Afghanistan

Culture and conflict

This research investigated the value of culture to women in conflict settings, seeking to understand gendered economic exclusion and its relationship to peacebuilding, economic agency and empowerment. It used a cultural mapping methodology to explore how communities of women rely on coded and tacit knowledge to rebuild their lives and to understand how cultural practices continue to exist and resist in these challenging contexts. 

Prior to the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, the core focus of the research was documenting the practices of craft making, which are embodied and rarely documented, spoken about publicly or valued outside of the home and communities. This formed the basis of our study along with the exploration of how these practices contribute to peace and nation building.

What we found

Intergenerational learning within women’s homes
Needlework and embroidery are central to Afghan women’s lives and specific to their ethnicity and identity. Girls as young as six years old spend time watching and learning from women within their family and neighbours making detailed beautiful crafts for use within their homes or for their trousseau for when they get married. Crafting is an occasion for catching up on news and happenings. It is also an opportunity for younger women to learn from their elders. This mode of teaching and learning through an intergenerational peer group brings many benefits to the psychosocial wellbeing and strengthens family ties and community relationships.

Crafting among women outside the country
After the 2021 Taliban takeover, some women in the project were forced to flee the country to Pakistan as their rights were rolled back, mobility restricted and security threatened. Several women took their looms and craft tools with them as a mark of resistance, resilience and pride in what they make, its history and its connection to their identity. Women who live in Pakistan as refugees, sometimes practice these skills from within refugee camps. The value is for both commercial income generation and therapeutic linked to identities and histories before displacement is high for women.

Crafting for income
For women who remain inside Afghanistan, craft making from within the home can be one of the only options for income. The women in this project demonstrated a deeply rooted resilience and commitment to their cultural practices, irrespective of the Taliban and interference from Western powers. Their craft making and intergenerational knowledge exchange shows the salience of cultural practices in conflict-affected contexts and that such practices can and do outpace the many political upheavals in this country.

Return and reintegration

This research was carried out through a survey (n=198) and semi-structured interviews (n=28) that were carried out with returnees in Kabul and Kandahar in 2020-2021. The research sought to better understand the reasons why the Afghan diaspora from neighbouring countries, Europe and North America returned to a politically and economically unstable Afghanistan.

What we found

Gendered labour roles and markets
For most returnees, conflict was the reason for leaving Afghanistan in the first place. One of the key drivers for their return was the improved political situation in Afghanistan and family and caring responsibilities, particularly for women. For men, the end of their studies abroad, expulsion and end of visa also played an important factor in their return, suggesting gendered emigration and return patterns.

Women were more likely to work part-time than men, allowing them to balance family caring responsibilities and pursue further education. They were predominantly employed in the third sector working for NGOs, educational institutions, public service jobs, and work in home services and domestic work.

Social mobility upon return
Men and women, experienced high levels of social mobility in Afghanistan with a relatively high proportion of returnees employed in jobs that correspond fully with their required level of education. This is in contrast with newly arrived migrants in western countries who are often employed in jobs far below their levels of education and skills. Educational qualifications, social contacts, skills and knowledge acquired abroad were seen as useful in resettling in Afghanistan. However, being away for a longer period impacted returnees’ ability to build crucial social capital in Afghanistan which sets them back in the job market.

Gendered challenges
Returnees in Afghanistan encountered a variety of problems and hardships. There were considerable differences between men and women in respect to raising children, finding a job, accessing welfare and healthcare, adjusting to daily life and dealing with bureaucracy. Women were more likely to report challenges in adjusting to social norms. Women were more likely to point out gender and language as a problem and men were more likely to emphasise discrimination based on ethnicity and political views.

Household poverty was more common among female returnees with one-fifth stating that they can’t even afford basic food. For the overwhelming majority of returnees, the COVID-19 pandemic worsened their household financial situation and decreased their overall life satisfaction, especially for women.

Group-based discrimination reported by the returnees was based on ethnicity, language, gender, religion, political views, lifestyle, and to a less extent age, sexuality and disability. The perception of safety was also highly gendered with almost all women stating that they feel extremely unsafe walking in their local area or neighbourhood after dark. They also reported experiencing verbal and physical harassment when traveling on their own. This is most acute for those who travel for work and endured harassment by taxi drivers and defamation by neighbours.