The Effect of Socio-Cultural Norms on Female Labor Force Participation in Afghanistan

This study based on the review of literature in general and in Afghanistan, collected quantitative data through sequentially structured questionnaires to evaluate the effect of culture on female labor force participation in Afghanistan. In this purpose, the study aims to use two types of data source of primary and secondary data, wherein the primary data were obtained from randomly selected Afghan women, and the secondary data were collected from the World Bank to determine the main research question on whether socio-cultural norms affect the employability of women by taking into consideration other related questions of: do demographic factors such as marital status affect the employability of women in Afghanistan? And does education increase the likelihood of women in the labor market, which are the cornerstones of understanding the culture of the country discussed under the determinants of Afghanistan. Despite the existing information, the research subject in this thesis is still a new research area, where there is not much data and literature information to guide the study better. However, the mixture of both primary and secondary data alongside the information gathered across Afghanistan lead the study to gain closer insights to analyze women’s situation in economy. Though majority of the participants were educated but the results provide evidence following the main research questions answer based on the purpose of the study that, socio-cultural norms affect women’s employability regardless of their educational level, employment status and the regions level of development.

Afganistan'daki Sosyo-Kültürel Normların Kadın İstihdamı Üzerindeki Etkisi

Bu çalışma Afganistan’daki sosyo-kültürel normların kadınların iş gücüne katılımlarına etkisini değerlendirmek amaçlı yapılmış bir çalışmadır. Veri toplamak için sıralı yapılandırılmış anket düzenlenerek uygulanmış niceler verilerle Afganistan’da yapılmış bir literatür taramasını temel almaktadır. Bu amaçla, çalışmada, ‘Medeni hâl gibi demografik unsurlar Afganistan’da kadınların istihdam edilebilirliğini etkilemekte mi?’ veya ‘Kadınların eğitim düzeyi kadınların iş gücüne katılma oranını artırır mı?’ gibi Afganistan kültürünü anlamada belirleyici olan sorular dikkate alınmıştır. Çalışmanın temel sorusu sosyokültürel normların kadınların istihdam edilebilirliğini etkileyip etkilemediğini belirlemek için, birincil ve ikincil olmak üzere iki tür veri kaynağının kullanılması amaçlanmıştır. Burada birincil veriler rastgele seçilen Afgan kadınlardan elde edilirken, ikincil veriler ise Dünya Bankası’ndan elde edilmiştir. Mevcut verilere rağmen, bu tezin araştırma konusu, çalışmayı daha iyi yönlendirebilecek az sayıda veri ve literatür bilgisi olması nedeniyle hâlâ yeni bir araştırma alanıdır. Ancak, çalışmanın konusu ile ilgili toplanılan bilgilerin yanı sıra hem birincil hem de ikincil veriler Afganistan’daki kadınların ekonomideki durumunu analiz etmek için daha yakın iç görüler elde etmeye yönlendirmektedir. Her ne kadar katılımcıların büyük çoğunluğu eğitimli kadınlardan oluşsa da araştırmanın temel sorusuna verilen cevaplardan hareketle sonuçlar göstermektedir ki, sosyokültürel normlar, kadınların eğitim seviyeleri, istihdam durumları ve bölgesel gelişmişlik seviyesine bakılmaksızın, kadınların tercih ve istihdam edilebilirliğini etkilemektedir.

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