Despite over a decade of calls for women’s empowerment in post-Taliban Afghanistan (and massive international investments in causes for the same), the vast majority of females across the country have not yet become active players in sociopolitical movements on any notable scale. Written by a sociological researcher working in support of international Coalition Forces, these vignettes illuminate subtleties of the nuanced hierarchies that direct life at the level of the Afghan village. This collection of linked case studies illustrates the applied bias that many westerners, including experienced sociological practitioners, have commonly held in their initial approaches to Afghan issues over the past decade. Specifically, these studies provide insight to social contracts of ethnic Tajik women and their communities, which make up the country’s second largest ethnic group.
