Executive Summary Written by Mariam Safi, Evie Browne, Tony Mwenda Kamninga, Ayesha Khan https://dropsafghanistan.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Changing-Norms-Afghanistan-Exe-Summary-ODI-DROPS.pdf
Changing social norms around age of marriage in Afghanistan: data on repression and resistance under the Taliban
Since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021, fragile policy gains for women’s rights have been dramatically reversed.
This ODI Report provides the latest evidence for governments and development actors to understand the impact of Taliban edicts on the lives of women and girls. It explores how changing social norms around child-marriage in Afghanistan are connected to repression from a new political order under the Taliban regime.
The research shows how political insecurity, economic precarity, bans on education, and ongoing gender persecution have negatively impacted social norms around age of marriage. Families are increasingly marrying off their girls to cope with closures of education and employment opportunities – driven also by fear of forced marriage to Taliban leaders.
Underpinning this is deep gender inequality and patriarchal norms, which enforce a primarily domestic and child-bearing role for women. In order to centre the lived experiences of women and girls, the report analyses new quantitative and qualitative data on norms around age at marriage in Afghanistan, with recommendations for policymakers and the international community.
DROPS Upcoming Event “Living under the Taliban: gender, insecurity and child marriage in Afghanistan”
Since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021, fragile policy gains for women’s rights have been dramatically reversed. This London event will launch joint research by DROPS and London based think-tank, ODI, with the latest evidence for governments and development actors to understand the impact of Taliban edicts on the lives of women and girls. Political insecurity, economic precarity and ongoing gender persecution have negatively impacted social norms around age of marriage. The research shows how families are increasingly marrying off their girls to cope with closures of education and employment opportunities – driven also by fear of forced
Shadow Report: A Response to the United Nations Security Council’s Independent Assessment Report on Afghanistan
In response to the political and humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2679 in March 2023, requesting the Secretary-General to provide the Council with an independent assessment including “forward-looking recommendations for an integrated and coherent approach.” This is a response to that report, informed, and by Afghan women.
