Founding Partner at Duran Research & Analysis, conducting policy analysis on governance, leadership, gender, and transboundary waters, focusing on Afghanistan and the region.
This issues paper on subnational governance is developed as part of the Governance Forum Afghanis... more This issues paper on subnational governance is developed as part of the Governance Forum Afghanistan (“Govern4Afg”) programme, an intervention in the Afghan governance sector that aims to promote and facilitate mutual learning and reflection by making and sharing diagnostic observations. The focus of this paper is on the aspects of subnational governance that are part of the state or significantly regulated by state.
This paper has two interconnected, but distinct parts. Part One takes stock of the structural, policy, and legal state of affairs in Afghan subnational governance, underlines the opportunities for improving public service delivery through subnational governance reform, and highlights the challenges, gaps, and areas in need of national deliberation and decision-making. Part Two is dedicated to filling the gap on village and district representation by offering evidence-based conclusions on a potential way forward on the issue. It focuses on the three-tiered structure of development shuras (councils) established under the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development, consisting of Community Development Councils, Cluster-Level Development Councils, and District Development Assemblies.
Afghanistan has entered a new chapter of her life. Government of National Unity has been formed. ... more Afghanistan has entered a new chapter of her life. Government of National Unity has been formed. The Bilateral Security Agreement and the Status of Forces Agreement have been signed with the United States and NATO. And, following the footsteps of King Amanullah Khan, in his Sept. 29 inaugural speech, President Ashraf Ghani acknowledged his wife Rula Ghani for her support and dedication to the cause of women's rights, marking her as Afghanistan's first publicly active first lady since Queen Soraya. While Afghans hope that positivity will prevail, it is time for the concepts of women and leadership, and the underlying assumptions of female empowerment polices of the past 12 years to receive a reflective and depersonalized critical revisiting. This re-evaluation must aim to reorient the work of the new establishment, its national and international partners, and the Afghan first lady who is going to have a on women, children, and the disabled. Afghanistan is a rural, patriarchal, traditional, and religious society. Decision-making dynamics are top down and mostly informal. Identity is shaped by factors such as ethnicity, religion, social privilege, financial assets, or one's authority, formal or informal -the source to which can be any of the above or even the number of armed bodyguards and armored vehicles one possesses. Afghan society is elitist at its core, populist in its aura, and misogynist in its heart; where women are second-class citizens,considered one of the four: someone's daughter, sister, wife, or mother. "Women, either at home or in the grave," is one of the commonly believed in and practiced norms. Financial necessities or difficult circumstances encourage some to break this norm, the most suppressed form of which has been dressing girls as boys. From Bibi Hakmeena of Khost praised for being "as man as any man" to Kaftar Bibi of
Supportive family, credible and relevant female role models, and quality education-including reli... more Supportive family, credible and relevant female role models, and quality education-including religious knowledge-help generate an enabling environment for women's leadership.
This issues paper on subnational governance is developed as part of the Governance Forum Afghanis... more This issues paper on subnational governance is developed as part of the Governance Forum Afghanistan (“Govern4Afg”) programme, an intervention in the Afghan governance sector that aims to promote and facilitate mutual learning and reflection by making and sharing diagnostic observations. The focus of this paper is on the aspects of subnational governance that are part of the state or significantly regulated by state.
This paper has two interconnected, but distinct parts. Part One takes stock of the structural, policy, and legal state of affairs in Afghan subnational governance, underlines the opportunities for improving public service delivery through subnational governance reform, and highlights the challenges, gaps, and areas in need of national deliberation and decision-making. Part Two is dedicated to filling the gap on village and district representation by offering evidence-based conclusions on a potential way forward on the issue. It focuses on the three-tiered structure of development shuras (councils) established under the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development, consisting of Community Development Councils, Cluster-Level Development Councils, and District Development Assemblies.
Afghanistan has entered a new chapter of her life. Government of National Unity has been formed. ... more Afghanistan has entered a new chapter of her life. Government of National Unity has been formed. The Bilateral Security Agreement and the Status of Forces Agreement have been signed with the United States and NATO. And, following the footsteps of King Amanullah Khan, in his Sept. 29 inaugural speech, President Ashraf Ghani acknowledged his wife Rula Ghani for her support and dedication to the cause of women's rights, marking her as Afghanistan's first publicly active first lady since Queen Soraya. While Afghans hope that positivity will prevail, it is time for the concepts of women and leadership, and the underlying assumptions of female empowerment polices of the past 12 years to receive a reflective and depersonalized critical revisiting. This re-evaluation must aim to reorient the work of the new establishment, its national and international partners, and the Afghan first lady who is going to have a on women, children, and the disabled. Afghanistan is a rural, patriarchal, traditional, and religious society. Decision-making dynamics are top down and mostly informal. Identity is shaped by factors such as ethnicity, religion, social privilege, financial assets, or one's authority, formal or informal -the source to which can be any of the above or even the number of armed bodyguards and armored vehicles one possesses. Afghan society is elitist at its core, populist in its aura, and misogynist in its heart; where women are second-class citizens,considered one of the four: someone's daughter, sister, wife, or mother. "Women, either at home or in the grave," is one of the commonly believed in and practiced norms. Financial necessities or difficult circumstances encourage some to break this norm, the most suppressed form of which has been dressing girls as boys. From Bibi Hakmeena of Khost praised for being "as man as any man" to Kaftar Bibi of
Supportive family, credible and relevant female role models, and quality education-including reli... more Supportive family, credible and relevant female role models, and quality education-including religious knowledge-help generate an enabling environment for women's leadership.
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Papers by Aarya Nijat
This paper has two interconnected, but distinct parts. Part One takes stock of the structural, policy, and legal state of affairs in Afghan subnational governance, underlines the opportunities for improving public service delivery through subnational governance reform, and highlights the challenges, gaps, and areas in need of national deliberation and decision-making. Part Two is dedicated to filling the gap on village and district representation by offering evidence-based conclusions on a potential way forward on the issue. It focuses on the three-tiered structure of development shuras (councils) established under the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development, consisting of Community Development Councils, Cluster-Level Development Councils, and District Development Assemblies.
This paper has two interconnected, but distinct parts. Part One takes stock of the structural, policy, and legal state of affairs in Afghan subnational governance, underlines the opportunities for improving public service delivery through subnational governance reform, and highlights the challenges, gaps, and areas in need of national deliberation and decision-making. Part Two is dedicated to filling the gap on village and district representation by offering evidence-based conclusions on a potential way forward on the issue. It focuses on the three-tiered structure of development shuras (councils) established under the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development, consisting of Community Development Councils, Cluster-Level Development Councils, and District Development Assemblies.