Victims and Victimhood: Individuals of Inaction or Active Agents of Change? Reflections on Fieldwork in Afghanistan

Abstract

The question of victims and victimhood is a rarely addressed dilemma in transitional justice (TJ) discourse and practice. It is a complex and subjective term whose meaning seems to lie in the eye of the beholder. The concept is further complicated in multilayered political contexts that have had many regime changes. Given that the term is embedded in a country’s cultural, economic and social context, it is thus also political. The bigger question that arises then is whether to look at ‘victims’ and ‘victimhood’ as passive individuals or as active agents of change. This is arguably the quintessential question raised by a rights-based approach. Reflecting on my fieldwork in Kabul with war victims since 2008, I argue that this approach can play an important role in TJ discourse and practice in relation to victims.