Bachelor thesis | Liberal Arts and Sciences: Global Challenges (LUC) (BA/BSc)
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Since 2001, billions of aid money have been pumped into Afghanistan to improve the lives of civilians, especially women. The plight of Afghan women has mobilised many NGOs to come into the country,...Show moreSince 2001, billions of aid money have been pumped into Afghanistan to improve the lives of civilians, especially women. The plight of Afghan women has mobilised many NGOs to come into the country, but not much has improved. This research attempts to find the reasons as to why so few improvements have been made, by using interviews with NGO employees working in Afghanistan to supplement and update the existing literature. Afterwards, a final analysis will be presented, combining the literature and the data from the interviews into one evaluation of the obstacles to the improvement of the position of women. The research question is: What are the obstacles to the improvement of the position of women in Afghanistan? It concludes that the main obstacles are more or less similar to the ones identified in the literature, namely the ineffective government, corruption, backlash against reforms, the deteriorating security situation, low quantity and quality of education, child marriages and baad. The research also identifies two new problems not yet identified by the literature: the tribal and religious norms regarding women and “Afghanistan fatigue”.Show less
This research aims to answer the question “How gender representation in politics affects the outcome of policymaking in the federal government of Nigeria”. And to help answer the questions, two...Show moreThis research aims to answer the question “How gender representation in politics affects the outcome of policymaking in the federal government of Nigeria”. And to help answer the questions, two hypotheses were formulated which are H1: greater women's representation in politics and decisionmaking positively affects the outcome of policymaking leading to economic growth and development of a country; H2: increasing the number of women decision-makers in politics leads to an outcome that is beneficial for women as well as their male counterparts. To test these hypotheses, a combination of desk research and informal/unstructured interview was carried out. It is emphasized that the gender representation in this research is focused on politics at the federal government level. Gender representation in politics at the federal level is selected because laws, policies, and decisions made at the federal government supersede all other levels (states and local government levels) of governance in Nigeria. The findings of this research support the two hypotheses as the desk research shows that the few women in politics who served on the federal level have positively impacted life’s in diverse ways while contributing to the economic growth of the country; from empowering the poor and vulnerable, providing jobs, developing new policies, challenge previous unfavorable status quo and above all alleviating poverty and thereby boosting the economic situation of the country. These findings were also supported by the interviewees. When women are included in political affairs such as decision making, it led to the development of laws and regulations that every inhabitant of the country benefit from. The research also contributed to knowledge by enumerating factors limiting the political representation of women at the federal government level. These main factors identified include religion, culture, marriage, fear, perception, education, and less or no fund. The dominant factors seem to be religion, culture, and marriage; these factors were further substantiated by the interviewees.Show less
