75 Years of women representation in Afghanistan: Looking back to look forward

Abstract

This article analyzes barriers and facilitators to Afghan women's representation in the last 75 years, from Zahir Shah (1933–1973) to Ashraf Ghani (2014–2021) and now under the Taliban (2021–…). We conducted a qualitative analysis using administrative documents and related academic contributions from each period to address this topic. The analysis shows that the representation of women in Afghanistan's public administration (PA) has been limited and passive in terms of both numbers and impacts. Historically, Afghanistan's PA has remained a mostly patriarchal system, where prejudice and gender-based discrimination are a reality in government organizational structures. Our findings show that socio-economic and political realities have contributed to gender inequality and the underrepresentation of Afghan women in PA. These realities include international invasions, conflicts, frequent regime changes, and cultural elements, which encompass a strong traditional culture, specific religious and patriarchal mindsets, and an overall lack of attention to gender issues. Results also reveal that over the past 75 years, women have not been actively involved in the development and decision-making processes in the country. As a result, Afghanistan has never experienced a representative PA that mirrors the demographical groups of society, notably women. This study indicates that the interests of Afghan women have mostly been ignored in the policy-making process and that issues of diversity and gender equality in PA were not on the agenda of the different Afghan regimes.