Progress on gender equity in Afghan higher education

The struggle for gender equity and equal access to higher education for women in Afghanistan has been a difficult one, complicated by war and hindered by conservative traditions, weak support and the banning of women in all levels of education by the Taliban from 1996 to the end of 2001 when the movement was defeated.

That meant the only women available for higher education when the doors were reopened to women in 2002 were those returning refugees from Pakistan, Iran and other countries, young women who were 12th graders when secondary schools were closed to women, the small number of women who had been in underground schools during this period, and those who had been in universities when they were closed to women by the Taliban.

When higher education reopened to women in 2002, a total of 1,746 women were able to enrol. The percentage of women grew 156% in 2003 and 86% the following year, bringing the total number of women to almost 8,300 by 2004. The overall demand for places by both men and women was high at that time with total enrolments jumping 191% in 2002.

Total enrolment of women in public higher education plateaued at an average of 19% from 2005 to 2014, largely because of a shortage of dormitory places for women since 80% of the existing hostels were for men. Families would not send daughters to universities without safe supervised housing.

The Ministry of Higher Education launched a major campaign for more women’s dorms in 2012. As a result, five women’s dormitories were built during 2013-16 by government and donors, and several others were under construction.

The total number of women grew to more than 45,000 in 2016, being 22.8% of total student numbers – a major success given the obstacles. The ministry’s goal is 25% women students by 2020.

Working towards gender equity

The goal of working towards gender equity for the Ministry of Higher Education was emphasised in 2009 in the National Higher Education Strategic Plan: 2010-2014 and in the government's National Action Plan for Women of Afghanistan in 2007.

It is also enshrined in the government’s commitment to The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Beijing Platform for Action (1995), the global framework for the advancement of women.

The challenges of getting women into higher education are enormous and go back many years. Part of the problem has been the low number of girls in primary and secondary education due to the hostility to girls’ education in some areas.

In the 1950s the total enrolment of girls in primary school was only 3,970 girls in the whole country out of 91,414 students, or 4.3% of the total. The percentage grew quickly and by1960 there were almost 20,000 girls (11.4%).

The number of girls in primary school continued to grow after the Russian invasion since the Russians strongly encouraged education for girls and by 1990 the enrolment of girls in primary school was 34.1% of the total or 64,116 girls.

The total dropped to 10.9% during the civil war, fell to 7.9% in 1999 under the Taliban and continued to fall with the prohibition of women in education in the areas the Taliban controlled – which was almost all of Afghanistan.

Huge challenges

With the defeat of the Taliban the number of girls in both primary and secondary school increased dramatically. By 2014-15, 30.6% of secondary school graduates were women and that number continues to increase each year.

Nonetheless, girls in some areas continue to be harassed going to school, sometimes with acid thrown at them, and girls' schools continue to be burned. In May 2012, the Ministry of Education reported that 550 schools had been closed by insurgents. During the recent capture of Kunduz in 2015, the Taliban carried out a systematic campaign against women there.

A more recent problem for the admission of young women is their falling success compared to men in the admissions examination, or Kankor, after years of similar levels of success – about 25%.

The problem appears to be related to the growth of pre-Kankor classes which have produced about an 80% success rate. Families are willing to pay for these classes for sons rather than for daughters, with 90% of the students being men. Thus, a disproportionately high percentage of men are gaining admission. The ministry is now encouraging free pre-Kankor training for women secondary students, with several donors joining in this effort.

Mental health problems are another serious challenge for college-aged people, with an estimated 40% having clinical levels of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression or anxiety. This lowers their performance, and leads to drop-outs and occasional suicides.

The problem is twice as high among women as men. The ministry is struggling to provide the first mental health clinics in higher education, with a pilot project organised and planned for two universities. However, no state or donor funding has been forthcoming.

An ongoing problem for young women is sexual harassment and sexual violence. Unfortunately, these problems are not unknown in higher education. A ministry Sexual Harassment Policy was prepared in 2009 by then minister Mohammad Azam Dadfur. Anti-harassment policies were incorporated into several policies for teachers including the Bylaws for Ethics and Discipline.

Female academics

The ministry has been working to increase the number of female faculty members from zero in 2001. The total had grown to 14% of all faculty in 2016 with a goal of 20% by 2020.

The problem is especially difficult due to the small number of women with masters or PhDs and very limited numbers in graduate studies. It is also difficult for women to obtain a PhD since they must go abroad, unlike for masters, which are now available in many fields in Afghanistan.

