01 Dec Women’s Participation in Parliamentary and Provincial Elections, 2004-10
The road to female political participation in Afghanistan is paved with tantalising possibilities and daunting obstacles. In recognition of this AREU is launching a new research project to explore women’s participation in Afghanistan’s parliamentary and provincial council elections over the past decade. Supported by UN Women, it aims to provide a benchmark on the experiences, challenges, achievements and lessons learned from female engagement with Afghanistan’s electoral processes.
Research will document the experiences of candidates, voters and election officials across Kabul, Balkh and Bamiyan Provinces. By focusing on existing obstacles and incentives to participation, perceptions on women’s electoral participation, and the effectiveness of existing policies and institutions in supporting female candidates, the study ultimately hopes to form a basis for informing future policies and programmes to develop and strengthen women’s participation in decision-making in Afghanistan.