Students’ perceptions of gender equality: A case study of a conflict-stricken country

Abstract The study investigated undergraduate students’ perceptions of gender equality, their practices and perceived strategies to promote gender equality in Afghanistan. It also examined the impact of the participants’ gender on their responses. The authors used an online questionnaire to collect data from 448 students using snowball sampling technique. They used descriptive and inferential statistics to analyze the data. The findings showed that the majority of the participants had favorable perceptions about gender equality, and an overwhelming majority disagreed with the traditional notion of “women belong in the kitchen and men belong at the office”. They used various practices to varying extent to promote gender equality in their communities (e.g. advocacy for gender equality). They suggested a number of strategies to promote gender equality in Afghanistan (e.g. integration of gender equality in education). Furthermore, the participants’ gender had a significant impact on their perceptions of gender equality. Female students had stronger perceptions about gender equality than their male counterparts did; they used a number of practices more frequently than males to promote gender equality. Compared to their male counterparts, female students were also more aware of roles of men, mullahs, education and awareness programs in promotion of gender equality in society.

Sayeed Naqibullah Orfan is a senior lecturer in the Department of English at Takhar University, Taloqan City, Afghanistan. He has a master's degree in applied linguistics and a TESOL certificate from Montclair State University, New Jersey, USA. He is a Fulbright scholar and an advocate for gender equality in Afghanistan. He has advocated for gender equality in Afghanistan through his writings and works. He has published over 25 research studies in academic journals and served as an ad hoc reviewer for a number of academic journals. His areas of research are language and gender, learning in higher education, student development, student engagement, student-centered learning, and outcomes-based education. Safeerullah Samady is an English instructor and has been teaching English in various institutions for over four years. He is also a translator and worked for several NGOs (nongovernmental organizations in Takhar Province, Afghanistan. He obtained his bachelor's degree in English language and literature from Takhar University, Afghanistan. His research interests are English as a foreign language, English as a second language, gender in textbooks, gender issues and use of technology in language classrooms.

PUBLIC INTEREST STATEMENT
The research explored views of university students' perceptions about gender equality, what practices they used to promote gender equality in their communities as well as their perceived strategies to promote gender equality in Afghanistan. An online questionnaire was used to collect data from 448 students, who were majoring in various fields in various universities based in the northeast and central parts of Afghanistan. The findings showed that most of the participants believed in gender equality and they disagreed with the traditional idea of 'women belong in the kitchen and men belong at the office'. They used certain practices to promote gender equality in their communities, such as advocating for gender equality. They suggested various strategies to promote gender equality in Afghanistan. For instance, they suggested that gender equality should be integrated in teaching and learning materials. Female students had stronger perceptions about gender equality than male students did. had a significant impact on their perceptions of gender equality. Female students had stronger perceptions about gender equality than their male counterparts did; they used a number of practices more frequently than males to promote gender equality. Compared to their male counterparts, female students were also more aware of roles of men, mullahs, education and awareness programs in promotion of gender equality in society.

