Media, Democracy and Women Empowerment in Fragile States. The Example of Post-Taliban Afghanistan

Seminar paper from the year 2020 in the subject Communications - Media and Politics, Politic Communications, grade: 2,0, University of Erfurt, language: English, abstract: This paper aims to identify the role of media in fragile states like Afghanistan in relation to women's opportunities making use of their rights in a self-determined way, and further how media is influencing the social perception on women's rights regarding different aspects of life. Therefore, this term paper examines how media empowers women in different aspects. The following questions should thus be addressed: To which extent empowers Afghan media Afghan women and how can the media empower Afghan women further? In order to understand the specific situation of women in a fragile state like Afghanistan, it is important to define what makes a state fragile and give a short overview on the current status of women's rights in Afghanistan. In addition to that, the role of women and the importance to involve women in peace-making and -building to establish democratic structures will be outlined. Thereby, the relevance of this work is shown. The research questions posed clearly imply the concept of women empowerment, which is explained in the following section and sets up the categories of analysis for the presented term paper. In the second part of the paper, the theoretical categories of female empowerment through media are analysed using the example of Afghanistan and further discussing current challenges of female empowerment. The paper concludes with an outlook on further possible steps to be taken by media to promote and enforce women's rights and to overcome gender differences.