The Pitfalls of Protection: Gender, Violence, and Power in Afghanistan

“…At any one time since 2001, between 300 and 600 women have been incarcerated in Afghan prisons for “moral crimes” such as adultery, attempted adultery, and “running away from home” (HRW 2013, 2016). The women imprisoned for such “moral crimes” have been one of the main issues of focus for the vast, largely externally funded efforts to improve women’s rights with the Afghan justice sector since the US-led overthrow of the Taliban government (Billaud 2015; Hakimi and Wimpelmann 2018; Wimpelmann 2017a). Activists and human rights workers—both local and international—have kept track of the number of women in jail for moral crimes, provided legal aid, and engaged systematically with Afghan authorities on the issue.…”

Section: Women’s “Moral Crimes” In Afghanistanmentioning

confidence: 99%

“He Should Learn That He Cannot Get a Woman for free”: Male Elopers and Constructions of Masculinity in the Afghan Justice System

Wimpelmann

Hakimi

Sa’adat

2020

Men and Masculinities

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This article explores constructions of gender, masculinity, and class in moral crimes prosecutions, and their legal aftermaths in Afghanistan. It argues that the lack of attention to men in advocacy and research about moral crimes, while reflecting a (geo-) politicized conflation of gender with women, constitute both an empirical and an analytical oversight. The first part of the article discusses the legal grounds for the prosecution of men for “moral crimes” in Afghanistan and presents statistical data that reveals large-scale incarceration of men for pursuing consensual, heterosexual relations, including the non-codified crime of elopement. In the second part, we use ethnographic data to probe into the ways in which the treatment of male elopers are based on specific notions of gender, sexuality, and masculinity. We suggest that the interrelated, yet differentiated, prosecution of male and female elopers in Afghanistan can be usefully understood in terms of a gender regime that places different expectations on men and women. Women’s gender performance is ranked according to (verifiable) chastity, men’s gender performance according to the (legitimate, i.e., honorable) command of resources.

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“…Cislaghi et al (2019) note that even in highly patriarchal contexts, women can find ways to navigate and resist oppressive power from within the spaces allowed by patriarchal gender systems. In Afghanistan, while women are undoubtedly resourceful in navigating the complex politics and creating spaces for agency and change within these conditions (Billaud 2015;Wimpelmann 2017), in contexts of poverty and gender inequalities, such opportunities are highly constrained. Afghan women continue to negotiate a range of expectations and limitations including demands for social change, respect for and adherence to tradition and potential backlash and reversal of rights (Brodsky 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Women's mobility, particularly in rural settings, is often highly constrained due to concerns about the policing of women's sexuality and maintaining the honour of the family, leading to purdah or the 'protection' and control of women through seclusion and veiling (Boesen 2004). Under the Mujahideen regime (1992)(1993)(1994)(1995)(1996) and Taliban regime (1996)(1997)(1998)(1999)(2000)(2001), women's mobility was tightly controlled (Ahmed-Gosh 2003), particularly under the latter, with the Taliban government introducing and enforcing a universal regulation that women were not permitted to leave their homes without a mahram (male relative) (Ahmed-Gosh 2003;Wimpelmann 2017). While post-Taliban this has tended to ease off, women, particularly in rural areas, are still often expected to be accompanied by a mahram when in public, partly to avoid verbal and physical intimidation, harassment or violence from unrelated men or other community members (AREU 2013;Ganesh 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bacha posh in Afghanistan: factors associated with raising a girl as a boy

Corboz

Gibbs

Jewkes

2019

Culture, Health & Sexuality

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This paper examines the factors associated with the cultural phenomenon of bacha posh in Afghanistan (in which girls are dressed and raised as boys), which occurs against a background of rigid gender norms and the male-centric nature of Afghan families. Survey data were collected from 1463 women in two provinces of Afghanistan, Kabul and Nangarhar. The primary outcome is a nominal variable, derived from the question, 'Do you have any girl in your family who has been raised for any time as a boy?' Independent variables comprise women's socio-demographic characteristics, family composition, economic characteristics, patriarchal gender attitudes and perceptions of community patriarchal attitudes. Factors associated with bacha posh include women having fewer sons and more daughters, working in the past three months and having less patriarchal gender attitudes. That bacha posh is often driven by a large number of daughters in the family with a corresponding low number of sons suggests that bacha posh is a response to very contextual features of Afghan life, including the preference for sons. Bacha posh in the family is linked to less patriarchal gender norms and can be a way for girls and women to acquire education, mobility and engagement in income-generating activities.

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The Pitfalls of Protection: Gender, Violence, and Power in Afghanistan

Cited by 20 publications

References 28 publications

Political functions of impunity in the war on terror: Evidence from Afghanistan

Political functions of impunity in the war on terror: Evidence from Afghanistan

“He Should Learn That He Cannot Get a Woman for free”: Male Elopers and Constructions of Masculinity in the Afghan Justice System

Bacha posh in Afghanistan: factors associated with raising a girl as a boy

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