Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Posts tagged: Afghan Women

Afghan Women

Afghan Sportswomen: Courage, hurdles and harassment

Rohullah Sorush •

Afghan sportswomen have become a symbol of change for many in Afghanistan, representing hope for a more egalitarian society with greater opportunities for girls and women. For others, they are a symbol of western imperialism that is bringing change and undermining Afghan society and culture, turning women away from their families and traditional roles. For […]

Rights and Freedoms Read more

Afghanistan Elections Conundrum (20): Women candidates going against the grain

Jelena Bjelica • Rohullah Sorush •

On 20 October, more than 400 female candidates will compete for the 68 parliamentary seats reserved for women. Many more women – there are over three million registered female voters – will cast their votes on Saturday, in an attempt to have their say on who represents them in the lower house of the parliament. […]

Political Landscape Read more

Harassment of Women in Afghanistan: A hidden phenomenon addressed in too many laws

Ehsan Qaane •

Afghan women and girls often quietly endure harassment, including sexual harassment. Speaking out brings with it the possibility of their honour being called into question, and could lead to further restrictions being placed on their lives. Over the past few years, several legal initiatives have sought to address the issue of harassment. This has led […]

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“Reach the Women”: The US military’s experiment of female soldiers working with Afghan women

Gary Owen •

In 2009, the United States military in Afghanistan started deploying female soldiers to the field so that they could interact with Afghan women during operations and patrols. A picture of life as a member of what were called Female Engagement and Cultural Support Teams has come in a recently published book, Ashley’s War, by Gayle […]

War and Peace Read more

Afghan women stand to be counted as West begins to disengage

AAN •

Reuters/Euronews, 16 Apil 2014 AAN's Wazhma Samandary is quoted in this article about a young Kandahari woman campaigning for a seat in the provincial council:  “The withdrawal of international forces has increased concerns about insecurity, because of the increase of anti-government groups, militias, local commanders and other strongmen,” Wazhma Samandary, a researcher at Afghanistan Analysts […]

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Trotz Anschlagsgefahr: Afghanistan hat gewählt – “Afghanistan ist [noch] keine Demokratie”

admin •

Domradio (Cologne), 7 Apil 2014 Transcript (in German language) of a live interview of the German camous radio with AAN's Thomas Ruttig about the first impressions of the Afghan E-Day

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Die mühsame Suche nach einem neuen Präsidenten

AAN •

Die Welt (Germany), 5 April 2014 AAN's Martine van Bijlert is quoted here on the probability and forms of vote rigging, her experience from the 2009 and 2010 elections and what this says about 2014: "Der Betrug damals ist nicht leicht zu quantifizieren", sagt Martine van Bijlert vom Thinktank Afghanistan Analysts Network in Kabul. "Aber wenn […]

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Afghan Women Await Poll Results With Hope

AAN •

Voice of America, 5 April 2014 Kate Clark, country director at Afghanistan Analysts Network, is quoted here as saying that laws protect an Afghan woman's right to education and employment but that in reality, men still control what a woman can do. "Under the Taliban, women largely couldn't work unless they were in the health professions.  So […]

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Election is talk of the town in Kabul beauty parlours

AAN •

AFP/Gulf News, 4 April 2014 AAN's Kate Clark is not talking abour beauty parlors here, but about post-2001 progress for women in Afghanistan: Experts such as Kate Clark, of the Afghan [sic] Analysts’ Network, say that real progress has been made for women in Afghanistan over the past 13 years, though cultural norms still hold […]

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Las mujeres dan la cara aunque hay zonas donde el marido vota por ella

admin •

Te Interesa (Spain), 4 April 2014 Interview (in Spanish) with AAN's Thomas Ruttig about the situation of women ahead of Afghanistan's presidential elections.

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A New Era? Afghan Presidential Hopefuls Court Women’s Vote

AAN •

NPR, 3 April 2014 AAN's Martine van Bijlert is quoted on the Afghan women's vote and methods to rig it here: And as … Afghanistan expert Martine Van Bijlert … argue[s], many female voters who do vote don't end up voting for the candidate they personally prefer. "It's not a given actually that women will necessarily […]

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ادامهء ناامنی ها در افغانستان زنان را نگران ساخته است

AAN •

Radio Azadi, 20 March 2014 AAN's Wazhma Samandary is quoted in thsi article on the website of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Afghan branch about the impact of continuing insecurity on the situation of Afghan women and their possible participation in the upcoming elections, pointing to the presence of "irrersposible armed groups" in insecure provinces that […]

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