Introduction
Gender equality has not been realized in many countries, particularly in countries like Afghanistan where social, cultural and tribal practices and norms have limited equal opportunities for women in all aspects of life including education. Before 2001, people especially women were stripped of all their rights, particularly during the Taliban. As part of their cultural ideology and resistance, the Taliban (1996Taliban ( -2001 used gender inequality to further their agenda in Afghanistan (Samar et al., 2014). They ruled the country by their own hardline and fanatic interpretations of Sharia (Islamic rulings), which are highly intertwined with their tribal values and norms (Ahmadi, 2022). They denied public, social and cultural life of people. They harshly punished those who voiced their concerns about sufferings going on in the country let alone challenging their draconian unwritten laws. They banned girls and women from attending schools and universities. Millions of people were driven into poverty and millions especially girls and women were left uneducated (HRW, 2017;Maizland & Laub, 2014;Noori et al., 2023;Orfan & Feng, 2021;Roof, 2014).
Following the collapse of the Taliban regime and the involvement of the international community in 2001, Afghanistan made gradual but important progresses with regard to gender equality. The 2004 constitution ensured women of all types of rights, as the article 22 reads, " . . . The citizens of Afghanistan, woman and man, have equal rights and duties before the law (Afghan Const. art. 22). The political dispensation along with the international aids led to socio-economic growth in the country, which resulted in improvement in women's social and economic status (Allen & Felbab-Brown, 2020). Female students accounted for around 40% of student population in general stream schools and 34% of schoolteachers were female in 2016 (Asadullah et al., 2019). A large growing number of female students have graduated from higher education institutions since 2001. The number of female students in higher education institutions rose from zero in 2001 to 101,763 in 2019, and the number of female professors increased from zero to around 2439 in both public and prviate higher education institutions (MoHE, 2020;Orfan, 2022). Female literacy stood at 30% in 2019, while it was 6% in 2001 (UIL, 2020).
Around 3,135 functional health facilities were providing medical services for around 87% of the population in 2018 compared to the Taliban time during whose regime medical services were almost nonexistent for women (WHO, 2019). Women's life expectancy increased from 58 in 2000 to 67 years in 2020 (WB, 2022). Maternal mortality fell from 1,100 per 100,000 live births in 2000 to 396 per 100,000 in 2015 (Alkema et al., 2016). Women made up 21% of civil servants, 16% of whom were working in senior management levels in 2020 (Akseer & Swift, 2020). After 2001, women were provided with unprecedented opportunities in political activities in Afghanistan (Sopko, 2021). They accounted for 27% of representation in the parliament of Afghanistan (Mehta & Seth, 2021;Tariq et al., 2021) in 2021, which was greater than the number of female parliamentarians in neighboring countries (India, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan). However, Afghanistan is still one of the countries where gender inequality is remarkably widespread in all aspects. It ranked the last out of 156 countries in the Global Gender Gap Index (WEF, 2021) and 169 out of 189 countries in United Nations' Gender Inequality Index (UNDP, 2021). Moreover, Afghanistan ranked one of the ten lowest countries out of 120 in Social Institution and Gender Index, which measures discrimination against women (SIGI, 2021). Many hoped that Afghanistan would continue to make more significant progresses with respect to gender equality in years to come. However, the reemergence of the Taliban in August 2021 shattered all the hopes. Since August 2021, the Taliban have ruled Afghanistan based on their strict interpretations of Sharia, which are highly intertwined with their tribal values and practices. They have restricted women's social, economic and political life; banned girls from going to secondary and high schools and segregated classes at universities  and more recently they banned women from attending university; banned imports of books (Rahmani & Singh, 2022); tortured, persecuted and executed 1000s of people (HRW, 2021a(HRW, , 2021b(HRW, , 2022a(HRW, , 2022b; fired 100 thousands of civil servants and drove millions into poverty, and many more. The government and institutions involved in promoting gender equality in Afghanistan failed to capitalize on gender equality in education. Gender inequality is embedded in curriculum and learning materials of schools and it will be significantly exacerbated in all aspects if the Taliban regime persists. For instance, Orfan (2021) revealed that school textbooks were significantly biased towards women. Women were portrayed in a limited number of social roles. With the support of the international organizations (e.g., World Bank), the Ministry of Higher Education initiated various programs (e.g., establishing gender office in each university) to promote gender equality. However, they fell short of incorporating gender equality issues in higher education institutions curricula. The current study examines university undergraduate students' perceptions of gender equality.

