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1. Cultural:
Afghanistan is a highly hierarchical society, with a strong drive for authority, based on merit and honor, especially family, and where individual interest is subordinated to group interest.

-Tolerance towards inequality: The high hierarchy and acceptance of inequality entails a parallel acceptance of established power relations and a certain tendency towards submission. For example, the authority of the head of the family is uncontested.

-Collectivism: group interest always overrides individual interest. This poses difficulties for the application of the declaration of human rights, since these are based on an individual logic. A statement drawn up, for example, in Africa, where the individual gives way to the collective, would be noticeably different.

This collectivism implies that the most important decisions in the life of an Afghan are not made by himself, but by the family. This subordination of the individual to the group, first of all to the family, has very special consequences for women because the patriarchal culture prevalent in Afghanistan identifies women and not men themselves, as the depositories of family and community honor. Women are seen as a family patrimony whose honor rests largely on the virtue of their women. It is the family that must ensure that it is preserved and that will suffer derision if it is called into question. That is why it will be the family itself that will punish any attack against virtue, since it is the family that is offended.

Example: The purdah, the set of norms that aim to preserve the virtue of women, removing them from the contact and sight of men outside their family, has its origin in this conception of feminine virtue as the patrimony of the group.

This concept of honor is closely linked to the vision of women as passive subjects rather than as individuals. The notion of honor, however, does not work for the benefit of the woman herself, but subordinates the interest of the woman to the interest of the group.

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2. Religion
is an important factor in explaining this situation, but not the only one; Nor, possibly, the most relevant. For Afghan women activists it is clear, the gender dynamics in their country is better explained through custom and tradition than through religion. The mixture of cultural factors plus religion has created the Patunwalli, the code of conduct has been established in Afghan society

The Taliban justify their attitude towards women in religion. According to them, it is the Koran that obliges to impose restrictions on the rights of women and submits them to the authority of men in the way that they maintain: FOR WOMEN THESE ARE UNFUNDED MUTATIONS OF ISLAMIC LAW

However, if it is true that Islam presents significant legal difficulties when applying the international system of protection of rights; in fact, Muslim states rarely sign such treaties.

But the Taliban do not even apply a radical version of Islam, they apply a tribal code of conduct, the Pashtunwali, which represents the end result of centuries of Islam's influence over the pre-Islamization cultural habits of this region.
Example: Although the sale of daughters in marriage is prohibited by Islamic law, Afghan customary laws are tolerant of this custom.

In Afghanistan, masculinity and religion are closely related: in the Qur'an in a family family the inheritance of the sisters will be less than that of the brothers and that of the widow will be reduced to one eighth of the fortune of the deceased; to declare in court, the The statement of a male witness is equivalent to that of two women. This arises from the idea that women are not obliged to provide income to the family and have a more emotional and less rational character.

Islam, even in its more moderate versions, limits women's rights, but it is radical Islamism and cultural traditions such as Pashtun that have really led to this extreme discrimination.

In Islam, the roles of men and women are clearly differentiated and affect issues such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, ability to testify, education and employment. In Afghanistan, this trend has been reinforced by even more discriminatory local traditions, which have pushed these differences to extreme limits. Among the Afghan traditions that clearly violate the rights of women is the baad, which consists of handing over a woman from the family to compensate for an offense caused to another.

An important problem is that these norms, despite their often pre-Islamic origin, are seen by most Afghans as a pure and simple expression of Islamic law, not as a cultural construct: this perception makes any possibility of change more difficult. real. When cultural aspects are perceived as foundations of one's own faith and religious law, it is more difficult to change certain customs.

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A cross generational project involving older women anonymously sharing stories of how they grew up before the conflict/invasion in 1970s, and how younger women are growing up now. The older generation would give an insight into how they grew up being able to wear mini skirts, go to the cinema and even go to university. Compared to now where we see pictures of women in the media in full body burqas as well as women being killed and harshly punished for defending women's rights.

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“Making the argument for women’s rights within a proper local, cultural and religious context is critical and any successful women’s movement must involve men and boys” (Weingarten & WEF, 2015).

