The central role of Afghan women in the rural economy, 2006

14/03/2006

In the post-conflict context, with the reconstruction underway, Afghanistan was the focus of a great deal of attention from humanitarian and development organisations. Women’s issues, in particular, continued to be of central concern, with more and more programmes adopting a ‘gender approach’ or aiming to contribute to ‘women's empowerment’. Was this always relevant? Did these programmes not often fail because they were not adapted to women's needs? In addition, development actors often viewed Afghan women as a homogeneous group without taking into account their diversity.