Literature review
Gender equality refers to the concept that women, men, girls and boys have equal access to resources, opportunities and power in all aspects of life including education, politics, economy, health, religion, family life and employment (Abendroth, 2014;Coskun & Ozdilek, 2012;Kavuran, 2018;Ruth Eikhof, 2012;Tekbas & Pola, 2020). UNICEF (2017) defines gender equality as "The concept that women and men, girls and boys have equal conditions, treatment and opportunities for realizing their full potential, human rights and dignity, and for contributing to (and benefitting from) economic, social, cultural and political development." Gender equality indicates that women and men are partners at home and society, and their rights, responsibilities, opportunities and potentials are not determined based on their sex at birth. It also implies that women's and men's needs, wants, and priorities are taken into account, and they are free to make their choices without any restrictions. Gender equality is a prerequisite and measurement for sustainable development in a society (Lamptey et al., 2015;UNICEF, 2017). Subrahmanian (2005) asserts that equality of treatment and opportunity is important for realization of gender equality, which ensures two crucial things. On the one hand, it ensures that all social norms, which value contributions and entitlements of one gender group more than the other, are eliminated. On the other hand, it ensures that social actors have the commitment to eradicate prejudices and stereotypes that promote unequal access of men and women to resources, opportunities and power.
Gender equality is a multifaceted phenomenon, which has challenged practices, norms and policies around the world for decades. Countries have developed policies and taken affirmative actions and initiatives to promote gender equality in their nations. Nevertheless, women around the world particularly from underdeveloped and developing countries continue to suffer from gender biases and discrimination (Kenschaft et al., 2015). UNDP (2015) considered gender inequality as the most "observable discrimination" and asserted that imbalances between gender groups continued to be conspicuous, which were a reflection of local traditions, values and cultural norms. Gender equality is a heated issue in Islamic countries where local cultures and belief systems have played a crucial part in defining gender roles and practices. They, in turn, have led to gender inequality.
Women had an active role in public in early Islam. They were present in battlegrounds and conducted their own businesses. They had leading roles in public institutions; they were governors, rulers, and heads of states. Islamic scholars argue that this is the evidence that Islam does not prevent women from participation in the public, and it does not discriminate against individuals based on their gender (Ahmed, 1992;Mernissi, 1993). However, norms and practices in Islamic countries particularly in underdeveloped ones are biased towards women and perpetuate gender inequality in these societies (S. Shah, 2017). For instance, it is a taboo to call women by their given names in public in Afghanistan (Akramy & Aiyaz, 2022). This absurd practice takes away women's basic identity. According to Esposito (2011), the main source of these practices is high rate of illiteracy, low level of education, low economic development and patriarchal interpretation of religious texts as Wadud (2006) asserts that men have interpreted religious texts in their favors and used them to subjugate women.
The case is more severe in Afghanistan, where extremist religious factions have taken advantage of superficial interpretations of Islamic teachings and rulings to subjugate people particularly women. For instance, the Taliban's interpretations of Islamic teachings are heavily influenced by their tribal values and norms that attach little or no significance to women's participation in public and discourages any economic and political activities by women outside home (Gibbon, 2021;Qadeer, 2014). Rahim (2021) argues "The thousand years old Pashtunwali advocates a limited input of women in the politics in Pashtun society." S. W. A. Shah (1998) asserted that gold, land and woman accounted for the major causes of enmity and tribal fights in Pashtunwali code of conduct. This code of conduct does not only bar women from public life, but it also objectifies women along with gold and land. It is extremely hard for women in such society to actively participate in public unless they walk past many barriers (e.g., family, tribe, society), which is highly risky (Rahim, 2021).
A small number of studies explored university students' perspectives about gender equality particularly in Islamic countries. Acar-Erdol et al. (2019) investigated school of education students' perspectives about gender equality in Turkey. They used a questionnaire to collect data from 1,417 students from 12 universities. They used inferential statistics to analyze their data. The results showed that students were not aware of gender equality and they had relatively negative attitudes towards gender equality. The participants' gender had a significant impact on their responses. Male students believed that men were superior to women and that women were dependent on men. Moreover, English Department students were of more egalitarian perspectives about gender than students majoring in other fields (e.g., Turkish Language). Moreover, their findings showed that parents' education had impacted students' view of gender equality. The higher the parents' education especially that of mother was, the more aware the students were about gender equality. Jebli et al. (2021) investigated Moroccan management students' perceptions of gender equality. They analyzed visual aids used by 33 students for their group presentations. They also carried out focus group discussions on the implications of students' choice of visual aids on gender equality in Morocco. The findings showed that male figures dominated visual aids in students' presentation, which may reinforce gender stereotypes and power gap. Moreover, the participants did not realize how their use of visual aids might have a negative message with regard to gender equality in the workplace. Similarly, Nkosi and Mulaudzi (2017) examined South African university students' perceptions of gender equality. They used semi-structured interviews to collect data from 10 students who were selected through convenience sampling technique. They used thematic analysis to analyze their data. The findings showed that most of their participants understood the concept of gender equality; however, they did not put it into practice in their family, community and society. Rabia et al. (2019) explored university students' perspectives about gender inequality in Pakistan. They used a survey questionnaire to collect data from 357 students who were pursuing their bachelor's degree in various fields in Government Murray College Sialkot based in Punjab Pakistan. They used descriptive and inferential statistics to analyze their data. Most of the participants believed that gender inequality was widespread in Pakistan, and women were discriminated against based on their gender. They also believed that one major reason for gender inequality was the fact that parents discriminated against their daughters at home. They valued their sons more than their daughters.
As far as the authors are concerned, no studies have examined university students' perspectives about gender equality in conflict-stricken countries like Afghanistan. The international organizations and the government of Afghanistan took some initiatives to promote gender equality in Afghanistan in the last two decades . However, enough attention to gender equality was not paid in education. For instance, Orfan (2023) found that gender inequality was substantially prevalent in school textbooks. The study provides insights about university students' perspectives of gender equality, which might be of significance for higher education institutions. The findings of the study may be used by higher education institutions to develop effective mechanisms and strategies to raise students' awareness about gender equality. It may, in turn, help promote gender equality in the workplace since today's students are future employers and employees. The study examines undergraduate students' perceptions of gender equality, their practices to promote gender equality in their communities, their perceived strategies to promote gender equality in Afghanistan and differences in participants' responses by their gender.

