Explaining the Obstacles and Challenges of Political Empowerment of Afghan Women between 2001-2020

Introduction: The emergence of a new political system in Afghanistan after the attack of September 11, 2001, in the United States made the issue of political empowerment of women in this country to be examined. This article seeks to answer the question of what factors caused Afghan women not to develop relative political empowerment based on democracy from 2001 to 2021. Today, the method of political empowerment of women in different fields, especially in the political field, faces a series of obstacles and challenges. The limitations and challenges in the process of women's political empowerment cause the society to remain without the development and political participation of women. In this regard, it seems that the political society of Afghanistan, as a leading society, is facing the condition of non-compliance of gender in the matter of political empowerment. Women as a large part of the society have experienced detailed participation in political life for more than two decades.
In Afghanistan, to adapt to the new conditions and try to solve the crises that have plagued this country in recent decades, women's issues have also been emphasized. The consequences of the events of September 11, 2001, for women were highlighted, as it led to the decline of the misogynistic Taliban regime. The harsh and oppressive policies of the Taliban towards women had created a very unbearable path for women, which resulted in the limitation of women's operations and their confinement within the four walls of the house. Women suffered a lot of hardships during this period and their migration became more intense. After September 11, 2001, and the entry of the new political system in Afghanistan, a relatively open and suitable space was organized for the presence of women in various fields. Laws were enacted to protect women's rights, both in the form of affirmative action. Their measured and impressive presence in several election periods of the country shows this fact. More than the right to vote, women had more visible activities in obtaining representative and managerial seats at the center and local governments in the provinces. Despite all this, social differences and dissociations based on unsavory cultural connections caused the striking presence of women in political power to face many controversies. Women played a symbolic role in the political arena of this country in the last two decades. Addressing the problem and challenges of women's political empowerment in Afghanistan for 20 years is a new subject that has been neglected by researchers. In the last two decades, all discourses and actions to increase the level of political participation of women were generally ceremonial and symbolic and remained so until recent years. In fact, the issue of women is a cultural issue, and its solution, in addition to passing laws and institutionalizing women's affairs in laws, requires cultural measures, planning, institutionalization, and proving the presence of women in the mentality of Afghan society.
Ashraf Ghani’s government has taken stronger steps in the field of women's rights and abilities than Hamid Karzai’s government. Laws were passed to eliminate violence and gender prejudice against women, but the obstacles and problems that were created during Karzai's rule in the way of empowering women, unfortunately, the same obstacles appeared in Ashraf Ghani's regime that prevented women from participating in the political, social, cultural and economic fields of the country. Political empowerment of women can be described as a process to increase their capacity in different fields. Unfortunately, during the two decades of Karzai and Ghani's rule, according to official statistics, women were placed in a weaker social and political position and were more marginalized compared to men. Afghan women were in a difficult economic dependency and a bad social situation. In the last two decades, all speeches and actions to increase the level of political participation of women were generally formal and symbolic and it has been the same until recent years. The anti-woman culture in Afghanistan has been able to oppress women and keep them away from all their rights for 20 years. The patriarchal system in Afghanistan with its autocratic culture has prevented women from developing political, social, economic and cultural abilities for years. One of the inhuman and illegal customs in Afghanistan has been the discriminatory treatment of Afghan government officials with political men and active and educated women of this country.
Research question: This article seeks to answer the question of what are the factors that make Afghan women unable to develop the desired political empowerment based on democracy from 2001 to 2020?
Research hypothesis: The hypotheses of the article refer to mental, cultural, political, economic and social effects based on Saralange women's empowerment theory.
Methodology and theoretical framework: For this purpose, documentary qualitative method and interviews based on Sara langwe's empowerment theory have been used to obtain data.
Results and discussion: The research results show that the mutual influence of political, cultural, economic, social and psychological factors during the last twenty years and during the presidency of Karzai and Ghani, have caused Afghan women not to develop the desired political empowerment based on democracy and from a weak position.
Conclusion: Before Karzai's two terms, women were not given the power to overcome external pressures and prejudices to gain their lost rights and improve their social status. According to Lange, women should know that what exists is not just and fair, but it can be changed, and they can change the situation in their favor. According to Lange, empowerment at this stage means increasing women's awareness of the existing situation, drawing the desired situation and the ways to reach that situation. In this regard, Afghan women have been aware of injustice, gender discrimination, emotional pressures, and economic and social problems in the past twenty years and to some extent, despite the political, psychological, cultural and socio-economic obstacles and challenges, they have been able to overcome the conditions and challenges and change them to their advantage and improve their situation.