Empowering Women: Evidence from a Field Experiment in Afghanistan

Abstract

This brief summarizes the results of a gender impact evaluation study, entitled Empowering women evidence from a field experiment in Afghanistan, conducted in the year between 2007 and 2008, in Afghanistan. The study observed that a development program which incorporates mandated female participation increases female mobility and involvement in income generation, but does not change female roles in family decision-making or attitudes toward the general role of women in society. The program increases female participation in village governance, community life and production activities while also increasing the support for female participation in village decision-making. The measure of female local governance is .87 standard deviations higher in treated communities. Funding for the study derives from The Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Bank, and the National Solidarity Programme.