Synopses & Reviews
Afghan women have faced an exhaustive struggle in the battle to change their status and improve their situation. Emadi takes a long look at the role of development and modernization policies implemented by the state in the pre- and post-Soviet eras, under the Taliban, and beyond. He finds that such policies have failed to bring about much- needed change and improvement for women. Modernization strategies benefited only a small segment of urban women and left the plight of rural women unchanged. Although a small segment of middle- and upper-class women organized themselves and fought to bring about changes in their status and to end gender inequality, their efforts alone did not meet with much success.
Islamic orthodoxy and orthopraxy in the Taliban era restricted women's freedom of movement, access to education, and medical care. Using personal accounts not readily available to researchers or scholars, Emadi explores the diverse factors that contributed to women's oppression both at home and in society. This study provides a detailed analysis of state policies toward women's emancipation within the context of a traditional Islamic society. It chronicles the course of the women's movement and women's organizations still active in the political arena and puts forth an alternative plan to involve women in the reconstruction process in both urban and rural areas.
Review
Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above.Choice
Review
[G]ives the reader a sense of the complexity of Afghan history and cultures, the immense difficulties facing Afghan women and men, and possible avenues for international political support and action.Middle East Studies Association Bulletin
Synopsis
Afghan women have faced an exhaustive struggle in the battle to change their status and improve their situation. Emadi takes a long look at the role of development and modernization policies implemented by the state in the pre- and post-Soviet eras, under the Taliban, and beyond. He finds that such policies have failed to bring about much- needed change and improvement for women. Modernization strategies benefited only a small segment of urban women and left the plight of rural women unchanged. Although a small segment of middle- and upper-class women organized themselves and fought to bring about changes in their status and to end gender inequality, their efforts alone did not meet with much success.
About the Author
HAFIZULLAH EMADI is a development consultant. After receiving his Ph.D. from the University of Hawaii, Manoa, Emadi taught in the University of Hawaii system, joined the East-West Center's International Relations Program as a Fellow in 1990, and was awarded a fellowship at the Woodrow Wilson Center in 1999.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Peripheral Social Formation: Drive for Modernity
Gender Polity: The Status of Women
Peripheral State: Politics of Modernization
Political Mobilization: Women's Struggle for Equality
Politics of Regression: Women in the Post-Soviet Era
Women's Empowerment: Prospects for Future
Appendix: Bilateral Agreement Between the Republic of Afghanistan and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan on the Voluntary Return of Refugees
Bibliography
Index