The Other Side of Gender Inequality: Men and Masculinities in Afghanistan Chona R. Echavez SayedMahdi Mosawi Leah Wilfreda RE Pilongo Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit and Swedish Committee for Afghanistan Issues Paper The Other Side of Gender Inequality: Men and Masculinities in Afghanistan Chona R. Echavez SayedMahdi Mosawi Leah Wilfreda RE Pilongo January 2016 ISBN 978-9936-8044-0-1 (ebook) ISBN 978-9936-8044-1-8 (paper) Publication Code: 1601E Editing: Toby Miller Cover photo: The picture on the left side of front cover is the game of buzkashi (goat dragging) in Takhar Province, February, 2015. On the right are faces of Afghan men from the four study provinces: Kabul, Nangarhar, Takhar, and Bamyan. These pictures were taken from December 2014 to May 2015, when the team went on fieldwork. (Photos by Mohammad Edris Lutfi, Research Assistant at AREU). Cover design: Michael Lou Montejo The following citation for this publication is suggested: Echavez, Chona R., SayedMahdi Mosawi, Leah Wilfreda RE Pilongo. The Other Side of Gender Inequality: Men and Masculinities in Afghanistan. Kabul: Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit, 2016. This study was made possible by a grant from the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan (SCA) and additional funding from Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU) coming from the Embassy of Finland. This publication may be quoted, cited or reproduced only for non-commercial purposes and provided that the authors and source be acknowledged. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of AREU or SCA. © 2016 Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, recording or otherwise without prior written permission of the publisher, the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit. Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit 2016 About the Authors Chona R. Echavez is the Deputy Director for Research at the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU). Before joining AREU in January 2010, Dr Echavez served as a consultant to various international organisations and as an Asia Fellow in Cambodia at the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, during which she looked into healing, dreams, aspirations and concepts of peace among Cambodian youth. She also worked as Senior Research Associate at the Research Institute for Mindanao Culture where she managed a research portfolio that included: population, health, peace and livelihood programmes, considering gender as a cross-cutting issue. She has more than 20 years of research experience in both conflict and non-conflict areas. She has worked in the Pacific Island Countries and in Cambodia. She has a PhD in demography from the Australian National University in Canberra. Her dissertation was on women and factory work in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines. SayedMahdi Mosawi is a Senior Research Officer at AREU’s Gender Unit and a PhD candidate in sociology at Hacettepe University of Turkey. He also obtained his BA and MA degrees in Social Sciences-Social Researching from Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran and was named Top International Student in 2009. Before joining AREU in 2012, he mainly concentrated on Afghan refugees’ issues. He worked both as instructor of social research methods and the head of research department of Gharjistan Higher Education Institute (Farah branch). After joining AREU, Mosawi participated in research projects dealing with gender issues. He also worked as part of the AREU team that formulated a “Policy Review Toolkit with a Gender Perspective” for the Ministry of Women’s Affairs. Currently, he is a member of the American Men’s Studies Association (AMSA) and was awarded the AMSA 2015 Frankel Memorial Scholarship during the 23rd AMSA International Conference in New York City in 2015, where he presented a paper “Challenges of Engaging Afghan Men in Gender Equality (A Case Study in Kabul, Afghanistan).” Leah Wilfreda RE Pilongo is currently the Research Dean of the University of Bohol, Philippines. Before taking her current post, she served as Area Coordinator for the social sciences at the same university. Her undergraduate degree is in psychology, and she completed a Master of Arts degree in teaching social science. She is a holder of a Certificate of Special Education. She combines her background in psychology with that of being an educator and researcher. Her areas of specialisation are as follows: facilitation of learning, teaching, education, curriculum development, instructional development. Her research involvement covers such areas as youth and risky behaviour, migration, moving out of poverty with participation in processing and analysis, and formulation of modules and session plans for five Pacific island countries. The Other Side of Gender Inequality: Men and Masculinities in Afghanistan i 2016 Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit and Swedish Committee for Afghanistan About the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit The Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU) is an independent research institute based in Kabul. AREU’s mission is to inform and influence policy and practice by conducting high-quality, policy-relevant research and actively disseminating the results, and by promoting a culture of research and learning. To achieve its mission, AREU engages with policymakers, civil society, researchers and students to promote their use of AREU’s research and its library, to strengthen their research capacity, and to create opportunities for analysis, reflection, and debate. AREU was established in 2002 by the assistance community in Afghanistan and has a Board of Directors comprised of representatives of donor organisations, the United Nations and other multilateral agencies, and non-governmental organisations. AREU currently receives core funds from the Embassy of Finland, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). Specific projects in 2015 are currently being funded by the European Commission (EC), SIDA, SDC, the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), PROMOTE under the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the World Bank, Security Governance Group (SGG), United States Institute of Peace (USIP), the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, the Embassy of Finland, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT), Leveraging Agriculture for Nutrition in South Asia (LANSA), School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and Netherlands Organisations for Scientific Reseach (NWO). ii AREU and SCA Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit 2016 Acknowledgements The authors would like to express their gratitude to the following persons who have contributed to the report: The AREU field researchers who carried out the survey, community questionnaire, FGDs and KIIs: Research Assistants: Mohammad Mujeeb Behsoodi, Mohammad Edris Lutfi, Ahmad Noorzai. Research Interns: Marzia Borhani, Yalda Hamidi, and Mir Mansoor Mahmoodi. Shikha Ghildyal and Serajuddin Joya from the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan (SCA) who provided useful comments and suggestions on