Antecedentes

Background and Justification:

The Taliban takeover of Kabul on 15 August 2021 has had a seismic impact on Afghanistan. With the ascent of the Taliban, the future of women from all walks of life who have shaped the fabric of the country over the past 20 years, is unknown. The conflict dynamics in the country are multi-layered, and Afghanistan’s people are facing the devastating effects of a protracted conflict, increasing poverty, and natural disasters, all of which are amplified by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the Taliban’s military offensive progressed throughout August, thousands of people fled to Kabul and other urban areas, seeking safety from the conflict and other threats. There are some 5.5 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Afghanistan, and approximately 80 percent of nearly a quarter of a million Afghans forced to flee since the end of May are women and children. 2021 has to date been one of the deadliest years for Afghan women and girls, with more women and more children killed and injured than ever before recorded by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) for the first half of any calendar year.More than 18 million people – fully half of the country’s population – are in need of humanitarian assistance, and almost a third of the country is facing emergency levels of food insecurity compounded by severe drought.

Despite gains on women’s rights achieved over the past 20 years, Afghan women continue to struggle to avail themselves of their rights and to consolidate and advance their progress. In 2019, Afghanistan ranked 166 out of 167 countries on the Gender Development Index, an index designed to measure gender equality in three basic dimensions of human development: health, education, and command over economic resources. Women and girls face barriers to their participation and decision-making in the public, economic, social, and political spheres. These include deeply entrenched patriarchal socio-cultural and traditional norms regarding the role of women; women’s lack of awareness of their rights, linked to low levels of literacy; a lack of access to education and economic opportunities; and harmful traditional practices such as honor killings, underage and forced marriages, and discrimination in public and private sector services delivery.

What progress has been achieved on the advancement of gender equality in Afghanistan in the past decades is now at risk of being erased - and at worst regressed. The Taliban have not yet articulated their vision for women’s rights and protection, 

stating only that “women’s rights will be protected under Islamic principles”. The Taliban military offensive has been marked by unlawful restrictions on the human rights of women and girls. There have been reports that Afghan women and girls are already seeing restrictions on their access to health and education, freedom of movement, and freedom of expression. In a statement issued on 16 August 2021, just before the fall of Ashraf Ghani’s government, UN human rights experts warned that reports from almost half of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces show that the majority of women are experiencing the same rights violations as 20 years ago under the control of the Taliban.

Many women human rights defenders and public officials who have been targeted or threatened by the Taliban now fear for their lives, and many are trying to get emergency visas and flights out of the country, though currently unable to due to the closure of the airport. The deterioration of security is adversely impacting the ability of women and girls to access life-saving services and realize their rights. The Taliban as de-facto authorities are using their armed fighters to maintain “law and order” in the country, but the corresponding frameworks and lines of command are unclear. Amidst the resulting security vacuum, there is a heightened risk of increased activity of other armed groups, such as the Islamic State Khorasan Province (IS-K) in the country.

The current security vacuum and instability in the country exacerbate pre-existing patterns of discrimination against women and girls, exposing them to heightened risks of violations of their human rights. Looking at the Taliban’s actions on the ground, two aspects are clear: (i) Oppressive gender roles are central to their governance vision and its implementation; and (ii) there is a direct link between the Taliban assuming control of a district and the imposition of rules that negatively impact the rights of women and girls and severely limit their access to protection, health, and education services.

In the context of a rapidly changing Afghanistan, there is a need to produce rapid gender analysis to leverage and optimize policy windows, as well guide UN Women’s engagement framework and operational priorities strategic framework and when they emerge, with the aim of ensuring that the international community does not compromise on or subordinate women’s rights to other agendas. Given the volatility of the context, a retainer expert is needed to support UN Women Afghanistan providing evidence-based analytical advice and products that draw on comparative examples.

