Equality and Economic Empowerment （平等與經濟賦權）

Afghanistan is a patriarchal society where men always had power over women; men have high level privileges to which women are not entitled. This brought up many challenges in the Afghan society like increasing level of poverty, existence of different types of violence against women, gender inequality, economy reduction, and no inclusion of women in decision making process.
Investing in women’s economic empowerment sets a direct path towards gender equality, poverty eradication and inclusive economic growth. Women make enormous contributions to economies, whether in businesses, on farms, as entrepreneurs or employees, or by doing unpaid care work at home.
But they also remain disproportionately affected by poverty, discrimination and exploitation. Gender discrimination means women often end up in insecure, low-wage jobs, and constitute a small minority of those in senior positions. It curtails access to economic assets such as land and loans. It limits participation in shaping economic and social policies. And, because women perform the bulk of household work, they often have little time left to pursue economic opportunities.
Many international commitments support women’s economic empowerment in Afghanistan, including the Beijing Platform for Action, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and a series of International Labor Organization conventions on gender equality.
Therefore, it is needed to promote women’s ability to secure decent jobs, accumulate assets, and influence institutions and public policies determining growth and development. One critical area of focus involves advocacy to measure women’s unpaid care work, and to take actions so women and men can more readily combine it with paid employment.