Assessing Participation in Women’s Development Projects in Afghanistan by Anusha Ahmadi B.A. (Political Science and Public Administration), American University of Afghanistan, 2013 Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the School of Communication Faculty of Communication, Art and Technology © Anusha Ahmadi 2017 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Fall 2017 Copyright in this work rests with the author. Please ensure that any reproduction or re-use is done in accordance with the relevant national copyright legislation. Approval Name: Anusha Ahmadi Degree: Master of Arts Title: Assessing Participation in Women’s Development Projects in Afghanistan Examining Committee: Chair: Jan Marontate Associate Professor Robert Anderson Senior Supervisor Professor Katherine Reilly Supervisor Associate Professor Parin Dossa Internal Examiner Professor Sociology and Anthropology Date Defended/Approved: December 13, 2017 ii Ethics Statement iii Abstract This thesis assesses the concept of participation as it was manifested by different parties in international aid projects targeting women’s empowerment in Afghanistan from the perspectives of 10 Afghan development professionals who worked in the aid projects from 2009 to 2016, as well as from analysis of a number of project evaluations and my personal experience. The research is based on the premise that because the Afghan professionals had a local background and linguistic skills, they would have had a deeper understanding of the basic needs of Afghan women than most expatriate staff. The research found that the project designs were not based on customized research and needs assessment specific to the timing and objectives of the projects, that the project beneficiaries, even sometimes local staff, were not involved in planning and decision making, that the plans made were mostly not implemented, that the quality of implemented projects was unsatisfactory, and, finally, that the lack of sustainability measures and coordination with government and stakeholders raised concerns about the longevity of the projects. iv Keywords: Participation; Empowerment; Communication; Development; Aid; Gender Equality v Dedication To Pezhman, my companion through peaks and valleys vi Acknowledgements I express my sincere gratitude to my senior supervisor, Dr. Robert Anderson, who was there to guide me every step of the way throughout my graduate experience. I am grateful to the School of Communication for giving me the opportunity to study here. I also want to thank my supervisor, Dr. Katherine Reilly for her great advice on my thesis, as well as Kathy Roesch, the best editor one could ask for. vii Table of Contents Approval ............................................................................................................................ ii Ethics Statement .............................................................................................................. iii Abstract ............................................................................................................................ iv Dedication ........................................................................................................................ vi Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................... vii Table of Contents ........................................................................................................... viii List of Tables .................................................................................................................... ix List of Acronyms ................................................................................................................ x Chapter 1. Introduction ................................................................................................ 1 Chapter 2. Through My Eyes: The Contribution of International Aid Agencies to Women’s “Development” in Afghanistan ........................................................... 4 Chapter 3. Participation and Empowerment ............................................................ 14 Chapter 4. The Afghan Context ................................................................................. 34 Chapter 5. Assessment of Project Evaluations ....................................................... 46 Chapter 6. Interview Data Analysis ........................................................................... 63 Chapter 7. Findings, Recommendations and Conclusions .................................... 86 References ................................................................................................................... 100 Appendix A. ASGP’s Objectives .......................................................................... 110 viii List of Tables Table 3-1 Sherry Arnstein’s Ladder of Citizen Participation, (Arnstein, 1969, p.217) ................................................................................................................. 17 Table 3-2 Typology of Participation by Sarah White (1996) ............................................ 20 Table 3-3 Master typology of participation ...................................................................... 22 Table 3-4 Authors categorized in Arnstein’s typology of Participation ............................ 25 ix List of Acronyms AAN Afghan Analysts Network AIHRC Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commisssion AREDP Afghanistan Rural Enterprise Development Program AREU Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit ASAP Accelerating Sustainable Agriculture Program ASGP Afghanistan Subnational Governance Program ASMED Afghanistan Small and Medium Enterprise Development AUAF American University of Afghanistan AWAC Afghan Women Advocacy Coalition CIDA Canadian International Development Agency COP Chief of Party CSC Communication for Social Change CSO Civil Society Organization C4D Communication for Development DCOP Deputy Chief of Party DDG Danish Demining Group DoWA Department of Women’s Affairs EG Enterprise Group ELA Enhancement of Literacy in Afghanistan EVI Extremely Vulnerable Individual GIZ German Technical Cooperation IDEANEW Incentives Driving Economic Alternatives for the North, East, West IKS Indigenous Knowledge Systems I-PACS Initiative to Promote Afghan Civil Society LGCD Local Governance and Community Development MDGs Millenium Development Goals MoE Ministry of Education MoRR Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation MoWA Ministry of Women’s Affairs MRRD Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development NAPWA National Action Plan for the Women of Afghanistan NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization x NGO Non-Government Organization NPP National Priority Program OTI Office of Transition OXFAM Oxford Committee for Famine Relief RAIP Rural Access Implementation Program RFA Request for Application RFP Request for Proposals SCA Swedish Committee for Afghanistan SIDA Swedish International Development Authority SIGAR Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction SKS Scientific Knowledge Systems SME Small and Medium Enterprises SWSA Stronger Women Stronger Afghanistan TED Technology, Entertainment and Design ToT Training of Trainers TPM Third Party Monitoring UN United Nations UNDAF United Nations Development Assistance Framework UNDP United Nations Development Program UNESCO United Nations Educaitonal, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees UNICEF United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund UK United Kingdom U.S. The United States USAID United States Agency for International Development VSLA Village Savings and Loans Associations WAW Women for Afghan Women WfWI Women for Women International WLD Women’s Leadership Development xi Chapter 1. Introduction This thesis is a critical assessment of themes closely related to the concept of participation of different parties including the beneficiaries, in the context of international aid targetting women in Afghanistan. The purpose of this thesis is to bring to light and to evaluate how this concept is realized in practice. Conceptual Framework The present thesis fits into the field of communication for social change (CSC), also referred to as communication for development (C4D), which seeks to utilize communication as a means of enhancing the voices of marginalized groups to empower them to participate in their own development. In 1997, the United Nations agreed on the following definition for C4D as part of the General Assembly Resolution 51/172: “Communication for development stresses the need to support two-way communication systems that enable dialogue and that allow communities to speak out, express their aspirations and concerns and participate in the decisions that relate to their development”. The principles of CSC are, however, shared across a variety of fields of communication and development that include, but are not limited to, participatory communication and development, sustainable development, behavior change communication, communication for advocacy, human development, development ethics, and post-colonialism. The research questions I have attempted to respond to in this thesis project are 1. Is the international community meeting its own definition of inclusion and participation in women’s development projects in Afghanistan? 2. Do the projects targeting women’s empowerment meet the needs of the beneficiaries, in this case, specifically, Afghan women? 1 I have attempted to respond to these questions