Women and Peacebuilding in Afghanistan Post-2001: Analyses and Lessons Learned

In contemporary peacebuilding missions, such as that in Afghanistan, local ownership has been framed as the extent to which domestic actors control the design and implementation of the processes. What happens when local actors are not involved in its design? What happens when they begin to oppose it? And how much of the achievements under liberal frameworks and institutions are self-sustainable when international peacebuilders leave?

To explore these questions and provide lessons learnt on what has and has not proved effective in Afghanistan’s experience with international liberal peace-building while looking specifically at women’s participation, inclusion, and access, this edition of the Afghanistan Women and Peacebuilding Journal provides 11 in-depth case studies by experts and academics from diverse fields and across Afghanistan, including the subnational level.

The purpose of the journal is to develop a body of literature that could assist peace-building practitioners, academics and policymakers in understanding some of the failures of liberal peace-building in the country while illustrating successes that underscore the importance of locally-driven programming. After two decades of Afghanistan absorbing lessons from the world, these works will give the world an opportunity to draw lessons from what is being regarded as the longest peacebuilding mission in UN history.