Afghan Women Parliamentarians— Caucusing amidst Contestation and Insecurity

Abstract

In 2005, Afghan women accessed in previously unseen numbers both houses of parliament. They are now working as parliamentarians in decision making, policy making, and legislation making, engaging with their voters, constituencies, the public in general, and the media. At the same time, the political and parliamentary terrain is marked by the diverse complexities within the overall project of state-building as well as conflict regulation. However, the involvement of women in Afghanistan’s public life is under threat, given the various attacks on publicly active women and on women’s rights, in particular due to the ever worsening security situation and increasing insurgency. This article presents some findings of a larger study on Afghanistan’s Parliament in the Making (2009), investigating the highly fragmented, hybrid, and volatile Afghan parliament, trying to understand the complex and challenging reality of Afghanistan’s parliamentarians. In addition, it looks into concerns on options, opportunities, and possible entry points, even avenues, for parliamentary institution building, in particular with regard to women parliamentarians. The article is based on interviews with women members of parliament in Kabul in 2007 and 2008 and examines the challenges faced by Afghan women parliamentarians to network and caucus in order to follow through with their legislative interests and agendas.¹

Key Words:

• State-building
• parliament
• politics
• gender
• institutions
• women’s caucus
• post-conflict
• Afghanistan