Participants
Participants of the study were 448 undergraduate students who were studying in 10 higher education institutions based in the north and center of Afghanistan. They were majoring in various fields of study in various schools (e.g., engineering, medicine, sharia, law, education, economy, language and literature, and agriculture). They were between 18 and 25 years old at the time of the study. Female students constituted 40% of the participants, while 60% of them were male students. Two major reasons accounted for lower number of female participants. The number of female students at higher education institutions decreased when the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan collapsed in August 2021, and it continued to decrease due to Taliban's repressive restrictions on women's participation in higher education until they completely banned women from attending university in late 2022. Furthermore, the authors believe that more male students had access to smartphones and the Internet than female students did at the time of the study.

Instrument
A survey questionnaire was used to collect data. Focus group discussions (FGD) were used to develop items for the questionnaire. Eight students were randomly selected for the FGD from Takhar University. One of the authors was a lecturer at Takhar University and the other was a senior student at the time of the study; therefore, it was convenient for them to choose the participants for the FGD from Takhar University. The authors conducted the FGD at a prearranged time and place. The participants were required to read and sign a consent letter before starting the discussion. The purpose of the consent letter was to explain the purpose of the FGD and to inform them that their participation was voluntary. The following and follow-up questions were used in the FGD.
(1) What do you think of gender equality?
(2) What practices have you used to promote gender equality in your community?
(3) What are some strategies to promote gender equality in Afghanistan?
One of the authors was taking notes while the students were discussing the questions. 18 items of the questionnaire were developed out of the output of the FGD. They identified 12 items from the relevant literature (i.e., Ersoz, 2012; Jha et al., 2020; Rabia et al., 2019; Sridharan, 2018). The questionnaire made up of four sections. The first section inquired the participants' demographic information (i.e., gender, age, field of study, university). The second part with 12 items asked the participants' responses about their perceptions of gender equality on a 5-point Likert Scale (1 = strongly disagree; 2 = disagree 3 = undecided; 4 = agree; 5 = strongly agree). The third part with 10 items asked the participants to describe their practices with respect to gender equality on a 5-point Likert Scale (Never = 1; rarely = 2; sometimes; 3; usually, = 4; always = 5). The last part with 8 items sought the participants' responses about strategies to promote gender equality on a 5-point Likert Scale (1 = strongly disagree; 2 = disagree 3 = undecided; 4 = agree; 5 = strongly agree).

Procedure
The researchers used Google Form to design the questionnaire online. Snowball sampling was used to collect data for the study. The link of the questionnaire was shared with students in various universities, and were requested to take part in the study. They were also requested to share the link of the questionnaire with their classmates and friends, who were a student in an institution of higher education in the north and center of Afghanistan. The link of the questionnaire was also shared with lecturers in various higher education institutions and they were requested to share the link with their students to take part in the study. Moreover, the link was shared on virtual groups on social networking sites (e.g., Facebook) and messaging applications (e.g., WhatsApp) with hundreds of student members. The study was available online for a period of one and a half months, April 15 -30 May 2022. The participants were required to read the consent statement and express their agreement by checking a box before proceeding to complete the questionnaire. They were requested to read the instructions and complete the questionnaire.

Analysis
The data were downloaded as an excel sheet and they were inspected to ensure that all the participants were studying in higher education institutions based in Afghanistan at the time of the study. Five questionnaires were removed from further analysis because they were completed by Afghanistan students who were studying in other countries (e.g., India, Turkey). The data were numerically coded on an excel sheet and imported to SPSS version 26.0 for further analysis. Descriptive statistics were used to find out frequency, mean and standard deviation of the data. Inferential statistics (Independent Samples T-test) were used to examine the differences between two groups.