the concept and methodology of the study. Shikha steadfastly accompanied the team during the conduct of the study and gave valuable suggestions during the whole research process. The SCA Afghanistan country office in Kabul, which provided valuable support during the conduct of the study, and the SCA provincial offices in Takhar and Nangarhar for their collaboration and support during data collection for this research. Representatives from international organisations, embassies, government and non-governmental organisations who attended the stakeholders’ meeting and provided valuable inputs and insights at the beginning of the study. Michael Lou Montejo for the map, cover design and draft layout of the paper. He also took charge of the data management of the study. Mudassar Shah and Mahboob Omary for giving suggestions and providing technical support in improving the cover design. Ramonnetto Gervacio who managed the processing of statistical treatment of the study, produced the tables and came up with the initial analysis. Shabnam Afshar and Seyedeh Somayeh Moosawi, who provided constant support during the writing process. The respondents, informants, and participants in our study areas, as well as the community members, officials and community stakeholders who accommodated the research team’s endless questions with candidness and patience, and opened up sensitive issues in their individual, family, and community life. The Other Side of Gender Inequality: Men and Masculinities in Afghanistan iii 2016 Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit and Swedish Committee for Afghanistan Finally, the authors also would like to acknowledge and give special thanks to the following scholars who peer reviewed this publication: Don Conway-Long, Professor, Department of Anthropology and Sociology, Webster University. Jan Reynders, an independent gender-justice consultant, researcher and activist who sits on the steering committee of the MenEngage network (Europe chapter), active in WO=MEN (Dutch gender platform) and board member of the international Gender and Water Alliance (GWA). M. Nazif Shahrani, Professor of Anthropology, Central Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, School of Global and International Studies, Indiana University. Patricia Ackerman, Director, Women’s and Gender Studies Program, the City College of New York. Phoebe Schreiner, Vice President and Country Director - U.S., Breakthrough. Rachel Ploem, Advisor, Gender and SRHR, International Programmes, Rutgers. Chona R. Echavez SayedMahdi Mosawi Leah Wilfreda RE Pilongo January 2016 iv AREU and SCA Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit and Swedish Committee for Afghanistan 2016 Foreword My warm congratulations to the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit for its new publication “The Other Side of Gender Inequality: Men and Masculinities in Afghanistan.” This aspect of gender inequality, so often ignored, is an urgent and vital topic, and one that has huge implications for national policy and social change in Afghanistan. The paper treads into the less charted territory of gender from the male perspective. By explaining how men’s attitudes, perceptions, and actions are influenced by socio-culturally constructed ideas of manhood, the paper shows how these factors affect the interaction between men and women in Afghan communities. It is refreshing to note a study that addresses masculinity as “the other side” of gender, a term that, for most Afghans, is connected solely with women. I would like to note the various change levels addressed in the recommendations for institutions (government and schools), informal and formal structures, communities, and mass media, as well as parenting/socialisation change. I highly recommend the paper to everyone who wants to gain a deeper understanding of men’s issues and concerns and include them in programmes and policies to better address gender inequality in our country. Rula Ghani First Lady of Afghanistan January 2016 The Other Side of Gender Inequality: Men and Masculinities in Afghanistan v 2016 Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit and Swedish Committee for Afghanistan Contents About the Authors ..............................................................................................i About the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit ....................................................ii Acknowledgements ...........................................................................................iii Foreword ........................................................................................................v Glossary ........................................................................................................ xi Acronyms .....................................................................................................xiv Executive Summary ...........................................................................................1 1. Introduction ...............................................................................................4 2. Masculinities: Views and concepts ....................................................................6 3. Research methodology ..................................................................................10 3.1 Field data collection methods .................................................................10 3.2 The study sites ....................................................................................10 3.3 Site selection criteria ............................................................................12 3.4 Pre-fieldwork preparation ......................................................................13 3.5 Respondent selection ...........................................................................13 3.5.1 Qualitative part ............................................................................13 3.5.1.1 Processing and analysis of qualitative data ......................................13 3.5.2 Quantitative part ..........................................................................14 3.5.3 Triangulation of data gathering techniques ............................................15 3.6 Research challenges ..............................................................................16 3.7 Ethical considerations ..........................................................................16 4. Findings ...................................................................................................17 4.1 Perceptions of masculinities ....................................................................17 4.1.1 Roles of men ...............................................................................17 4.1.1.1 Men as breadwinners ...................................................................17 4.1.1.2 Men as nafaqah providers ..........................................................19 4.1.1.3 Responsible for family security ...................................................20 4.1.1.4 Respect and authority in the family ..............................................21 4.1.1.5 Fulfilling family needs at any cost ................................................23 vi AREU and SCA