* After more than decade of massive international assistance and substantial support from within the Afghan government, why are women’s leadership gains still perceived as so fragile?

* How have efforts to promote women’s leadership impacted their public participation—in both the public and private sector?

* How are women perceived and supported in their new leadership roles?

Aarya Nijat is a policy analyst, who has more than a decade of experience in the development sector in Afghanistan and Pakistan. She previously served as the Director of Capacity and Institutional Development at the Government of Afghanistan's Independent Directorate of Local Governance (IDLG), where she worked to develop Afghanistan's first ever anti-harassment policy. She also served as Sub-National Governance Policy Specialist for the United Nations Development Program and Acting Director of Policy for the IDLG, where she help draft Afghanistan's first Sub-National Governance Policy. She has authored several policy papers, including Women’s Leadership Roles in Afghanistan (with Jennifer Murtazashvili).

Jennifer Murtazashvili is an Assistant Professor at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs. Her research focuses on building political and bureaucratic order in fragile states.

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