Afghan women in the peace process

Women Empowerment Human Rights

Afghan women working for peace do so within a society composed of traditional, predominantly tribal cultures that do not accept women as decision makers or leaders. The Soviet occupation of Afghanistan was resisted in part because the communist-backed Afghan regime was pushing rural Afghan women out of purdah (seclusion), and into literacy classes. Rural male societies saw this as a threat to their identity, since they define honor as having complete control over the women in their families.