FACT SHEETS

WOMEN IN AFGHANISTAN: FACT SHEETS

The plight of Afghan women was thrust into the western media in 2001 as the Taliban retreated and it became more widely known that Afghan women and girls had been living within a political system that stripped them of all rights, a system that has sometimes been labeled “gender apartheid” or “gendercide”. Yet, beyond the iconic image of women in burqas, still little of any depth is widely known outside of the country of the changing status of Afghan women. Afghan women hold many identities: in some cases they are victims of injustices, but in many cases they are also heroes, activists and agents of change. Afghan women have been leading social change in their country across many different sectors from education to political participation to health and this side of their story is often untold. It is a nuanced story, of both rapid social and political transformations that have occurred in the last decade as well as ongoing challenges in the struggle for women’s rights.

Our Fact Sheet Series provides snapshots of several different issues Afghan women’s organizations have identified as priorities in their reform efforts. The fact sheets provide a brief overview of the topic to provide current information from a variety of sources. Please click on the title below view each fact sheet page. All fact sheets may be downloaded at the bottom of the page in pdf format.

The Education Series

1. Where Are the Textbooks?

2. A War on Education: Security and Schools

3. The Teacher Shortfall

4. School Enrollment in Afghanistan

5. Building Schools: Meeting the Education Infrastructure Needs in Afghanistan

Other Fact Sheets

6. Afghan Women in History: The 20th Century

7. Afghan Women in the Security Sector – Coming soon!

8. Women and Mental Health in Afghanistan

9. Maternal Health in Afghanistan

10. Going to Market: Women’s Entrepreneurship and Fair Trade in Afghanistan

11. The Women’s Movement in Afghanistan – Coming soon!

12. Women and the Rule of Law: Legal Reform in Afghanistan – Coming soon!

13. Afghan Women in Government – Coming soon!

14. Afghan Women's Political Participation - Coming soon!

Resources on Girls in Developing Countries, from Girl Effect University:
http://www.girleffect.org/learn/more-resources

Our thanks to the team of volunteers, board members and staff who researched and wrote the fact sheets: Jamie M. Banks, Jenna Sharpe, Lauryn Oates, Madeliene Tarasick and to Kate Wright for her design work.