Shaharzad AkbarVerified account

Beyond the debate over whether social change in Afghanistan has been driven by external influence, @egharji's thoughtful thread points to perhaps a broader truth: *even if* foreign-funded & Kabul-centric, social changes have exerted a gravitational pull across the country. /1https://twitter.com/gharjie/status/1389966525034074113 …

The catalyst & origins of social change in Afghanistan are almost moot. Few remain untouched. Rural & urban intermix. Even communities/persons resisting certain changes are now defined by their opposition. Read the replies to @egharji in his quote-tweets.https://twitter.com/ShaharzadAkbar/status/1390158133067198465?s=20 …

All valid points and @egharji's thread is cause for hope, but the examples are mostly isolated and no one seems to be debating the UN figures that underpin the report that initiated this conversation.

"According to a 2019 United Nations study cited in the report, only 15 percent of Afghan men believe women should be able to leave the home after marriage, and two-thirds of Afghan men say women have “too many rights.”

@andrewquilty I haven't seen the study but of course a lot depends on how the questions were framed etc, like the question to which people responded women have "too many rights" , There is also The Asia Foundation Perception Survey with data on support for women's education etc