Handicap International experience in Afghanistan - CBM

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The inability tobear children is amajor determinantfactor for socialconsideration andrespect withinthe family andthe community.As a result,when personsare considered tohave congenitalforms of disabilityor have mentaldisability, thisability is seriouslyquestionedwedding and thus demonstrate their capability to take charge of a family and gain status as the head ofhousehold. Women, on the other hand, are expected to bear a large number of children and to take care ofthe members of the family: children and elderly people. If any of these expectations are not met then theperson is not considered ‘marriageable’. A qualitative study carried out in 2004 by Altai Consulting clearlystates: “once a disabled person cannot fulfil (their assigned) role, his/her position in society changes. This isnoticeable in many ways: loss of respect within the family, loss of respect within the community, eventuallynot being able to marry, finally not being able to have offspring”. 41 The inability to bear children is a majordeterminant factor for social consideration and respect within the family and the community. As a result,when persons are considered to have congenital forms of disability or have mental disability, this ability isseriously questioned: the inability to marry and have children is a major exclusion mechanism. This is evenmore so in the case of women.Bearing in mind the importance of marriage, it is not surprising that the proportion of married persons isvery high and starts at a very early age. A large majority (56.4%) of Afghans over the age of 11 are married.Only 35.4% of this age group is still single, while the rest are widow(er), separated or divorced. The legalage to get married is of 16 for girls and 18 for boys. Nevertheless, some of them are already married beforethis age:• 2.9% of girls before 16 and 2.1% of boys before 18 years old are married;• 5.4% of girls before 16 and 3.8% of boys before 18 years old are engaged.Figure 47: Distribution of Afghans Above 11Years Old by Civil Status• Single• Married Monogamous• Married Polygamous• Engaged• Divorced, Separated• Widow(er)The situation is a bit different between persons with disability and non-disabled. The over-representationof persons with disability in age classes above the age of 45 explains why widows and widowers are overrepresentedamong persons with disability.Men with disability are more often married (61.5%) than non-disabled men (53.6%). This can be explainedby two main reasons. First, men are more often disabled by war-related causes and have physical disability.As a result they do have better social status and consideration within society. Second, a high proportionbecame disabled after marriage. The situation of women is not the same: women with disability are less oftenmarried (47.7%) than women without disability (59.4%).These trends do suggest that disability is seen as an impediment to taking charge of a family, for womenespecially. This belief is closely linked to the aspects that were explained above: a woman’s contribution lies inthe ability to bear children and look after other members of the household. Moreover, in case of sterility or ifno children have been conceived after a certain number of years, the man can take another wife. The stigmaof being barren is most often borne by the woman, and is often attributed to the fact of being disabled. “In41THAKKAR M., CERVEAU T., DAVIN E., (2004), op. cit. p. 2664 Understanding the Challenge Ahead
Figure 48: Distribution of Persons with Disability and Non-Disabled Above 11Years Old by Civil Status and Sex7060• Women with Disability• Men with Disability• Non-disabled Women• Non-disabled Men50403020100SingleMarriedMonogamousMarriedPolygamousDivorced,SeparatedEngagedWidow(er)Afghan society, the expectancy on women to bear children cannot be overemphasised. And this is a challengethat women with disability have to face: they are also perceived as reproductively challenged and incapableof taking care of children. Usually, women with disability either are not married, or are married to a lowersocial class relative or another disabled person.” 42The analysis of the NDSA shows certain results that confirm that characteristics of civil status vary dependingon types of disability.With the exception of men with associated disabilities, all men with disability are more likely to be marriedthan non-disabled men. This is also due to the higher age of the disabled population. But men with physicaldisability are the highest proportion (66.2%) to be married. The proportion of married men is even higheramong war survivors (77.9%). They are also those who are more often polygamous (5.1% and 2.7% fornon-disabled men). This confirms the social recognition that war survivors enjoy in Afghan society.Figure 49: Distribution of Persons with Disability and Non-Disabled Above 11Years Old by Civil Status, Types of Disability, Sex and Age at which a PersonBecame DisabledWith theexception of menwith associateddisabilities,all men withdisability aremore likely tobe married thannon-disabledmen. This isalso due to thehigher age ofthe disabledpopulation1009080706050403020100• Single • Married Monogamous • OtherPhysicalDisabilitySensorialDisabilityMentalDisabilityAssociatedDisabilitiesEpilepsy andForms ofSeizuresNonDisabledPhysicalDisabilitySensorialDisabilityMentalDisabilityAssociatedDisabilitiesEpilepsy andForms ofSeizuresNonDisabledMen Disabled before 18 and NDMen Disabled before 15 and ND42THAKKAR M., CERVEAU T., DAVIN E., (2004), op. cit. p. 27Social Participation and Future Prospects65
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Islamic Republic of AfghanistanUNDE
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ContentsAcknowledgementsAbbreviatio
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Figure 25 : Retention, Transition a
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AbbreviationsAFAs : AfghanisBPHS :
Page 13 and 14:
PrefaceThe National Disability Surv
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IntroductionAs the process of recon
Page 18 and 19:
Figure 1. Sampling Stages of NDSA1s
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A variety of subjects and fields ad
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• Beliefs and expectations of wha
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Prevalence Threshold with Regard to
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The proportion of persons with disa
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Mental disability shows a much more
Page 30 and 31: The effectiveprevalencerate of seve
Page 32 and 33: to a maximum of 37.4% unable to coo
Page 34 and 35: Table 3. Proportion of Persons with
Page 36 and 37: Table 4: Proportion of Persons with
Page 38 and 39: Figure 9. Distribution of Persons w
Page 40 and 41: Figure 12: Distribution of Persons
Page 42 and 43: Comparing the situation between mal
Page 44 and 45: Figure 17. Number of Visits to Heal
Page 46 and 47: Table 5: Yearly Average Expenses (A
Page 48 and 49: 32 Understanding the Challenge Ahea
Page 50 and 51: A crucial aspect that influences ac
Page 52 and 53: Table 6 highlights the advantage th
Page 54 and 55: Figure 26: Retention, Transition an
Page 56 and 57: to take this into consideration whe
Page 58 and 59: • Boys with physical disability a
Page 64 and 65: to others: usually they benefit fro
Page 66 and 67: Figure 37: Distribution of Active P
Page 70 and 71: According to NRVA 2003, poverty is
Page 72 and 73: means that the average living space
Page 76 and 77: Figure 46: Distribution of Househol
Page 82 and 83: The situation is somewhat different
Page 86 and 87: 706050• Landmine/UXO Survivors•
Page 88 and 89: ConclusionInclusion is a major fact
Page 90 and 91: of persons with disability 48 . Thi
Page 92 and 93: GHOSH N., MOHIT A., MURTHY R.S. (20
Page 95: The National Disability Survey in A
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Handicap International experience in Afghanistan - CBM

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