It is not only women who need to be strengthen their image about themselves when speaking about women's rights, men need to understand the severity of the issue and the oppression the women in their life and the disparity it has caused a whole nation of people for so many years.

In Afghanistan it is important to teach women's rights “within the context of families and communities”.

Any moves to advance women's rights must build on existing foundations of civil society and seek to work within local cultural context.

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-The Taliban ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, a period when women were invisible in public life, prohibited from going to school or working.
-But seventeen years and nearly two trillion dollars later, the country is still in crisis as the Taliban maintain control over nearly 60 percent of the country, most of the territory they have controlled since 2001.

- Despite the efforts of the Afghan government and international donors since 2001 to educate girls, an estimated two-thirds of Afghan girls do not attend school. Eighty-seven percent of Afghan women are illiterate, while 70-80 percent face forced marriage, many before the age of 16.
-80 percent of all suicides are committed by women, making Afghanistan one of the few places in the world where rates are highest among women.
-money and aid never reach them. It is eaten up by corruption, the monster of war. ”Transparency International ranked Afghanistan as the fourth most corrupt country in the world, saying corruption prevents humanitarian aid from getting where it needs to go.
-The Afghan government has been an unreliable supporter, and at times even an enemy, of women's rights.
-The governments of both Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Ashraf Ghani have frequently neglected women's rights. Both have for the most part rejected the activists' demands that women participate fully in the peace process, as provided for in United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325.
-Legally, Afghan women have the same legal freedoms as men. But cultural expectations and conservative religious norms prevent many women from exercising those rights. Achieving gender equality in education, in particular, is hampered by the country's security concerns and a lack of school infrastructure, funding and resources.
-The two biggest obstacles have been overcoming poverty in the war-torn region and helping girls and women who did not attend school during the Taliban rule to catch up on years of lost schooling.

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Aim of the project

Sharing the stories of young girls who are currently struggling in Afghanistan's society -- Kabul -- compared to stories of older women who grew up with more freedom, before the conflict in 1979.
By doing so, a long term outcome of the project would be to provide hope for the younger generation who are still being oppressed by Afghanistan's violent and partriarchal society. By sharing their experiences consisting growing up in a time where there was a steady progression for women's rights can help the younger generation realise the country is capable of going back to a time which is more open-minded to equality and women's rights.
However a short term outcome from this project could include uniting the different generations of women together in order to support one another through the continuing oppressive society.

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This project seeks through a book of poems and illustrations constructed by the women of the AWN (Afghan Women's Network) and the girls of the Tanweer school, it is a collective project to tell the experiences and ways of life of women in Kabul before the establishment of the Taliban regime in order to strengthen their image about themselves and inspire the girls, these poems and illustrations will be done anonymously. The book will be built with the help of Sher-e-daneshgah, the Kabul University Poetry Association, who will guide the writing of the girls and women and jointly build the project. The writing of poems in Afghanistan and in the Muslim countries is part of a wide written tradition, these cultures are familiar with this type of writing since such significant books as the Koran are written in poem form, which is why this type of writing It can generate a greater connection with girls since they will not see culture as something external.

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The human development indices report outlines the human development indices and indicators in afghanistan in 2018, one of the most significant sections of the report would be the introduction of the Gender Development Index (GDI),.The GDI measures gender inequalities in achievement. There is a significant gap in the mean years of schooling between male and female in afghanistan, from the report it states that an average for female education would be 1.9 years whereas male education would last for 6 years in total. This is arguably due to the cultural oppression and longevity of the taliban's ideology, to this day even after twenty years of taliban liberation women do not have the same quality and quantity of education as their male counterparts.

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Seeks to minimise epistemic injustices on the basis that the emphasis  is placed solely upon the female participants involved in the project, adhering to and respecting local and cultural norms. Prioritises  their values, thoughts and sentiments, avoiding the imposition of  Western values which could lead to alienation and participant  rejection of the project (Ginty & Richmond, 2013).

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Young girls between the ages 10-20 sharing and comparing childhood experiences with older women between the ages 60-70.
The focus group include girls as young as 10 years old as an increasingly number of very young girls are victims of rape as well as domestic violence as child brides.
The older women aged between 60-70 will provide an insight on life before the 1970s invasion where the women were teenagers able to attend university in Kabul.

