ABSTRACT
By all accounts, donor governments have been largely ‘successful’ in identifying significant resources for gender-related programming in Afghanistan during 2001–2015. However, this chapter asserts that their approaches may not have led directly to women’s empowerment in the country. This chapter charts the evolution of the international donor approach in Afghanistan, including Women in Development (WID) and Women, Peace and Security (WPS), and how that approach has informed emerging national-level norms. It finds that the prioritization of specific gender-related principles above others (within women, peace and security policy UNSCR 1325 et al.) has had significant impact on national outcomes. The emphasis on women’s protection, starting in 2010, may have resulted in opportunities to advance meaningful participation of women in Afghan society being missed. Specifically, this includes a lack of attention to expanding once-small-scale participation projects to be part of meaningful inclusion into formal and informal peacebuilding processes. In choosing to emphasize the women, peace and security agenda, the international donor community has diffused norms that reinforce the narrative of victimization, which has then become internalized by local domestic institutions. This analysis focuses on how the prioritization process has impacted not only meaningful gender integration into peace and security processes but also the emerging overall state stability and development.
