A Glass Half Empty? An Afghan Economy Without Women
Author: Valentina Finckenstein
The Islamic Emirate’s current policy of excluding Afghan women from an already-fragile economy has significant economic ripple effects:
- Consumption and behaviour patterns in women’s economic activity are complementary to men’s in economies, and cannot be simply substituted by increased male economic activity.
- Gender-based exclusion will cause some market sectors will shrink or extinguish.
- Afghanistan’s economic recovery requires international support, which is fading in light of the escalating restrictions on women’s freedoms.
This publication is part of a series highlighting the work and analysis of the Afghanistan Research Network (ARN), a project convened by LSE / PeaceRep, and the Civic Engagement Project (CEP). The network brings together over 20 Afghan researchers (and several non-Afghans) with diverse expertise and backgrounds investigating a range of issues. This project aims to support Afghan researchers who were recently forced to leave Afghanistan; to ensure expert and analytical provision; inform contextually-appropriate international policies and practices on Afghanistan; and to deepen understanding of evolving political, security, and economic dynamics.
Learn more about the Afghanistan Research Network
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