In 2018, the Afghan Government encouraged public participation in the national budget process. This initiative was in response to the country's low ranking on the Open Budget Index, which later led to other advantages for the public financial management systems in the country.
Problems and Purpose
Gender budgeting is an approach that utilizes fiscal policy and administration to promote gender equality and the development of girls and women. When properly designed, gender budgeting enhances government budgeting, placing it in the context of sound budgeting principles and practices.[i][5]
Afghanistan is a country that is fragile and affected by conflict. It has faced many challenges, such as fighting insurgency, deteriorating security, corruption, and securing development aid. There is a need to improve service delivery, promote economic growth, and create employment opportunities. These challenges impact the lives of both men and women. However, women in conflict situations are more vulnerable to discrimination, human rights violations, and limited access to justice, social services, and protection. This hinders them from developing coping mechanisms and assuming agency.
Over the last twenty years, Afghanistan has had an unemployment rate of 40%. Sadly, around 36% of the population lives under the poverty line, which has remained the same since 2021 despite the high level of development aid. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates that 70% of the Afghan population lives with less than US$2 a day. Poverty is mainly concentrated in rural areas, and women are more heavily impacted by it than men. Preliminary surveys suggest that poverty is increasing due to the worsening security situation and lack of job opportunities. These statistics show that in addition to the physical insecurity caused by ongoing violent conflicts in the country, economic insecurity is increasingly impacting the population, especially vulnerable groups such as internally displaced persons or returnees, women, and children.
Women in Afghan society continue to suffer from discrimination and lack of access to basic services, economic opportunities and political participation. The Social Institutions & Gender Index 2014, which measures global discrimination against women in social institutions, confirms that Afghan women have faced discriminatory attitudes, social practices, and laws. The index defines discriminatory social institutions as "formal and informal laws, social norms and practices that restrict or exclude women and thereby limit their access to rights, justice, resources and empowerment opportunities." Afghanistan ranked "high" on the index, indicating significant discrimination against women in social institutions, such as violence against women, preference for sons, early marriage, access to public spaces, unequal inheritance, and land and property rights.
Despite noteworthy accomplishments in public financial management and budgeting in Afghanistan's Ministry of Finance, there were still some uncertainties and ambiguities in identifying priorities and resource allocation due to the absence of a clear subnational governance framework. Excessive centralization, blurred institutional roles, limited capacity, and accountability deficit were significant challenges that were further aggravated by the adverse economic impact of the triple transition (economic, political, and security), especially since 2014 with the sharp decline in foreign aid and the dwindling attention given to state reforms.
The Afghan government's planning and budgeting processes were highly centralized, with limited autonomy given to municipalities. While state institutions exist at the central, provincial, and district levels, they are not being utilized to their full potential, making it more challenging to allocate resources effectively and deliver services efficiently. Projects were often implemented using funding from donor entities, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), or other sources, bypassing government processes. Although this facilitates the rapid delivery of projects, it negatively impacts their sustainability, efficiency, and the institutions involved. Off-budget aid and high centralization negatively affected service delivery, implementation monitoring, and downward accountability.[ii] [3]
[i] Janet G. Stotsky. (2016) Gender Budgeting: Fiscal Context and Current Outcomes. Research Department and Strategy, Policy, and Review Department. https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2016/wp16149.pdf
[ii] Nematullah Bizhan and Ferhat Emil With Haroon Nayebkhail (2016). Bringing the State Closer to the People: Deconcentrating Planning and Budgeting in Afghanistan. AREU. https://www.geg.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/Bringing%20the%20State%20Closer%20to%20the%20People.pdf
Background History and Context
Afghanistan is committed to promoting women's rights as stated in its Constitution and various international treaties and conventions. In 1980, Afghanistan signed the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and acceded in 2003. It also worked towards achieving the Millennium and subsequent Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and implemented United Nations (UN) Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security. The National Action Plan for the Women of Afghanistan (NAPWA) 2007-17 was a reference document for the Afghan government in achieving gender equality and women's empowerment. The plan aimed to eliminate discrimination against women, develop their human capital and promote female leadership. Its implementation was focused on critical sectors such as security, legal protection, human rights, leadership and political participation, economy, work and poverty, health, and education. To fulfill its commitments, the Afghan government has made gender a cross-cutting theme in many strategic and policy documents, including the Afghanistan National Development Strategy, the National Priority Programmes, and the Tokyo Mutual Accountability Framework.
