RSS

Aid organizations and policy makers have come to realize the significance of women’s inclusion and participation in economic, social, and political spheres – most specifically, in the development processes of “third world” countries. While this realization is an enormous achievement in and of itself, women’s actual participation will depend on the efficacy of strategies developed by each specific community and country.

Since 2001, the donor community and aid organizations in Afghanistan have tried to accomplish gender equity by furthering women’s participation in various development programs. While female inclusion has been successful in some parts of the country, elsewhere these same programs have failed to capture women’s opinions. Although most aid workers do not fully understand why such problems exist, they do argue that the patriarchy prevalent in Afghanistan hinders female inclusion in the development processes in certain communities.

Patriarchy has created a strong sense of interdependency among Afghan men and women, whereby men rely heavily on women for household work and women rely on men for income. When development programs focus on female inclusion and require women’s participation, they fail mainly because the idea of women partaking in non-domestic affairs alongside men is new.

In addition, women – kept home since puberty – are perceived to lack the necessary skills to identify community needs and propose solutions, or to launch and sustain development efforts such as small-scale businesses. Men are considered the sole decision-makers – and women often submit to this notion. But women should participate despite their domestication and lack of skills and experience.

These two social norms – that women should not work alongside men and that they are less capable than men – have hindered women’s participation in community development. When women limit their interaction to the domestic realm, they let men decide what is best for the community. But when women work together with men, men tend to take over, and women’s suggestions are suppressed. Some women believe that men understand the needs of a community better. As an Afghan proverb says, “Where there is men’s work, no need for women.” Executing community development projects in this context becomes “men’s work” for communities where women’s participation is low or nearly non-existent.

In such conservative communities, men usually do not allow women to work alongside them unless it is in order to attract funding. It is critical that women take the opportunity to implement community projects without teaming up with men, so they can be in a position to make decisions. In the process, women could enhance their personal leadership capabilities and serve as role models for younger generations.

Even more importantly, communities would readily accept such women, for they provide strong leadership while contributing to more progressive social norms. This model would prove even more significant applied in communities where women and girls are not educated, demonstrating the female leaders’ strong commitment to their people, whether or not they work alongside men.

Shabana Basij-Rasikh, a graduate of Middlebury College, is a Gender Mainstreaming Advisor at the National Solidarity Program at the Afghan Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development. She is the Founder and President of Hela, Inc., and Executive Director of Afghan Youth Initiative, Inc.

Matiullah Amin is a senior at Williams College, where he is pursuing degrees in Economics and Political Science. He also travels to Afghanistan every year to develop the "five-step" summer program for Afghan Youth Initiative, Inc., a non-profit organization that he founded to help educate young Afghans and support grass-roots, youth-led community projects to stimulate leadership and educational skills among Afghan youth.