Although the issue of women's participation in development is important in all countries, it is perhaps unusually important in the case of Afghanistan. The position which women should occupy in the public life of the society has been the subject of contention over many years; and the dislocation of much of the population as a result of civil strife during the late 1970s and 1980s has only heightened the urgency of resolving this question in a manner ensuring equial opportunities for all Afghan people.