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The group to which the project is oriented is the International Organization AWN, and the Tanweer private girls' school in Kabul.
The organization will help us to obtain and archive the testimonies of the women who lived before the Taliban regime and the girls from the school will be the ones that you receive in a book of poems and illustrations in order to strengthen their image about themselves by transforming their perspective on women and their role in the country.

AWN is a self-created network of Afghan Women who seek to work together to "strengthen their image about themselves  and ensure their equal participation in Afghan society." AWN holds the vision of an Afghanistan where women and men live in a society free of justice and without discrimination.
The axes of focus of AWN are: Peace and security, Political participation and leadership of women and Social and legal protection of women.
AWN seeks to empower women to overcome social and cultural barriers that prevent them from participating in society on an equal basis with men. The main activities are a combination of training and networking and lobbying activities.

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Specific problems:
• This project will help strengthen the image girls have of themselves, as it will allow them to see first-hand what education, employment, health and politics were like for Afghan women before the Taliban regime.
• Specific problems faced by girls at Tanweer school are: stigmatization by society for attending school,
• They are forced to go to a girls-only and private school since they do not have the opportunity to have contact with other children and access a public school
• Exposure to danger and insecurity due to attending school.
• Non-compliance with the right to public education in the face of what is stated in the constitution, which generates an additional cost for their families and inequality among girls since not all families have the possibility of sending their daughters to a private school.

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•A developed country is not possible without women being active participants in society and in political decisions ", most decisions can become more holistic and comprehensive when both genders are included in the process
•They want men to understand the importance of including women.
• One of her aspirations is to be able to empower women so that they understand their rights and do not accept unequal treatment towards them. It is very important for them that the perspective of women themselves about their own abilities and their own rights changes. Therefore, they call for greater attention to the empowerment of women politically, socially, psychologically, economically and religiously.

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·         Its long-term goals are equal rights, equal participation, equal opportunities for men and women in Afghanistan.

·         They agree on the need for social change starting at the individual level: mothers, fathers, siblings, children. If changes in attitude towards women can be made at this level, these changes can seep into the broader public consciousness.

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- WAW has expanded to provide 12 Women's Protection Centre's in 11 provinces in Afghanistan
-With this collaboration we will be able to have contact with women between 60 and 70 years old who lived in the period before the arrival of the Taliban so that they can share their life and the rights they had.

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Sher-e-daneshgah, the Kabul University Poetry Association

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Sher-e-daneshgah, the Kabul University Poetry Association

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Since this group will help and guide in the writing of the poems and in turn in the development of the book

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Tanweer Girls' School, so that poetry books can effectively reach all its students.

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A partnership and sponsorship with the British Council will allow an intimate connection with the local community on an international scale. The British Council support "educators and attempt to enrich and equip young people to work successfully in global society" (British Council, 2020). By getting funding for the Participatory Arts Project (PAP) from the British Council is important as they help projects internationally, they have experience working with women and girls globally in order to reduce oppression with the intention to "build the skills and confidence of women and girls to achieve their potential and have more influence over decisions that affect their lives" (British Council, 2020)

They believe in societal justice for women and girls in society so are an ideal stakeholder in our project as not only will they fund the project as it is to further the girls educations and aspirations in life, the British Council promote women economic empowerment and leadership and peace-building in conflict stricken zones.

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Once the book of poems and illustrations is completed - partner up with Amnesty International to publish some excerpts onto their website to raise awareness of the issues of gender inequality young girls in Afghanistan are facing.

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• The project will strengthen their image about themselves and inspire girls in order to reduce female dropouts in basic education and inspire them to continue and reach higher education.
• If girls make it to higher education, this in turn will decrease child marriage.
• By learning about the stories of women before the Taliban regime, inspiring them to defend and fully fulfill their rights.
• This project will give them hope and show them that they can be free which will help their mental health and thus reduce the female suicide rate.
• This project will make them see the importance of their role in society, motivating them to want to actively participate in different areas of society.

