Women’s Participation in School Management Shuras in Afghanistan: : Obstacles and Opportunities for Women’s Involvement in Government Schools in Kabul City.

Abstract: Exponential gains in school enrolment in Afghanistan since 2001 have resulted not only from the efforts of the Ministry of Education, but also from the efforts of communities. Community participation in education in Afghanistan is formalized through school management shuras, parent-teacher councils that have been established and/or strengthened by the MoE through the Education Quality Improvement Program. This research aimed to determine the level of participation of women in school shuras. Empirical research was conducted at 18 schools in Kabul City, in conjunction with the management councils in each school community. Through structured observations and focus group discussions, the research found that women’s participation in school management shuras is more limited than men’s participation and almost negligible in the boys’ schools sampled. This suggests that women’s voices are not much heard concerning the education of their children. The phenomenon may be attributed to prevailing cultural and traditional norms in patriarchal Afghan society, in which men have an upper hand over women in the decisions about schooling, among others. The major recommendation to the Ministry of Education based on this research is that any attempts to increase women’s participation in school management should take into account the existing social framework of Afghan religious and cultural norms. For example, female-only shuras may be elected for girls’ schools, with meetings held in a private home rather than the very public school setting.