The situation of women in Afghanistan has seen some improvements in sectors such as education, health and political participation since 2001. However, the progress made so far has not been sufficient to meet the objectives of the national gender strategy and international obligations. Women continue to face significant challenges in terms of security, domestic violence, social marginalization, and limited access to assets and justice.
During the London Conference in December 2014, the NUG presented a document called "Realizing Self-Reliance: Commitments to Reforms and Renewed Partnership." The document aimed to address the factors that hindered progress in the country. The reform agenda had four core objectives: building better governance, ensuring citizens' development rights, reforming development planning and management, and restoring fiscal sustainability. In September 2015, the "Self-Reliance through Mutual Accountability Framework" (SMAF) was presented in a senior officials' meeting.
Regarding gender equality, the National Unity Government (NUG) is committed to ending discrimination and violence against women and ensuring their fair treatment before the law, in line with Afghanistan's national and international obligations. To address women's current economic and social marginalization, the government has announced plans to increase access to education and economic opportunities and create a more women-friendly institutional environment by tackling workplace harassment. The SMAF reform agenda outlines five indicators aimed at improving women's status, which include increasing women's participation in government, implementing UNSCR 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security, implementing anti-harassment regulations, implementing recommendations from reports on the Elimination of Violence Against Women Law, and drafting and implementing a national action plan for the economic empowerment of women.[i][2]
[i] [i]Nicole Birtsch and Ahmad Sulieman Hedayat (2016). Gender-Responsive Budgeting in Afghanistan: A Work in Progress. AREU. https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/gdc/gdcovop/2017332095/2017332095.pdf
Organizing, Supporting, and Funding Entities
The concept of Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) was first introduced into the PFM budget procedures by the Ministry of Finance (MoF). Then, gradually implemented with the support of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)/UN Women and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH has been supporting the process of implementing GRB from the very beginning. One of the major milestones was the statement made by the then Minister of Finance on the occasion of a gender budgeting conference held in Kabul in 2008. The Minister affirmed that implementing gender budgeting would guarantee greater gender equality. To achieve this objective, a gender budgeting unit was established at MoF to review and advise the budgets of the line ministries (LMs) from a gender perspective.
In response to the launch of NAPWA and its recommendations for establishing Gender Units (GPUs) in all ministries, a development was timed. The gender budget unit collaborated with donors to create a planning tool for gender budgeting and conducted workshops to introduce it to LMs. In 2009, a panel discussion on GRB was held, with the participation of six key ministers and the Chair of the Lower House. They decided to prepare gender-disaggregated budgets and allocate extra funding of US$5 million per year for women's empowerment and gender-specific projects in all ministries. However, officials from the Ministry of Finance (MoF) reported that the fund was never adequately utilized. Furthermore, it was reduced in subsequent years until its abolition in 2014 due to austerity measures. NGOs reported that the opaque application procedures made it nearly impossible to apply for the fund.[i] [1]
[i]Nicole Birtsch and Ahmad Sulieman Hedayat (2016). Gender-Responsive Budgeting in Afghanistan: A Work in Progress. AREU. https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/gdc/gdcovop/2017332095/2017332095.pdf
Participant Recruitment and Selection
The Ministry of Finance (MoF) collaborated with the UNDP Gender Equality Project (UNDP GEP) to initiate a Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) reform and pilot program with LMs. This program was designed to prioritize gender equality while considering their work's relevance. UN Women supported the Ministry of Women's Affairs (MoWA) in policy and planning processes.
Until 2021, MoF had implemented GRB in six ministries: the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL), the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development, the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Martyrs, and Disabled, the Ministry of Public Health, and the Ministry of Higher Education. These ministries were selected based on their sectors' importance in improving women's lives and their ability to implement meaningful programs. The selection of programs focused on addressing the immediate needs of women rather than strategic gender interests that aim to change existing roles and power dynamics and address discrimination in society.
