Attachments
Executive Summary
The complex and protracted humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan affects persons of all genders, at-risk and marginalized groups differently. Women and girls are disproportionately affected because of gender-specific restrictions that directly impact their ability to realize their rights. Traditional gender norms and patriarchal cultures have long reinforced discrimination against women and girls in Afghanistan, increasing their vulnerability and decreasing their capacity to recover from shocks, leaving them disproportionately affected during crises. In rural areas, women also face compounded layers of challenges, due to entrenched gender norms and unavailability of services.
Based on the CARE International Rapid Gender Analysis methodology, the Interagency Rapid Gender Analysis (IRGA) for Afghanistan humanitarian response aims to better understand the gendered impact of the current humanitarian crisis.
The main factors and findings noted in the IRGA are:
Afghanistan’s literacy rate is estimated at 23 per cent for women – with rural women being less likely to be literate. This can be compared with an average of 52 per cent literacy rate for men. Despite literacy rates for women more than doubling in the past 20 years, they remain some of the lowest in the world.
As a result of conflict and displacement, as well as poverty-induced migration, traditional family units have been disrupted, resulting in an increase in the number of households headed by women, older people and, in some cases, children.
Restrictions currently in place have impacted women’s access to services across Afghanistan. Access to health services, markets and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) resources for women and girls have long been complex, and dependent on many factors. However, since the de facto authorities (DFA) takeover of state power in 2021, women’s unaccompanied access to health facilities and markets has decreased; while the proportion of those reporting access when accompanied had increased.
Service availability and high costs were the primary barriers for women-headed households in accessing basic services, according to the Annual Whole of Afghanistan Assessment (WoAA) for 2022. Compared to 2021, women-headed households face a 10 per cent increase in restrictions to their access to markets, water points and health facilities. Quarterly protection analysis throughout 2022 also shows that discrimination is one of the main reasons for women being denied access to services.
The absence of women staff and restrictions on women humanitarian workers was also noted as a barrier by women looking to access services. This is compounded by difficulties faced by women Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to continue operating, while they often provide a key link between humanitarian actors and affected women and girls.
The near collapse of the health system, due to the freezing of International Development Association (IDA) funds, combined with reports from the field of rising rates of early marriage and the related likelihood of early pregnancy, risks increasing the alarmingly high numbers of maternal deaths and infant mortality in country.
Approximately 28 per cent of women do not have a tazkira (Afghan national identity card). This impacts their ability to access services where identification is required, including humanitarian assistance and education.
Women’s ability to work and earn a livelihood has been disproportionately affected by a combination of pre-existing gender disparities in the labour force, the current economic crisis and new restrictions on women’s employment and movement, with severer impacts for women-headed households. Women are disproportionately affected by these phenomena given their already low participation in the labour market, which hinders their ability to navigate and recover from shocks. In addition, women and girls tend to be more affected by food insecurity, often being the lowest priority in terms of access to food consumption and/or nutrition inside the household.
Key sectors of the labour market were negatively impacted by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, and have been further devastated by the current food security and economic crisis. These include those sectors employing the largest percentage of women, such as agriculture, public administration and social services – including teachers and health care workers, many of whom have gone months without wages, due to the liquidity crisis.
While there is a general increase in the Afghan population’s feeling of safety due to the cessation of conflict in different parts of the country, 14 per cent of women and 14 per cent of girls reported having experienced a protection incident during the previous 3 months, figures which due to the precarious social standing of many Afghan women and fear of speaking out, are likely to not reflect the full extent of this phenomenon.
The IRGA found that the above-mentioned aspects have multiple impacts on the humanitarian response:
Increase of restrictions on freedom of movement has meant a drastic reduction in access to services for women and girls. Those from ethnic minority groups, those with mental or physical challenges, and those living in remote areas are particularly affected.
Key barriers to participation and accountability in humanitarian action include: limited consultation with women, excluded and under-represented groups in humanitarian assessments; limited awareness and/or use of feedback and complaints mechanisms (particularly among women, people with disabilities and undocumented returnees); exclusion of women and under-represented groups in decision making; lack of diversity among humanitarian staff; restrictions on women aid workers, and marginal space for women’s CSOs to operate.
Vulnerable groups tend to be under-represented in assessments, and rarely benefit from targeted programming, including the elderly, persons with disabilities, rural women and girls, widows, youth, and ethnic minority groups. Country-wide assessments struggle to capture the intersectionalities of experience (e.g. an elderly rural woman with disabilities) and various vulnerabilities. Moreover, the specific situation of women and girls living in male-headed households requires additional analysis, as these women are often made invisible when assessments only consider the head of household.
Economic hardship and food insecurity affect headed households disproportionately. Negative coping strategies across households include limiting food intake (with women disproportionately affected), increases in child labour and early marriage.
Girls’ access to education, already limited under Republic of Afghanistan rule, and further impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, has been further restricted since August 2021, with schooling for girls capped at primary level in most provinces. The longstanding challenge of having an insufficient number of girls’ schools and women teachers, especially in remote areas, has been exacerbated by movement restrictions and teachers’ salaries going unpaid, due to the freeze on public finances.