Deberes y responsabilidades

Rapid gender analysis and advisory support:

• Rapid analysis on topics relevant to peace, security and humanitarian context in Afghanistan—at request of ACO;
• Develop think pieces, policy briefs, and other documents – for internal and external audiences – to prompt critical discussion on the status of women’s rights in Afghanistan, bringing in evidence and comparative perspectives in analysis;
• Review of strategies/documents/briefs/reports/proposals at request of ACO, including gender analysis of non-gender focused documents (such as UN system wide-planning document);
• Support UN Women (including through workshops, reflection sessions, think pieces) to develop its strategic vision and engagement opportunities and optimally operationalize its mandate in the current political context in Afghanistan
• Support the drafting and development of evidence-based lines of argumentation, negotiation and talking points to support UN Women’s positioning with the UN-system and work more broadly;
• Synthesize and summarize the evidence-based on related to topics relevant to peace, security, and the humanitarian context in Afghanistan—at the request of ACO;
• Provide high-level strategic advice, drawing on evidence related to WPS, and lessons from other contexts, on navigating entry points to advance WPS;
• Design and facilitate high-level meetings/workshops/consultations relevant to the peace, security and humanitarian context in Afghanistan;
• Design processes to bring together women leaders – inside and outside of Afghanistan – to influence policy discussions related to the future of Afghanistan;
• Other advice and analysis, as needed, to support ACO to respond to windows of opportunity to advance women’s rights and gender equality.

Objective: Provide rapid analysis and advice with the view to secure a more gender-responsive approach of the international community, including UN Women’s strategic priorities vis-à-vis Afghanistan.

Timeline:  The duration of this assignment will be a maximum of 50 days over a period of 12 months (November 2021 –October 2022).

Competencias

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

Competencies

Essential Knowledge and experience:

• Excellent grasp of substantive gender equality and women, peace and security issues relevant to peace processes
• Substantive experience in conducting research and writing for international organizations on women, peace and security. Specific experience on women’s meaningful participation in peace processes is an added value.   
• Excellent writing skills. Strong publication record on issues including gender equality and women, peace and security. 

Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling the United Nations' values and ethical standards;
• Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of the UN and UN Women;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Ability and willingness to work as part of a team to meet tight deadlines and produce high quality work.
• Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies: http://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-employment-values-and-competencies-definitions-en.pdf

Functional Competencies

• Excellent program formulation, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation skills
• Ability to develop detailed operational plans, budgets, and deliver on them
• Excellent knowledge of Results-Based Management
• Strong writing skills and ability to synthesize program performance data and produce analytical reports to inform management and strategic decision-making
• Strong organization skills and ability to pay close attention to detail;
• Strong policy analysis experience and knowledge of WPS;
• Ability to lead the formulation of strategies and their implementation
• Strong networking skills
• Ability to negotiate and interact with donors, identify and analyze trends, opportunities and threats to fundraising

Habilidades y experiencia requeridas

Education and certification:

• A Master’s degree or equivalent in conflict prevention and peacebuilding programming, gender/women's studies, international development, or a related field is required.

Experience:

• At least 15 years progressively responsible experience in conflict prevention and peacebuilding programming, training and analysis with significant experience mainstreaming gender into analysis and planning processes.
• Experience working in the UN and multilateral organizations in conflict and post-conflict contexts.
• Experience across multiple conflict-affected contexts working in the area of women, peace and security. Particular experience of working in /on Afghanistan is preferred
• Extensive knowledge of the UN system, particularly in relation to peace and security and humanitarian response.
• Demonstrated experience and knowledge of working on a range of women, peace, and security themes including human rights, sanctions, Islamic jurisprudence, and women rights.  
• Experience designing processes to bring diverse women leaders together to influence international policy processes.
• Experience working with multiple partners within the UN Country Team.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English. Additional official UN language is considered an asset. 
• Ability to work independently and deliver on tight timelines.
• Outstanding partnership skills, particularly with civil society and government stakeholders.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English is required

• Additional UN language is an asset.