Title: 'Thousands of mixed hopes and fears': women graduates' access to employment in Afghanistan

Authors: Anne Maree Payne; Nina Burridge; Nasima Rahmani

Addresses: Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, Australia ' Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, Australia ' Women's Empowerment Centre and Lecturer in Law, Gawharshad Institute of Higher Education, Kabul, Afghanistan

Abstract: This article focuses on the employment experiences of women university graduates in Afghanistan. The 55 female graduates who were interviewed for this study reported widespread concerns about nepotism and corruption, limiting the pool of available positions for women; a high level of dissatisfaction with their current remuneration as well as pay equity issues; family constraints imposed on the types of work that were seen as suitable for women to undertake; and the impact of sexual harassment and sexist attitudes in the workplace. While calling for affirmative action and training and mentoring programs to expand opportunities for women's employment, overwhelmingly the female graduates in this study identified their higher education qualifications as a significant factor in their ability to gain paid employment, highlighting the ongoing importance of women's access to and participation in higher education in Afghanistan.

Keywords: Afghan women graduates; Afghan women's employment; sex discrimination Afghanistan; sexual harassment Afghanistan.

DOI: 10.1504/IJGSDS.2021.116810

International Journal of Gender Studies in Developing Societies, 2021 Vol.4 No.2, pp.95 - 115

Received: 11 Feb 2020
Accepted: 26 Jun 2020
Published online: 03 Aug 2021 *

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