Insights
Gender Apartheid in Afghanistan
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Summary
- 3,640 women from 19 provinces in Afghanistan were polled on how they viewed the nature of systemic gender oppression enacted by the Taliban de facto authorities.
- 67% of respondents agreed that the restrictions imposed by the de facto authorities amount to systemic oppression and domination of women and girls.
- 61% of respondents agreed that creating a society where women and girls are subordinate to men and boys is the intention of the de facto authorities when enacting their restrictions, with women aged 18-35, 6-11% more likely than other respondents to respond “strongly agree”.
- 64% of respondents say elements of gender apartheid fully or “somewhat” accurately describe the current status quo.
- 60% of respondents said they want the UN to use the term “gender apartheid” to describe the de facto authorities’ policies against women and girls.
Data Explorer
Welcome to our Survey Data Explorer. Using Microsoft Power BI you can see the results of this month’s survey, and use the interactive controls to explore the data in more detail.
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Focus Group Discussion
Focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted in 19 provinces with 314 female participants from Bishnaw’s Women Peace Circles. The participants shared their opinions on the survey results, discussing why women might or might not describe Taliban restrictions as systematic oppression and domination. They also debated whether the UN should use the term “gender apartheid” to describe the conditions facing women and girls in Afghanistan and what consequences they foresaw if the UN adopted this term.
When asked why some survey respondents did not believe Taliban restrictions could be described as systematic oppression and domination of women and girls, most FGD participants concluded that those women may not have had the agency to respond affirmatively. This was evident even among FGD participants from Parwan, the only province where the majority of women polled did not view Taliban restrictions as oppressive. One participant from Parwan remarked, “My opinion is that these 24% may be uneducated, narrow-minded, or perhaps they cannot realize or do not want their country to grow. Otherwise, at this moment, women are under the control of men. Girls don’t even have the right to choose their field of study, get an education, or go to work.” Other participants suggested that perhaps some women might not know about their rights and perceive restrictions as religious rulings.
Participants also discussed why some women did not want the UN to use the term “gender apartheid” when describing conditions in Afghanistan. Most attributed this to a lack of awareness, education, and fear. There was also suspicion that women who disagreed might come from Taliban or pro-Taliban families. A participant from Nuristan summarized this sentiment: “Those who disagreed are the women whose family members are working with the Taliban. Also, unawareness is the reason, and they do not know their rights at all. That is why they disagreed.”
When asked directly if they felt the UN should apply the term “gender apartheid” to the current situation, most participants responded affirmatively. A participant from Kabul stated, “If gender apartheid were applied, it could effectively address women’s issues. The UN should take this matter seriously and hold the current government accountable for lifting restrictions on women.” This sentiment was echoed even more strongly by participants from Farah and Daykundi, despite significant numbers of survey respondents from those provinces opposing the use of the term. A participant from Farah opined, “Gender apartheid is at a high level. Those who disagreed may be afraid that if the UN forces the government, [the government] will organize another war.“
When asked how the Taliban might react towards its policies against women and girls if UN applied the term “gender apartheid” when describing conditions in Afghanistan, FGD participants agreed that the reaction would likely involve denial, further retaliation against women and girls, or both. Most predicted the possibility of a wave of new repressions on women and girls in the country. However, some were hopeful that applying the term would lead to concrete international action against the Taliban. A participant from Baghlan commented, “I believe the current government may react negatively. However, pressure from international bodies can positively influence the situation.”
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