The percentage of women faculty members with PhDs is only 1.4% and has stayed relatively constant since 2008. Only 4.1% of men have PhDs. Now that masters degrees are available in Afghanistan, the percentage of women with masters has grown from 22% in 2008 to 35% in 2015 compared to 33% for men.

At the professorial level, only 9.2% of women are assistant professor or above, while 90% are only teaching assistants. Part of that is a consequence of the recent receipt of masters degrees by most women and therefore little time to climb the promotion ladder.

Public resistance

The lack of support for equal access to education for women by the population generally is a serious obstacle. The number of Afghans who say they strongly believe that women should have equal access to educational opportunities has dropped from 58.5% in 2006 to 37.8% in 2015, according to an Asia Foundation survey.

This change seems to reflect a growing cynicism about the future and the effects of the ongoing war. In addition, the third highest problem facing women cited in the survey, after education-illiteracy and lack of jobs-unemployment, is domestic violence, cited by 13% of women in 2015.

There also is an assumption that this is a women’s problem – let them take care of it. In actual fact, it is much more a men’s problem, created by men, and therefore men must take a leading role in the process of improving conditions for girls and women.

While there was general agreement in higher education on the need to improve conditions for women, it was not high on the agenda on most campuses. There are some notable exceptions of institutions making a special effort to help their campuses become more welcoming and secure for women.

These include a major outdoor floodlight project to enhance the safety of women at night to ‘light up the campus’ at Kabul University. Several universities are providing transportation for women students on campus (Khost University), and several have special programmes to encourage women to apply to the university (Balkh and Nangarhar universities).

One university has provided special internet facilities for women (Kandahar), another has worked with male students on a code of conduct including anti-harassment policies (Takhar), and several have special committees or a women’s council to address issues of women’s safety. In 2005-06, the strategic plans of two universities (Nangarhar and Kabul) listed gender equity as goals.

A higher education gender strategy

The idea of preparing a higher education gender strategy was initiated by Deputy Minister of Higher Education Mohammed Osman Babury in July 2011. The ministry began to work on a gender strategy as a collective effort with many participants over the next two years.

It received support from the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, the committee on gender in Parliament, the Human Rights Commission, a number of chancellors, senior female and male faculty members, and the Kabul University Sharia law faculty.

The Higher Education Project and its follow-up University Support and Workforce Development Programme – both funded by USAID – assisted with preparation, translation, overall support for the project and the printing of the document. The final versions of the Higher Education Gender Strategy were completed in May 2014.

However, the failure of women MPs’ efforts in 2013 to gain parliamentary approval turning a 2009 presidential decree of President Hamid Karzai into law – a policy entitled “Elimination of Violence Against Women” – was a serious blow to gender equity.

Indeed, it triggered a backlash which led to the approval of new rules and legislation making it hard for family members or any relative to testify against abusers, and eliminated protection for wives against sexual abuse.

It was clear that if the Higher Education Gender Strategy was released in this environment it might be overturned by parliament. Thus, release was delayed although the ministry continued working to put many of these policies in place.

In July 2016, the Higher Education Gender Strategy was officially introduced at the ministry before chancellors, vice-chancellors and others. The sexual harassment policy, Policy on Elimination of Discrimination and Sexual Harassment in Universities and Institutions of Higher Education (2015), was also reintroduced.

Conclusions

Strong support for the Higher Education Gender Strategy has been forthcoming from President Ashraf Ghani, most institutional leaders, faculty members, staff and students.

In focus groups, young men were strong supporters of gender equity and equal employment opportunities for women. More than half the population now is under 23 years of age. That suggests challenges to gender equity should become less severe over the next few years.

On the other hand, in a context in which Afghanistan has been identified as among the countries with high levels of discrimination against women in the OECD Gender Index, the challenges for full implementation remain real.

Nonetheless, the fact that higher education has moved quickly from no women faculty or students in 2001 to 22.4% women students and 14% women faculty in a war environment and amid the challenges noted earlier, is a striking indication of likely long-term success.

And this is along with the successful transformation of higher education to include major quality improvements, accreditation, merit hiring and promotions, upgraded curricula, the introduction of community colleges, the addition of masters and PhD programmes, and a higher education system that enshrines academic freedom.

All this bodes well for future success of both higher education and gender equity.

Dr Fred Hayward is executive vice-president of the US Council for Higher Education Accreditation. He has published widely on African development and on higher education, and has worked extensively in Afghanistan over the past decade.

* This article flowed from a presentation delivered by Fred Hayward during an “International Perspectives” session at a HERANA 3 seminar held from 20-23 November in Franschhoek, South Africa. HERANA is the Higher Education Research and Advocacy Network in Africa.