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The collaboration of Sher-e-daneshgah, the Kabul University Poetry Association will be needed to guide the women's writing process, as well as illustrators who can translate the stories into drawings.

• Support from the Tanweer school, so that the poetry books can effectively reach all of its students.
• It must be ensured that the stories reflected in the poems are anonymous to ensure the safety of women

• The necessary supplies will be needed for the effective printing and distribution of the books, for this reason the support of international and local collaborators is vital.

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Local elders are important to have on board and participate in our project, to reach the multi generational level of our project.
The need for elders within in the project will allow the younger generation to understand they aren't the only people being oppressed and will increase unity and participation between women and girls in the community.

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Ongoing threat of Taliban & radicalised values undermine women's progress towards gender rights & equality.

Presence of COVID-19 restricting the extent to which communication & integration can occur (Congressional Research Service, 2020).

Consequences of the virus include increased financing competition, a knock on effect of a compromised global economy.

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It is expected that each student of the Tanweer school from writing and  reading the intergenerational book of poems recognizes a different perspective on herself and on what was and should be the role of women in Afghan society. Also, realizing their rights will inspire them and allow them to build better life aspirations.  At the same time girls and women will develop writing and drawing skills, it will bring a sense of unity and make them feel useful for something.

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It is expected that from the inspiration generated by the shared stories, the girls will be motivated to continue studying and to recognize and accept their own rights in order to fight for the full recognition of these and thus get to participate more and more in the public sphere.

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Afghan women are expected to build and strengthen their image of themselves, accept and recognize their rights. Also, that society be aware of the existence of women's rights in the constitution and accept a more active role for women in society.

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- Greater presence of women in work in urban Afghanistan.
- Participation of women in leading political debate.

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A positive short term outcome of the project would be to give women and girls in Afghanistan hope for the future, by participating in the project they will finally have their voices heard in the oppressive patriarchal society which hasn't heard them before.

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- Through this participatory arts project, young girls could feel more of an urge to stay in school and work hard for their futures.
- Show girls that they can be in charge of their own lives and futures, and a 'free' existence is possible.
- A brilliant exercise for the older generation of women, in that it helps them to relive and remember a time where men and women were equal and a time before conflict and trauma.
- The older generation of women may feel 'useful' by completing this exercise, having a use for their knowledge and wisdom and being able to share all that they've learnt.
- Help to change attitudes of young girls towards the importance of schooling and having a voice of their own.
- Participating in a collective exercise enables women/girls to feel a sense of community and therefore security.
- Younger generation of girls begin to speak up and have more of a role in decision making, specifically to do with their futures.
- Help to install a sense of confidence and self esteem regarding women's/girl's capabilities.
- Begin to take charge of own lives.
- Become aware of what rights have been stripped of them, how deep the problem lies.

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AWN. Afghan Women's Network (AWN). (n.d) Peace Insight. from https://www.peaceinsight.org/conflicts/afghanistan/peacebuilding-organisations/afghan-womens-network-awn/#:~:text=Thematic%20areas&text=Afghan%20Women's%20Network%20has%20active
Hersher, R. (2015). Meet The Cool Girls At A High School In Kabul: #15Girls. Wglt.org. Retrieved 21 November 2020, from https://www.wglt.org/post/meet-cool-girls-high-school-kabul-15girls#stream/0.
Safi, S. (2020). Why female suicide in Afghanistan is so prevalent. BBC News. From https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-44370711.
Wide-Angle. (2016). A Woman Among Warlords ~ Women's Rights in the Taliban and Post-Taliban Eras | Wide Angle | PBS. Wide Angle. From https://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/uncategorized/a-woman-among-warlords-womens-rights-in-the-taliban-and-post-taliban-eras/66/.

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Oxfam. (2011). Defender los derechos de la mujer en Afganistán(pp. 7-10). Any: Oxfam. Retrieved from https://www-cdn.oxfam.org/s3fs-public/file_attachments/bp153-womens-rights-afghanistan-03102011-es_3.pdf
Ruiz Arévalo, J. (2015). Gender, human rights and intercultural awareness. The example of Afghanistan. Revista Electronica De Estudios Internacionales. https://doi.org/0.17103