2,675 women in the provinces of Herat, Nangarhar, Balkh, Helmand, Takhar, Bamiyan, Kandahar, Daikundi, Panjshir, Jawzjan, Farah, Faryab, Badghis, Baghlan, Kunar, and Paktia were polled on different possible ways to restore and support women’s political participation.

• A plurality of around 47% of survey respondents replied that women’s political participation should exist at all levels of government and that the Ministry of Women’s Affairs should be restored. 34% believed recreating the Ministry was the best path forward over other options. The rest were divided between whether women should focus politically on national politics or village/district-level jirgas.
• A large majority of respondents (around 57%) believed the UN was the best placed actor to facilitate dialogue between women and the Taliban, far outstripping the number of respondents who preferred Muslim majority countries (16%), ulema (15%), or tribal elders (12%).
• Women were divided over what would constitute the most ideal kind of support to their political participation, with around 30% saying they would need a safe space for direct dialogue with the Taliban and another 30% saying they would need the removal of all restrictions targeting women. Creating a Ministry of Women’s Affairs was the next most popular option at around 20%.
• Around 61% of respondents wanted not one but all proposed options to prevent and respond against gender-based violence, including specialized courts, women in the judiciary, bringing back the Elimination of Violence Against Women Law, and centers for medical, psychosocial, and legal support.

Following the Taliban’s takeover in August 2021, Afghan women faced widespread employment restrictions, barring all sectors except healthcare. The initial blow fell on their participation in the civil service, effectively removing them from critical policymaking and decision-making roles. Women had previously held key positions within the Afghan government, such as ministers, deputy ministers, and parliamentarians. However, the resurgence of the Taliban and their reintroduction of restrictive policies completely erased women from the political landscape, depriving them of avenues for political expression and engagement. In 2022, both Afghan women’s movements within and outside Afghanistan called upon the international community to pressure the Taliban for the reinstatement of women’s political participation. Nonetheless, uncertainties arose regarding the specific forms this participation could take in the altered Afghan landscape under the Islamic Emirate. In October 2022, BISHNAW conducted a comprehensive nationwide survey to reveal the types of political participation that Afghan women deemed suitable and necessary to facilitate their inclusion in the nation’s decision-making processes.