Handicap International experience in Afghanistan - CBM

poor. On the contrary, low levels of living standards are shared on an equal basis by all. An exception is thecase of women, especially isolated, who suffer from even greater discrimination and appear to be among thepoorest. This has been highlighted both in towns and rural areas.Steps Ahead:Rural-Urban: Reducing the Gap in Living ConditionsLooking at the picture from the point of view of the household units, urban living standards seem to be alittle more advantaged: better access to water, main power, flush, diet diversity, more equipment, larger sizeof houses and households, etc. Unlike Schutte 38 , who found more widespread nuclear households in Herat,urban households seem to be more extended according to the NDSA results. However, some trends dosuggest that as urban lifestyles evolve, there is a possibility of the breakdown of social networks and supportsystems to draw upon.Female-headed Households: Addressing the Most Vulnerable and the PoorestHouseholds headed by a woman are both the poorest and the most vulnerable. This finding corroboratesthe NRVA 2003 analysis that identified such households among the poor and very poor wealth groups. Asshown by the NRVA 2003, NDSA 2005 finds that women head of household are a higher proportion havingan income generating activity. These households have lesser assets as well as poor nutritional diversity. Theyalso face more isolation, and thus, are not able to rely on a strong social capital in case of shocks andunpredictable events.Households headed by women are more present in urban areas, probably because of isolation from the rest ofthe family who is in the village. Tolerance for women heads of households might be also higher in major townsand the social expectations a little less salient. Hence, Afghan society maintains a strict control on honour ofwomen who must conform to traditional rules. As Dupree writes, “the hierarchical structure within familiesleaves little room for individualism, for senior male members, the ultimate arbiters, maintain family honourand social status by ensuring all members conform to prescribed forms of acceptable behaviour 39 ”.Chronic and Multifaceted PovertyIt is essential to focus upon the few results that have been found regarding the small proportion of thepopulation that is better off than the majority. The trends observed lead to the belief that with regard tolivelihoods and living conditions, disability impacts the more advantaged social groups. This, in turn, leads tothe strong assumption that as conditions in general improve, the impact of disability becomes salient. In otherwords, as households get out of poverty, households that have a disabled member will have to face moredifficulties and need more resources in order to improve their living conditions. Disability is thus a ‘dormant’factor that is not on the forefront when we look at serious poverty. However, at the second stage, this factormay have a heavy impact by keeping certain households more vulnerable to poverty and less equipped toface risks in life.Householdsheaded by awoman are boththe poorestand the mostvulnerable.These householdshave lesserassets as well aspoor nutritionaldiversityAs a conclusion, it can be said that the difference between households with persons with disability andhouseholds without persons with disability is not significantly observable among poor households, but thatit becomes more important among households, which are better off. This leads us to believe that poverty isoften chronic and multifaceted, influenced by a number of variables. Disability affects living conditions onceall the other factors have been tackled, making persons with disability more vulnerable and more at riskof remaining in poverty. Thus, it is necessary first to fight poverty and then to ensure security and increasecapability by reducing vulnerability of households that have a disabled member.38SCHUTTE S. (2006), Poverty amid Prosperity: Urban Livelihood in Herat, Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit Report, AREU,May 2006, 61 pp.39DUPREE N. H. (2004), The Family during Crisis in Afghanistan, Journal of Comparative Family Studies, vol. 35, 311:332.Livelihoods and Assets61