The Ministry of Finance (MoF) released an addendum to BC1 and BC2, introducing Gender-Responsive Budgeting (GRB). The Budget Circular (BC) tool instructed all public institutions to prepare their budget for the upcoming fiscal year. However, the addendum on GRB required the ministries to provide information on the number of male and female beneficiaries, the percentage of the budget allocated to women and a brief description of gender/female projects proposed for the fiscal year. The addendum did not establish any standards on the percentage of funds that should be allocated to programs that benefit women. [i] [2]
[i] UNDP. Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB). 2016. https://www.undp.org/afghanistan/publications/gender-responsive-budgeting-grb
Methods and Tools Used
To ensure that gender considerations are incorporated in a particular sector, a five-step approach to Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) was recommended. The approach includes the following steps:
1. Analyzing the situation of women, men, girls, and boys in the sector.
2. Assessing the gender-responsiveness of sector policies.
3. Evaluating budget allocations.
4. Monitoring spending and service delivery, and
5. Assessing outcomes.
Nine practical tools could be used at different levels throughout the budget process to approach GRB. However, using all the tools is unnecessary, as some may be more or less useful depending on the level and point in the budget process. Some of these tools are more relevant for financial policymakers, such as the Ministry of Finance. In contrast, others may be more useful for sectoral ministries involved in service delivery and planning large-scale programs and smaller-scale projects.
The essential tools for GRB were:
1. Gender-Sensitive Policy Appraisal
2. Gender-Disaggregated Beneficiary Assessment
3. Gender Budget Statement
4. Gender-Sensitive Medium-Term Economic Policy Framework
5. Gender Equality Costing Exercises
6. Gender-Disaggregated Public Expenditure Benefit Incidence Analysis
7. Gender-Sensitive Public Expenditure Tracking Survey
8. Gender-Disaggregated Public Revenue Incidence Analysis
9. Gender-Disaggregated Analysis of the Budget on Time Use.[i][6]
[i] The Ministry of Finance. (2015) Gender Responsive budgeting handbook. https://www.undp.org/sites/g/files/zskgke326/files/migration/af/GRB-Handbook.pdf
What Went On: Process, Interaction, and Participation
The Ministry of Finance organized public town hall meetings in Afghanistan to discuss budget priorities with citizens. These meetings were initially tested in Kabul and four regional provinces: Balkh, Herat, Kandahar, and Nangarhar. The deputy minister of finance led the meetings, and the budget department's provincial budgeting team provided support. Other government agencies, such as the provincial directorates of the Ministry of Economy, the Independent Directorate for Local Governance (IDLG) planning directorate, and the host province's governors' offices, were also involved in these meetings. Moreover, the civil society organization Integrity Watch Afghanistan sent observers to all the meetings, and technical support was provided by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The Townhall Meetings have several objectives, including reflecting people's priority projects in the national budget, improving transparency and public participation in the budgeting process, and enhancing the effectiveness of government expenditures through public feedback on the portfolio of projects. Additionally, these meetings aim to interact face-to-face with the recipients of the services that the national budget finances to understand citizens' demands better and bridge the gap between the public and the central government.
In theory, the programs and projects proposed by the line ministries and approved in the budget by the Parliament should provide public services based on needs and ensure an equitable distribution of resources. However, these intentions do not always translate into practice due to the influence of line ministries and the biased representation of members of Parliament. Therefore, town hall meetings aim to prioritize the needs of citizens without being filtered through ministries or Parliament.
In the summer of 2018, townhall meetings about the national budget were held, each lasting an entire day. These meetings coincided with the start of the budget preparation stage for the following fiscal year (2019). The provincial governor began the meetings, followed by the deputy minister of finance, who explained the aim of the discussion. The budget department then presented the structure of the national budget, along with planned expenditures and revenues for the following year.
After this, participants were divided into groups by district and "special groups" for women and youth. Within these groups, they discussed their priority projects and ranked them, beginning with the most important. Each team presented their priorities to the Ministry of Finance team and the town hall meeting. The deputy finance minister would then conclude the meetings by thanking the participants and promising to discuss the proposals with the relevant line ministries in Kabul.
Following the townhalls, the objective was to ensure that the findings and recommendations of the citizens were taken into account by line ministries rather than being lost within a bureaucracy. Therefore, the next step in the process was for the relevant sector experts in the Ministry of Finance to review and discuss the suggestions within the relevant ministries. The national budget committee dedicated time to discuss the findings and recommendations of the townhall meetings during their budget hearing sessions. As a result, more than 30 priority projects from the five pilot townhalls were included in the final 2019 budget approved by parliament.
