A Qualitative Study of Women's Lived Experiences of Conflict and Domestic Violence in Afghanistan.

Jenevieve Mannell,Ayesha Ahmad,Gulraj Grewal,Lida Ahmad

doi:10.1177/1077801220935191

Abstract

This article empirically explores women’s lived experiences of domestic violence and conflict in Afghanistan. A thematic analysis of 20 semistructured interviews with women living in safe houses produced three main themes about the relationship between conflict and domestic violence: (a) violence from loss of patriarchal support, (b) violence from the drug trade as an economic driver, and (c) violence from conflict-related poverty. We discuss the bidirectional nature of this relationship: Not only does conflict contribute to domestic violence, but domestic violence contributes to conflict through justifying armed intervention, separating women from economic and public life, and perpetuating patriarchy.

Highlights

Violence against women is a global problem that has severe implications for both physical and mental health (García-Moreno et al, 2005)
Three main themes emerged from the analysis of women’s stories, which illustrate the relationship between conflict and domestic violence in Afghanistan: (a) violence resulting from the loss of patriarchal support, (b) violence resulting from the drug trade as an economic driver of conflict, and (c) vulnerability to violence resulting from poverty brought on by conflict
Our findings are similar to findings from other conflict settings about the ways in which poverty and economic stress translate into a need by men to exert control over women (Hyder et al, 2007), and the role of drugs and alcohol as risk factors for domestic violence (Brisibe et al, 2012; Cunradi et al, 2012; Field et al, 2004)

Summary

Introduction

Violence against women is a global problem that has severe implications for both physical and mental health (García-Moreno et al, 2005). In Afghanistan, such gendered forms of violence against women may include domestic violence perpetrated by both husbands and mothers-in-law (Jewkes et al, 2019), forced marriage, honor killings, rape by strangers, body mutilation, and forced prostitution (Ahmad & Avoine, 2016; Gibbs et al, 2019; Mannell et al, 2018). Studies from other settings have shown that living in conflict settings significantly increases the likelihood that women will experience gendered forms of violence (Kelly et al, 2018). We use the term domestic violence to encompass gender-based violence perpetrated against women by an intimate partner (e.g., a husband) and perpetrated by other members of a woman’s household, including mothers-in-law (who often live with women in extended family households in Afghanistan). The research question framing our study is as follows: Research Question 1: In what ways do the lived experiences of Afghan women contribute to our understanding of violence against women during conflict?

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Conclusion