ABSTRACT
In Afghanistan, involvement in gender and development activities is a sensitive matter, due to the prevailing sentiment (contributed in no small part by the US-led military occupation in the early 2000s) that gender is a western import. As a result, donors, and the international community alike attempt to localise gender equality through a religious framework. However, if done superficially and without a deep understanding of the cultural and religious contexts, such an approach only instrumentalises Islam without meaningful engagement. The case study of ‘Happy Family, Healthy Community’ was an illustration of this. My research found that while dialogues among a diverse range of Islamic religious scholars and leaders are critical towards gender-sensitive interpretation of Islam, it is not the panacea for gender equality. Such a narrow focus would only further marginalise existing women’s Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in the country, when their position is already tenuous within a context that is suspicious of women’s rights. The chapter also explores the tension between Afghan women and men who work on gender and development, and the need to view men as supporters rather than leaders in the women’s movement.