Several development projects, such as the construction of schools, minor irrigation projects, and the establishment of health facilities and clinics, were undertaken by the Citizens’ Charter National Priority Program. To encourage greater public participation, the program could explore mechanisms for engaging with citizens about the national budget. Unfortunately, local government officials were often uninformed about the process and formulation of the national budget, which created a barrier for them to provide input on issues affecting their communities. It is essential to disseminate and explain the approved budget to provincial officials to avoid misalignment between their objectives and actual resources.
During the five pilot townhalls, citizens showed a great interest and understanding of the national budget. The government should use this engagement to improve its performance. The primary finding was that citizens from every province district showed significant interest in the townhalls. A diverse group of residents, including elders, women, and youth, participated in lively and well-informed debates. They had clear priorities and well-defined suggestions. The key takeaway was that people welcomed the townhall initiative not only because their priority projects may be included in the national budget but also because high-level officials travelled from the capital to listen to their concerns and ideas. This goodwill among citizens who participated in the townhalls was a significant sign of progress for the government, especially in areas with minimal state presence and where government relations with citizens were poor. Women, who made incredibly insightful and valuable contributions to the discussions, exemplified this positive engagement with the townhalls. Although outnumbered by men, many women travelled long distances in insecure and conservative provinces to make their voices heard. Creating an environment where the views of women are heard and reflected in the budget improves its effectiveness and makes program outcomes more equitable.[i][4]
[i] Institute for State Eectiveness. Public Participation in the National Budget: Lessons from Pilot Townhall Meetings in Afghanistan. https://effectivestates.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/ise-dpn-participation-budget.pdf
Influence, Outcomes, and Effects
The MoF realized that the information provided by the pilot ministries was unsatisfactory due to a lack of understanding of GRB and gender issues. So far, no solid evidence indicates that the pilot ministries have increased women's economic or social benefits due to GRB. The incorporation of GRB into the budget statement of the pilot ministries, however, resulted in a slight increase in the GRB allocation from 27% in 2011 to 29% in 2013, according to the UNDP GEP project report. The report, however, did not provide any further explanation for these changes in percentages.
In conclusion, the GRB reform has not yet produced tangible results in making sectoral and national budget planning more gender-responsive.
Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) was introduced as a budget reform in Afghanistan in 1390. However, there was no official guidance for the ministries on how to prepare their budgets to be gender-responsive, and there was very little guidance on GRB that was specific to the Afghan context or available in local languages. This led to a lack of support for the ministries on GRB, which hindered its effective implementation. To address this issue, the GRB Handbook was developed in consultation with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Women's Affairs, as well as the sectoral GRB pilot ministries. The handbook provides clear and context-specific materials in Afghanistan's national languages to facilitate the government's support in implementing GRB.
Resulting from these consultations, this GRB Handbook is a consultative guide to practicing GRB in Afghanistan. This handbook is designed for use by those responsible for implementing GRB, particularly government officials involved in the budget planning, implementation and evaluation process, but also by actors such as civil society, the Parliament, international donors and development practitioners to understand how effective GRB can be supported and implemented in Afghanistan.
This handbook was designed to provide a comprehensive understanding of Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) to individuals at all levels of experience and understanding. It covered basic concepts and definitions for those new to GRB and advanced tools for those with prior knowledge of gender and GRB. The handbook could be used as a comprehensive guide to introduce and implement GRB in Afghanistan or consulted section by section on specific topics for those with a basic understanding of concepts and context. Most importantly, it was context-specific and incorporated examples from the Afghan context, making it ideal for GRB actors in Afghanistan.
The handbook was aimed at officials from the Ministry of Finance, sectoral ministries, Parliament, and all other budget-related bodies and institutions. Whether they were budget experts or beginners, gender experts or beginners, this handbook served as a go-to guide for addressing gender in budget policies and practices at all government levels.[i] [2]
[i] UNDP. Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB). 2016. https://www.undp.org/afghanistan/publications/gender-responsive-budgeting-grb
Analsis and Lessons Learned
The implementation of GRB in Afghanistan faced several limitations despite its resources and achievements. These limitations mainly originated from political, technical, and attitudinal challenges, which include:
• A negative environment for promoting gender equality
• Gaps in understanding GRB, its relevance, added value, and impact
• Inconsistent leadership support at the political and senior management levels with weak coordination among the actors involved
• A lack of a conceptual framework and technical capacity in gender expertise, program-based budgeting, and PFM
• A shortage of human resources and financing
• A lack of sex-disaggregated data and limited accessibility of information
• A disconnection between central budgeting and subnational planning processes
• Poor involvement of the media, civil society, and parliamentarians.[i]
Addressing these challenges directly could lead to incredible success in the implementation of GRB. However, to do so, a deeper understanding of the sources of these limitations is necessary. The interviews conducted for this report revealed several limiting issues related to GRB implementation.
