal political culture that develops in society. Islam is a religion that
teaches that men are better suited to be leaders. As a result, it is not unexpected that certain nations with a
majority of the population practice Islam, which has a patriarchal political culture imprinted in people's
brains. Afghanistan is one of the nations that appears to have a patriarchal culture; around 99.8 percent of
the population is Muslim which has a significant effect on Afghan state life.
As a patriarchal culture that believes women have no place in politics, society, or economy, Afghanistan,
particularly the Taliban leadership, stresses that women's function is to give birth and cannot become
ministers. According to the Associated Press, Syed Zekrullah Hashmi stated in an interview with TOLO
News that the major role of women is to give birth and raise children and that women do not need to
participate in the Afghan government's cabinet. As a result, the rate of early marriage, which leads to
teenage pregnancy and young maternal mortality is quite high.
According to the Afghan Constitution, "any discrimination and favors among Afghan nationals are
illegal." Afghan people, including men and women, enjoy equal legal rights and duties" (The Constitution of
Afghanistan, 2004). However, this legislation only applies on paper; reality is rather different. According to
statistics, just one in every five Afghan women possesses a certificate proving her identification. Most girls
and women do not have the right to vote in society or their families, and as a result, each girl's parents make
an individual decision about her marriage. Afghan females can marry at the age of 16, or under specific
circumstances, at the age of 15, but the global minimum age for marriage is 18. "My parents claim they don't
care if I'm happy or not," she explained. "They want me to marry and that's all," one of the Afghan girls
adds. There are several reasons why people marry young. One of them is the desire to establish family ties
to prevent rivalry, blood feuds, and disagreements, as well as to cover the girl's family's debts. Furthermore,
poor families are attempting to sell the child, viewing her as an economic burden, to a wealthier family to
ensure her future existence. Typically, a rich guy considerably older than the girl offers a big ransom in
exchange for her as a second bride. According to UNFPA, one out of every ten young women between the
ages of 15 and 19 gives birth practically every year, which hurts both the mother's and her baby's health
(UNFPA, undated). Adolescent girls die as a result of physical exhaustion during or after delivery. The
number of women who die from yearly births among teenagers aged 15 to 19 years is 531 per 100,000 live
births, but barely half of those in girls aged 20 to 24 years. Furthermore, as a result of frequent obstetric
interventions that result in fistulas, young women suffer from disorders of the female organs.
First, we look at the drivers of early marriage in Afghanistan using DHS data from 2015. Furthermore,
using these determinants and the age of marriage as independent values, we attempt to examine their effect
on child mortality under the age of five years, analyzing the overall effect as well as separately on child
mortality of sons and daughters, while controlling for the woman's age at the birth of her first child, her
education, the age interval between spouses, and the education of a partner.
At the fistula center of the Malalai Maternity Hospital, Kabul Afghanistan, there was a study of patients
with fistulas. During the study period, 30 women with obstetric fistula were hospitalized. The median age of
the women at this time was (33.910.2) years, with a range of 20-56 years. The average (mean) age of
marriage is (18,43.2), and their age range (Max-Min) is 11-25 years. women (60 percent) between 15 and 19
years at the time of their first delivery. 40% of women are less than 150 cm tall. The mean parity was
(5.23.1), with a range varying from 1 to 14. 90% of women had labors lasting longer than one day. Eighty
percent of cases are from small towns and rural areas. 60% of obstetric fistulas were rectovaginal, 33%
vesicovaginal, and 7% compound. Twenty women (66.6 percent) of the 30 patients with obstetric fistula
were aged between 16 and 20 years, and 3.3 percent were between 11 and 15 years. Decreased rates of
marriage and teenage pregnancy can lead to the development of fistulas, and maternal morbidity, and
promote healthy lifestyles for women and youth. Eighty percent of patients live in remote and rural parts of
Afghanistan's provinces. The findings of this study indicate that early marriage and delivery are important
characteristics of women with obstetric fistula.
The above problems can lead to new problems, namely maternal mortality. According to the 2010
Afghanistan Death Survey (AMS), the national maternal mortality ratio was 327 per 100,000 live births (95
percent CI 260–394). However, the findings were thought to be an underestimation of genuine death rates.
National estimates of maternal mortality are required to analyze trends and advise international public health
policy; however, data for subnational estimates are required to recognize imbalances that must be addressed
to make progress toward the SDGs (SDGs). RAMOS-II was commissioned in 2011 to analyze changes in
the volume and causes of maternal death in four areas of Afghanistan, which had previously been
investigated in RAMOS-I in 2002. According to RAMOS-I, all indicators of mortality risk were among the
highest recorded globally and increased significantly with remoteness: the maternal mortality ratio ranged
from 418 deaths per 100000 live births (95 percent CI 235–602) in the most urban district of Kabul city to
6507 deaths per 100000 live births (5026–7988) in the most remote district Ragh, Badakshan. Outside of
Kabul, maternal fatalities outnumbered all other causes among women of reproductive age. The resulting
national maternal mortality ratio estimate of 1600 deaths per 100,000 live births (excluding Ragh as an
outlier) was consistent with many estimates based on modeling approaches that were not based on RAMOS
research data.