SHARECountry Data
Afghanistan (Islamic Republic of Afghanistan) has a Bicameral parliament with legislated quotas for the single/lower house and at the sub-national level. 67 of 248 (27%) seats in the Wolesi Jirga / House of the People are held by women.
At a glance
Structure of Parliament: Bicameral
Are there legislated quotas...
- For the Single/Lower House? Yes
- For the Upper House? No
- For the Sub-National Level? Yes
Are there voluntary quotas...
- Adopted by political parties? No
Is there additional information?...
- Yes
Last updated: Sep 21, 2022
Single/Lower House
Wolesi Jirga / House of the People
| Total seats | 248 |
| Total Women | 67 |
| % Women | 27% |
| Election Year | 2018 |
| Electoral System | SNTV |
| Quota Type | Reserved seats |
| Election details | IDEA Voter Turnout - IPU Parline |
| Legal source | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Quota type: Reserved seats | Constitution | According to Article 83 of the 2004 Constitution, 68 of the 249 total seats (27%) in the Lower House (Wolesi Jirga) are reserved for women, comprising at least 2 women for each of the 34 provinces of the country. |
| Electoral law | "The Commission, for the purpose of the minimum number of female candidates that shall be elected from each province, prepares procedures and a formula that is based on the population of each province so that to meet the requirements of article 83 of the Constitution of Afghanistan that is the number of elected female candidates shall be at least twice the number of the current provinces" meaning 68 reserved seats for women in the lower house (Electoral Law 2016, Article 51(1)). |
|
| Legal sanctions for non-compliance | Electoral law | "In case there are not sufficient number of women on the candidate’s list to occupy the seat or seats allocated to women, the Commission shallundertake measures in accordance with the procedure mentioned in clause (1) of this article, to ensure that the seats allocated to women do not remain vacant" (Electoral Law 2016 Article 51: (2)). |
| Rank order/placement rules | Electoral law | "Candidates who receive the highest number of valid votes in each electoral constituency,are allocated seats as per the formula mentioned in clause (1)" (Electoral Law 2016 Article 51(2))
|
| Is the provision of direct public funding to political parties related to gender equality among candidates? | No | There is no provision on this matter in the relevant laws. See more in International IDEA's Political Finance database |
| Are there provisions for other financial advantages to encourage gender equality in political parties? | No | There is no provision on this matter in the relevant laws. See more in International IDEA's Political Finance database |
Quota at the Sub-National Level
- Quota type: Reserved seats
| Legal source | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Quota type: Reserved seats | Constitution | |
| Electoral law | At least 25 % of the seats in each Provincial, District and Village Council shall be allocated to female candidates (Article 58(2), 61(2), 64(2)). |
|
| Legal sanctions for non-compliance | N/A | Not applicable |
| Rank order/placement rules | N/A | Not applicable |
Additional Information
The first time women voted in Afghanistan was in 1965 but, since 2001, Afghan women have the right to vote and stand but also a quota system reserving them seats.
In the 2005 elections, the voters cast their ballots for individual candidates, sometimes on candidate lists which included 400 names. The Joint Electoral Management Body (JEMB), which was co-managed by the United Nations and the Afghan Government to administer the elections, decided the order of candidates on electoral lists by a ballot lottery, so that the sequencing would not be biased toward any candidate, and so that every elected representative was elected by virtue of the number of votes as opposed to a favourable placement on the party list (JEMB 2005:12).
According to the Afghanistan Analyst Network, in 2018, as happened in 2010, about 400 women out of a total of about 2500 candidates. However, women still face difficulties to be part of the political life.
Sources
LEGAL SOURCES:
- Constitution of Afghanistan 2004;
- Electoral Law of Afghanistan, 2016 (unofficially translated by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and edited by the International Foundation for Electoral Systems)
OTHER SOURCES:
United States Library of Congress, ‘Afghanistan: President Approves New Election Law’, Global Legal Monitor (8 August 2013);
United States Institute of Peace, 'Learning from the 2010 Afghan election'
Additional reading
- Afghanistan | International Knowledge Network of Women in Politics iKNOW Politics
- United Nations, 8 Sep 2021. 'Millions of Lives Will Depend on How Afghanistan’s New Interim Government Chooses to Govern, Special Representative Tells Security Council'. Available at: https://www.un.org/press/en/2021/sc14628.doc.htm
- Afghanistan Analyst Network: Afghanistan Elections Conundrum (20): Women candidates going against the grain "https://www.afghanistan-analysts.org/en/reports/political-landscape/afghanistan-elections-conundrum-19-women-candidates-going-against-the-grain/"
- Annan, K. 2002. ‘Afghan Women May Still Suffer’, Associated Press. Online. Available at: http://www.rawa.org/annan-w.htm
- Wordsworth, A. 2007. 'A matter of interests: gender and the politics of presence in Afghanistan's Wolesi Jirga' Issue Paper Series, AREU.
- Ballington, J. and Dahlerup, D. 2006. 'Gender quotas in post-conflict states: East Timor, Afghanistan and Iraq', in Dahlerup, D. Women, Quotas and Politics, London/New York: Routledge, pp. 249-258.
- United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, 2004. https://peacekeeping.un.org/sites/default/files/yir2004.pdf
- United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, https://unama.unmissions.org/