Numbers do matter as far as women’s presence in parliament is concerned, as women constitute half of Afghanistan’s population and should have equal representation.

However, looking at the last parliament, where 28% of seats were secured by women, we can see that number and quantity does not necessarily solve problems, or guarantee positive impact.

If female MPs are not active in parliament, they can’t influence positive changes in the lives of ordinary Afghan women.

As a result, it is important to strengthen the confidence of female MPs so that they can voice the concerns of their constituents and not allow laws that discriminate against women to be ratified by parliament.

I do not know how similar women are around the world. However, what they have in common are the challenges they often face.

For example, they face the same kind of social and domestic violence. The level and extent of such problems differ, though.

The problems of women in Afghanistan are, at times, very peculiar. They face problems from different arenas – be it religious, political etc.

However, we at the Human Rights Research & Advocacy Consortium (HRRAC) and myself being a woman and an activist believe that the major problems and obstacles are created by the political regimes and male politicians.

The key strategy is that women’s leadership should be ensured in both the short term and the longer term.

The male-dominated cabinet of Afghanistan should be gender-balanced so that the culture of women’s political participation is promoted and the public can believe in women’s participation in society.

Moreover, this strategy should be communicated to the Taliban so that they should know that they are conducting peace talks with a regime that is also run by Afghan women.

Generally speaking, if women’s participation is not ensured at the highest decision making levels in the three branches of the government, it is almost impossible to expect the public to respect women’s rights and values.

The social construction of Afghanistan, which has been influenced by the legal framework of the country, is gender-balanced on the face of it as gender restrictions are applied in very few places.

However, if you study the social construction, interaction, fabrications and norms more carefully, you will find that women have very few roles in society.

Only the women who have the backing and support of their families, relatives and friends can play a role or have a say in the social fabric and construction of society.

Otherwise, no matter how talented, confident and active a woman may be, she will never be able to do anything in society as the stereotype in Afghanistan is that the woman who goes out to study or work is immoral and goes out to attract men’s attention.

There is a lack of political will in the current government of Afghanistan for women’s participation and leadership.

The volatile security conditions and ongoing war/conflict in most part of the country impinges on women’s rights.

There is a lack of gender-focused policies and strategies. These strategies are mostly developed by men. All gender programs should be owned by Afghan women who are a great resource, and have a deep understanding of the gender issues and obstacles in the country.

Generally speaking, less has been done for women in the rural areas. Our recent study on home-based workers indicates that female home-based workers are isolated and undervalued and no development project or budget has been allocated to them.

The United States Aid for International Development (USAID) is planning a project in the agriculture and handicraft fields for Afghan women throughout Afghanistan after our report was released.

It is one of the colossal errors of the Afghan Government to overlook a vast majority of the labor force who contribute to a lion’s share of the current economy. Moreover, they have a role in social participation.

The UK government is one of the supporters of human rights and development in Afghanistan, so they should hold the Afghanistan government accountable for the British pounds sent to Afghanistan.

When the UK government awards funds to the Afghan government, it should highlight women’s rights – including women’s needs, areas for improvement and then check on progress towards this.

Moreover, civil society should be strengthened so that they can monitor the government’s performance more extensively.

In Afghan society, most local conflicts are familial or tribal, which results in women being victimised. This can include honour killings, forced and child marriage and exchange of women for animals and property.

Women are excluded from conflict resolution but can play a vital role in the reconciliation process at the national level, especially in the current reintegration and reconciliation process.

The presence of women in conflict management will create an overall gender-balanced and fair environment, as the lack of women’s presence in management level positions has created a stereotype that women cannot handle those management level positions.

The prime victims of all conflicts are women. Women suffer violence in their personal lives, but then women have to suffer from armed conflicts too.

These two sufferings hinder women’s participation in the country’s affairs drastically. They do not have sufficient access to education, basic health services, justice, freedom of speech, political rights and other basic human rights and, most importantly, the right to work and decent income.

Wholly speaking, their lives are diverted from normalcy to a chaos. As it is observed, women need personal safety and security, the entrance to the political realm and social life, more than anything and anyone else.