AFGHANISTAN IN 2008 A Survey of the Afghan People Afghanistan in 2008 A Survey of the Afghan People Project Design and Direction The Asia Foundation Report Authors Ruth Rennie Sudhindra Sharma Pawan Sen Fieldwork Afghan Centre for Socio-economic and Opinion Research (ACSOR), Kabul Report Design and Printing The Asia Foundation AINA, Kabul © 2008, The Asia Foundation About The Asia Foundation The Asia Foundation is a non-profit, non-governmental organization committed to the development of a peaceful, prosperous, just, and open Asia-Pacific region. The Foundation supports programs in Asia that help improve governance, law, and civil society; women's empowerment; economic reform and development; and internation- al relations. Drawing on more than 50 years of experience in Asia, the Foundation col- laborates with private and public partners to support leadership and institutional development, exchanges, and policy research. With a network of 17 offices throughout Asia, an office in Washington D.C., and its headquarters in San Francisco, the Foundation addresses these issues on both a coun- try and regional level. In 2007, the Foundation provided more than $68 million in pro- gram support and distributed 974,000 books and educational materials valued at $33 million throughout Asia. The Asia Foundation is not an endowed organization and depends solely on monetary contributions from donors to accomplish its work. For more information, visit www.asiafoundation.org This survey was made possible through support provided by the U.S. Agency for International Development (Award No. 306-A-00-03-00504-00). The opinions expressed herein do not reflect the views of the U.S. Agency for International Development. Afghanistan in 2008 Contents Preface................................................................................................................................1 1. Executive Summary.....................................................................................................5 Key findings............................................................................................................5 Summary................................................................................................................7 2. The National Mood.....................................................................................................15 Direction of the country........................................................................................15 Reasons for optimism...........................................................................................16 Reasons for pessimism.........................................................................................18 Afghanistan’s biggest problems: National level......................................................20 Afghanistan’s biggest problems: Local level..........................................................21 Trust in individuals................................................................................................23 Confidence in specific institutions and organizations.............................................24 3. Security......................................................................................................................27 Security situation..................................................................................................27 Personal and family safety and security.................................................................29 Safety to participate in various activities................................................................32 Perceptions of the Afghan National Police..............................................................33 Perceptions of the Afghan National Army...............................................................34 Perceptions of poppy cultivation............................................................................35 4. Economy and Development.......................................................................................39 Economy of Afghan Households : Past and present.................................................39 Development for Afghan Households.....................................................................42 Availability of basic amenities................................................................................43 Important development issues...............................................................................45 Development plans and future expectations..........................................................46 Development programs and public awareness of foreign aid.................................48 5. Government...............................................................................................................53 Government performance.....................................................................................53 Performance of central government.......................................................................53 Performance of provincial government..................................................................55 Performance of municipal and district authorities..................................................56 Corruption.............................................................................................................58 Contact with local government..............................................................................61 Role of elected representatives.............................................................................64 Contact with Members of Parliament ....................................................................65 Contact with Provincial Council representatives.....................................................67 Role of Community Development Councils.............................................................69 Involvement of religious leaders............................................................................72 Personal efficacy...................................................................................................73 Afghanistan in 2008 6. Justice System..........................................................................................................75 The formal and informal justice system.................................................................75 Perceptions of state courts....................................................................................75 Perceptions of local shura and jirga......................................................................77 Attitude towards reporting crime...........................................................................79 Dispute resolution.................................................................................................83 7. Democratic Values....................................................................................................87 Perceptions of democracy.....................................................................................87 Attitude towards democratic principles and processes.........................................90 Attitude towards elections.....................................................................................94 Electoral participation...........................................................................................97 Freedom of expression........................................................................................103 Democracy and Islam..........................................................................................105 8. Women and Society.................................................................................................107 The biggest problems faced by women................................................................107 Gender equality...................................................................................................108 Political participation...........................................................................................110 Political leadership..............................................................................................112 Awareness of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs.....................................................114 9. Information Sources and Media Use.......................................................................117 Access to communications technology................................................................117 Radio listenership...............................................................................................118 Television viewership..........................................................................................120 Sources of information on national and local events.............................................121 10. Appendix 1: Target Demographics..........................................................................127 11. Appendix 2: Methodology........................................................................................131 12. Appendix 3: Interview Questionnaire......................................................................139 13. Appendix 4: Afghanistan Provincial and Regional map........................................187 Afghanistan in 2008 1 Preface Afghanistan has been through increasingly difficult times in the 12 months since The Asia Foundation conducted its last survey of Afghan public opinion in the summer of 2007. Amidst slow but steady gains in vital basic amenities and services and some successes in reconstruction efforts across the