Gender equality and its relevance to Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) faced significant barriers in Afghanistan. There was a negative attitude toward gender mainstreaming, and many people viewed the women's rights discourse as a technical term for political correctness or opportunism. Additionally, the concept of gender was perceived as part of an international agenda with socio-cultural intolerance towards Western approaches. While education, health, and economic empowerment were accepted objectives for women's advancement, traditional forces saw a focus on women's rights as a threat to Afghan culture. This perspective was also evident in discussions about peace talks with the Taliban. While the Afghan government emphasized that peace talks should not compromise women's rights, there was also a tendency to use women's rights as a political argument when weighing their importance against the need for security.
The perception that policies promoting gender equality were unsuitable for Afghan culture and context may have resulted in people opposing rather than supporting this critical goal. Another challenge was the lack of in-depth analysis and understanding of the difficulties and limitations faced by Afghan women. This led to a shortage of practical measures that were socially and culturally acceptable to address gender inequality and social injustice more broadly. Some interviewees have reported that despite national and international policies and financial commitments, there has been relatively little progress in improving living conditions for women at the local level. This may be due to the interplay of political, social, and technical factors, including inconsistent political support and lack of capacity for gender mainstreaming in both Afghan statehood and governance, as well as in international donor organizations.
According to some interviewees, gender was often used as a slogan rather than being put into action. Gender mainstreaming and women's empowerment were used interchangeably, and discussing gender was mainly associated with women's rights and quotas. However, there has been a recent discussion about the impact of masculinity on Afghan culture and how gender-based violence affects boys.
Gender advisors, both national and international, have found it challenging to promote, implement and evaluate gender mainstreaming. Programs are often evaluated by counting the number of female employees or participants in training courses, which misses the complexity of transforming gender relations. Even donor organizations rely heavily on numbers in their internal tracking systems and do not prioritize gender equality results. For instance, the audit report of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction highlights that the US Department of Defense, Department of State, and USAID have not appropriately tracked their budget allocation nor assessed the overall impact of their efforts to support women in Afghanistan. There has been little reflection on how interventions can influence social transformation and move towards gender equality.
The implementation of Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) was limited by the absence of qualified and authorized staff and inconsistent commitment at the political and leadership levels. The support and commitment of policymakers in government departments such as planning, finance, and development were crucial for the success of GRB. Without political leadership advocating for gender equality and women's empowerment, GRB remains only a theoretical framework.[ii][2]
[ii] [ii] UNDP. Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB). 2016. https://www.undp.org/afghanistan/publications/gender-responsive-budgeting-grb
See Also
https://www.undp.org/afghanistan/publications/gender-responsive-budgeting-grb
https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/gdc/gdcovop/2017332095/2017332095.pdf
https://effectivestates.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/ise-dpn-participation-budget.pdf
https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2016/wp16149.pdf
References
[1] Nicole Birtsch and Ahmad Sulieman Hedayat (2016). Gender-Responsive Budgeting in Afghanistan: A Work in Progress. AREU. https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/gdc/gdcovop/2017332095/2017332095.pdf
[2] UNDP. Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB). 2016. https://www.undp.org/afghanistan/publications/gender-responsive-budgeting-grb
[3] Nematullah Bizhan and Ferhat Emil With Haroon Nayebkhail (2016). Bringing the State Closer to the People: Deconcentrating Planning and Budgeting in Afghanistan. AREU. https://www.geg.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/Bringing%20the%20State%20Closer%20to%20the%20People.pdf
[4] Institute for State Effectiveness. Public Participation in the National Budget: Lessons from Pilot Townhall Meetings in Afghanistan. https://effectivestates.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/ise-dpn-participation-budget.pdf
[5] Janet G. Stotsky. (2016) Gender Budgeting: Fiscal Context and Current Outcomes. Research Department and Strategy, Policy, and Review Department. https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2016/wp16149.pdf
[6] The Ministry of Finance. (2015) Gender Responsive budgeting handbook. https://www.undp.org/sites/g/files/zskgke326/files/migration/af/GRB-Handbook.pdf