Integrating Gender in Afghanistan's National Policy

Anna Wordsworth, 'Moving to the Mainstream: Integrating Gender in Afghanistan’s National Policy', Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit, 29 February 2008

ABSTRACT: "This paper contends that gender mainstreaming as the government’s principal strategy for promoting gender equity in Afghanistan is not being implemented substantively. In spite of considerable emphasis in the Interim Afghanistan National Development Strategy (I-ANDS) and National Action Plan for the Women of Afghanistan (NAPWA) on gender as a cross-cutting issue, structural and financial factors, along with limited human resources and political will, currently limit the mechanisms existing in ministries to the extent that they cannot function effectively.

"Mechanisms in ministries often include gender units, working groups, women’s shuras and focal points. Further, international assistance for mainstreaming initiatives often runs parallel to national needs and expectations. There are however ways in which the implementation of gender mainstreaming might be encouraged. These have been found through a comprehensive analysis of gender mechanisms in three case study ministries (Rural Rehabilitation and Development, Public Health and Interior Affairs)."

To access the full report, click here.

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'Women and Human Security: The Case of Post-Conflict Afghanistan', 26 October 2007
'Reconstruction as Modernisation: The 'Post-conflict' Project in Afghanistan', 21 September 2007
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