WOMEN’S REPRESENTATION IN AFGHANISTAN Economic Empowerment and International Agencies

Abstract

Purpose:This thesis examines the level of effectiveness of the Women Economic Empowerment Projects in Afghanistan in a certain period, especially from 2001 onward, and in accordance to the availability of the required data. The study has benefited from various sources of information on the policies and goals of governmental and non-governmental agencies, implementation of the projects, mid-term evaluation data, and overall available outcomes. The thesis further studies the effectiveness of the projects on gender equality as a priority of the society. Theory:The theoretical standpoint of this study is based on some points that behind the women empowerment in Afghanistan there is neoliberal rationality, the Western privilege of representation and the lack of room for arguments of the effectiveness of the programmes which creates non-performativity from gender theoretical perspective. Method:The research has been conducted in the light of the existing documentation on Women Economic Empowerment Programs in Afghanistan. In this study, the empirical data has been found through the process of collecting first-hand and secondary sources such as governmental and non-governmental publications. Result:The results of this study introduce accumulated data and draw the importance of transparency concerning international donor agencies activities in Afghanistan. In addition, the empirical data will be interpreted together with theoretical perspective for acknowledgment of the presence of incompatible gaps in the effectiveness of the projects and its transparency.