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.
Visual Minutes
Animations
Forced Displacement: Afghanistan and Pakistan
People On The Move
Resources
The Story of Khamak Dozi
This video documents khamak embroidery, a traditional craft practiced in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Khamak is a detailed whitework embroidery created using geometric satin stitches on fine cotton or linen cloth. It was historically used to decorate floor-length shawls for men and burqas (head coverings) for women. Most Pashtun women learn khamak embroidery at a young age […]
The Story of Bafabdagi
In this video, we explore the rich cultural heritage of rug weaving among nomadic communities in Afghanistan. Woven entirely by hand, these rugs are not sold but traded for essential goods. Their intricate patterns – passed down through generations of women – are thousands of years old, preserving ancestral knowledge and storytelling. These rugs serve […]
Afghanistan: Researching shifting landscapes
Afghanistan: Researching Shifting Landscapes (2019–2024) follows the work of the Afghan Solidarity Coalition, a global partnership of scholars and practitioners, and the resilient women artisans of Afghanistan as they navigate profound environmental, social, and economic changes. Through these intimate vignettes, woven together by a dedication to women’s peace, participation, and cultural heritage, the documentary reveals […]
People on the Move
People on the Move is a short animated film from the Gender, Justice, and Security Hub that synthesises field research in Afghanistan conducted between 2019 and 2024. It outlines the Hub’s mandate to document conflict, discrimination and violence against marginalised communities, demonstrates how political instability and repeated crises create a self-perpetuating cycle of local conflict, […]
Forced Displacement: Afghanistan and Pakistan
In this video, Afghan refugee children reflect on their disrupted education during COVID-19 and how the Sikhao Saathi program helped them get back to learning. Despite lacking Pakistani ID cards, many have rejoined government schools – some already in Grade 6 – and even discovered a passion for teaching. They share the ongoing challenges of […]
Afghanistan country impact: Visual minutes
This “visual minutes” sketch mirrors our research on Afghan women’s cultural resilience in conflict. It traces the arc from forced displacement – marked by trauma, isolation and urgent needs for shelter, food, water and healthcare – to longer-term recovery through education, skills training, job access and collaboration with host communities. Central to this process are […]
When the Taliban returned: Academics turned first responders
In this podcast episode of When the Taliban Returned, Academics Turned First Responders, Michelle Callender from SOAS speaks with Sobia Kapadia and Neelam Raina about their transformative work on the Culture and Conflict Project, running from 2019 to 2024. This initiative, part of the Global Challenges Research Fund Gender, Justice and Security Hub, focused on […]
Oral Evidence in Parliament on Afghanistan
This session of the UK House of Commons Defence Committee explored the UK’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, the collapse of the Afghan government, and the performance of the Afghanistan Citizens’ Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) and ARAP (Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy). Key points raised included: Click the image below to watch the full video, or follow this […]
We tried to get eligible Afghans out of Kabul. British officials did little to help
News Article: The government’s pledges to Afghans smack of virtue signalling, with almost no follow-through in our case. A co-authored piece for the UK Telegraph. We are UK based academics who have been working with Afghan partners for years. We know of several hundred Afghan individuals at high risk due to their association with UK […]
Failing and forgetting Afghanistan
This is a blog post published on the LSE Gender Hub pages. As Afghanistan collapsed and crisis became imminent this was written during my work as a colleague, a humanitarian actor, a fund raiser to help with evacuating our research colleagues from the country in August 2021. “This is not political analysis – I will […]
Academia to Activism: Redefining Research in Afghanistan’s Crisis
In this episode, we hear the story of Ahmed, a 24-year-old Afghan man whose life was at risk during the Taliban’s 2021 takeover. Dr. Neelam Raina and Sobia Kapadia share their firsthand experiences as their UK-funded research project, focused on gender, justice and security, took a dangerous turn when colleagues were targeted for their work. […]
Written evidence from Afghan Solidarity Coalition (ASC), UKRI GCRF Gender, Justice and SecurityHub
The Afghan Solidarity Coalition (ASC), comprising UK and international partners including the UKRI GCRF Gender, Justice and Security Hub, submitted evidence on the Afghanistan Citizens’ Resettlement Scheme (ACRS). The ASC has supported the evacuation and resettlement of at-risk Afghan human rights defenders, women peacebuilders, and LGBTQI+ activists. Key concerns raised include the ACRS’s continued closure, […]
Hub members give evidence on the UK’s withdrawal from Afghanistan
Dr Neelam Raina and Professor Brad Blitz give evidence on the UK’s withdrawal from Afghanistan to the Defence Select Committee. They discuss the work the Afghanistan Solidarity Coalition has done to evacuate at-risk Afghans, the urgent need for the UK Government to evacuate those who are at-risk for their work on UK funded programmes, the […]
Interconnected & Multiple Crisis: Gendered Displacement & Cross-Border Migration Across Afghanistan & Pakistan
A presentation delivered at IMISCOE Spring Conference 2024. The history of Afghanistan & Pakistan has shared ongoing socio-political instability, armed conflicts, environmental catastrophes and economic crises. Almost 2 million Afghan live in Pakistan. Between 2002 and 2021, over 5 million refugees returned home, while nearly 3.5 million Afghans are presently internally displaced. Data were collected […]
Research and knowledge exchange: notes from South Asian neighbourhoods
This publication underlines that the delivery of excellent and ethically centred knowledge exchange and research collaborations with a wide range of partners, draws on an extraordinarily wide range of skills, competencies, and resources. We need to be careful and supportive of the people leading this work, as well as our collaborative partners. This is particularly […]
Return, Reintergration and Political Restructuring
Previous research on return migration has mainly covered return to political and economically stable countries. Furthermore, the literature predominantly focusses on economic reasons for return. Much less is known about the gendered experience of return migration to conflict-affected contexts, and how this relates to development, gender equality, justice and inclusive peace. This research project explores […]
Culture and Conflict – Crafts Project Report
The Culture & Conflict project is based at Middlesex University (UK) and at Laajverd in Pakistan. The project is part of the GCRF Gender, Justice and Security Hub at London School of Economics and it contributes to the work stream entitled ‘Transformation and Empowerment.’ The crafts report, written by the consultant Nitin Goyal, as a […]
Conflict and Culture Project Impact Report – Afghanistan – Women for Peace and Participation
This document discusses the “Culture and Conflict project” part of the Gender Justice and Security Hub in Afghanistan. The primary focus on this action-based research is to investigate the impact of conflicts in various regions by delving into the discussion of cultural aspect and impact of war and insecurity on people’s culture and needs. This […]
Return, Reintegration and Political Restructuring in Afghanistan: Surveyof Return Migration to Kabul and Kandahar, 2022
Afghanistan has been witnessing one of the worst internal displacements and refugee crises in the world for more than 40 years. Every Afghan regime shift brought up a fresh wave of refugee crisis and humanitarian disaster in the country. Since the 1970s, it is estimated that 6 million Afghans have fled their country. Despite the […]
Afghanistan country briefing
This brief on Afghanistan from the Gender, Justice and Security Hub looks at the country context, including issues around protracted and ongoing conflict, the fraught progress towards peace, issues with Taliban control following the taking of Kabul in 2021, and the rolling back of limited progress on gender. The Hub’s work in the region has […]
Supporting Afghan Researchers At Risk: Critical Analysis of Key Lessons
Following the fall of Kabul to the Taliban in August 2021, a wave of devastating changes swept across Afghanistan. The return of the group has ushered in a dark era, characterized by blatant disregard for essential human rights and deliberate dismantling of democratic values. Among the most vulnerable are women and girls, religious and ethnic […]
