Since the fall of the Taliban in 2002, gains in women’s rights and access to justice in Afghanistan have been remarkable, yet women’s rights remain extremely limited. How do women in Afghanistan seek justice when their rights are violated? What barriers… Read more
Women’s rights programs in Afghanistan need to work with religious leaders who have moral authority among large segments of the Afghan public. Engaging those traditional leaders who have a track record of supporting women’s rights begins with respecting… Read more
Women’s rights in Afghanistan have been supported and championed by Afghan and international advocates and organizations since 2002. Substantial progress has been made, but the women’s rights movement faces an uncertain future in the wake of the 2014… Read more
Better understanding of how experiences in war change men’s roles and identities can lead to better interventions to help men deal with the trauma of war violence, to combat gender-based violence, and equip men as agents of peace in their postconflict… Read more
An expert dialogue on women in transition countries brought together 14 women leaders from Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and Tunisia to work together and identify issues specific to each country and determine common problems. USIP’s Steven Steiner summarizes… Read more
UN peacekeepers continue to engage in sexual exploitation and abuse during deployment and rarely face punishment, according to human rights lawyer and Jennings Randolph fellow Carla Ferstman. Although troop-contributing countries bear responsibility for… Read more
In this peace brief, author Sahar F. Aziz argues that the biggest challenge for women in Arab Spring countries is transforming their leadership and influence into high-level governance positions, both elected and appointed. Summary The biggest challenge… Read more
A new Peace Brief details the lessons learned and best practices on engaging men in support of women’s rights and empowerment in South Asia and the Middle East. It is based on a November 2012 forum organized by USIP’s Center for Gender and Peacebuilding… Read more
Summary In transitioning countries such as Afghanistan and Iraq, women are increasingly finding their rights limited by state and religious leaders. Cultural and national stereotypes can be quickly overcome by the shared backgrounds, accomplishments,… Read more
This report, sponsored by the Center for Gender and Peacebuilding at the U.S. Institute of Peace, is based on data culled from the 2010 parliamentary elections in Afghanistan. Using these numbers, the authors assess how female candidates and voters fared… Read more
Wartime sexual violence is rooted in preconflict inequalities and also perpetuates peacetime violence, as the case of Peru shows. Peru can begin to break this cycle of violence by treating rape in war as a crime against humanity. Summary Wartime sexual… Read more
There are a variety of contexts in which the empowerment of women in Pakistan can be considered, but none is more critical than law: How women’s legal rights are framed is fundamental to considering how best to advance women’s empowerment. After… Read more