A Qualitative Study of Women’s Lived Experiences of Conflict and Domestic Violence in Afghanistan

Citation:

Mannell, Jenevieve, Gulraj Grewal, Lida Ahmad, and Ayesha Ahmad. 2020. "A Qualitative Study of Women’s Lived Experiences of Conflict and Domestic Violence in Afghanistan." Violence Against Women. doi:10.1177/1077801220935191.

Authors: Jenevieve Mannell, Gulraj Grewal, Lida Ahmad, Ayesha Ahmad

Abstract:

This article empirically explores women’s lived experiences of domestic violence and conflict in Afghanistan. A thematic analysis of 20 semistructured interviews with women living in safe houses produced three main themes about the relationship between conflict and domestic violence: (a) violence from loss of patriarchal support, (b) violence from the drug trade as an economic driver, and (c) violence from conflict-related poverty. We discuss the bidirectional nature of this relationship: Not only does conflict contribute to domestic violence, but domestic violence contributes to conflict through justifying armed intervention, separating women from economic and public life, and perpetuating patriarchy.

Keywords: domestic violence, Afghanistan, lived experience, patriarchy, armed conflict

Topics: Economies, Poverty, Conflict, Domestic Violence, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Patriarchy Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: Afghanistan

Year: 2020