Agency Through Ambiguity: Women NGO Workers in Jalalabad, Afghanistan

Pashtun women working for international NGOs and development organizations in Jalalabad Afghanistan balance the requirements of their employment with a set values, known as doing pashto, that guide their behavior as Pashtuns. These two influences on their lives are often contradictory. Based on fieldwork in Jalalabad, this study suggests that Pashtun women working for such organizations do not overtly resist Pashtun norms that often enforce a strict segregation of women. Rather, they use strategic ambiguity, maintaining that they are performing pashto well while at the same time taking part in some work activities that on the surface appear contrary to the norms of pashto.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Anthropology

Year dc:date.available

2012

Author dc:creator

• Kerr Chiovenda, Melissa S

Contributors dc:contributor

• Samuel Martinez; Kathryn Libal; Francoise Dussart
• Samuel Martinez

• gender
• Afghanistan
• agency
• globalization

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.lib.uconn.edu/gs_theses/223

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.lib.uconn.edu:gs_theses-1255