Students' perceptions of gender equality
The authors used descriptive analysis to explore students' perceptions of gender equality. Around 72% agreed and strongly agreed with the overall equality of women and men (Table 1). Four statements sought the participants' views about equality of rights and opportunities. 95% believed in equal education opportunities, while 75% believed in equal job opportunities for women and men. Around 90% stated that women and men should have equal access to social services, while 65% believed in equality of political rights for women and men. Three items focused on gender domestic roles. Almost 70% stated that men and women should do the housework equally and 95% believed in equal say of mother and father in family matters. About 33% stated that a woman was for home and a man was for outside. Less than 30% agreed and strongly agreed with the statements that sought their responses about gender equality being a western phenomenon, non-Islamic and against the culture of Afghanistan. Only did 9% believe that women's rights were observed in Afghanistan.

Students' practices towards gender equality
The authors utilized descriptive statistics to examine what practices students used to promote gender equality in their communities. As Table 2 shows, the participants almost always gave equal importance to people (m = 4.43) and treated them equally (m = 421) irrespective of their gender. The participants usually raised their voice about different treatments of people based on their gender (m = 3.61), supported women candidates (m = 3.43) and talked about gender equality (m = 3.44). Other practices received a mean score of less than 3. That is, they sometimes advocated for gender equality, participated in gender equality events, challenged people with opposing ideas, posted and discussed gender equality issues with their friends on social networking sites.

Perceived strategies to promote gender equality in Afghanistan
Descriptive analyses were used to examine students' pereceived strategies to promote gender equality in Afghanistan. Over 80% believed that men should support women to rejuvenate their rights (m = 4.37), Mullahs should help to promote gender equality (m = 4.11) and the government should adopt necessary actions for gender equality promotion (m = 4.17) ( Table 3). Around 92% and 85% of them suggested awareness programs (m = 4.13) and campaigns (m = 4.13) to promote gender equality in the country, respectively. Moreover, 69% suggested house-to-house campaigns (m = 3.82). Over 85% suggested integration of gender equality in curricula (4.26) and providing more educational opportunities for women m = 4.30).

Differences between participants by gender
The researchers used independent samples T-test to explore the differences in participants' responses by their gender. As Table 4 shows, female students' mean score for all the positive items are greater than that of male students. Their mean score for all the negative statements is lower than that of male students. Furthermore, the p-value (0.000) for all the items is less than the alpha level (0.05), which indicates statistical significance. That is, female students are more aware of and in favor of gender equality than their male counterparts are. Furthermore, the T-test was used to examine the differences in students' practices by their gender. The p-value for three practices (i.e., giving equal importance, participating in gender equality events and treating people of all gender equally) is greater than the alpha level (0.05) (Table 4), which does not signify statistical significance. On the other hand, the p-value for seven practices is less than the alpha level (0.05). That is, female students used these seven practices (e.g., supporting women candidates, talking about gender equality with friends and participation in gender equality events) more frequently than male students to promote gender equality. In addition, the authors utilized T-test to explore the differences in students' perceived strategies to promote gender equality in the country. As Table 4 shows, the mean score of female students' responses to all strategies is larger than that of male students. Furthermore, the p-value for all the statements is greater than the alpha level (0.05), which shows significance. Compared to male participants, female students believed that these strategies would promote gender equality in Afghanistan.

Discussion
The current research examined undergraduate students' perceptions of gender equality, their practices and perceived strategies to promote gender equality in Afghanistan. The results showed that the majority of the participants believed in overall equality of women and men. They had differing views when it came to equality of rights and opportunities. Equal education opportunities and equal access to social services received the highest support followed by equal job opportunities. However, equal political rights received the least support. Their views about domestic gender roles are of significance. A small fraction of them believed that women were for the home and men were for the outside. Most of the participants stated that father and mother should have equal say in family issues, and they should do the housework equally. Furthermore, a small percentage agreed with the fact that gender equality was a western and non-Islamic phenomenon as well as against the culture of Afghanistan. These findings are in line with those of Nkosi and Mulaudzi (2017) who reported that South African university students understood the concept of gender equality, but they did not practice them.
The authors believe that various factors can account for these positive perceptions. In the last two decades , classes in almost all higher education institutions were co-ed, which were the only places particularly in remote provinces where girls and boys had opportunities to interact and exchange ideas with one another (Orfan & Niazi, 2021). A large number of university lecturers obtained their master's or PhD from overseas and most of them incorporated gender equality issues in their teaching practices (e.g., grouping female and male students together). Foreign movies and TV series in which women and men are given various social and domestic roles were extensively broadcasted in Afghanistan. The presence of women on TV channels screens and radios was significant, and women were very active in all sectors. Furthermore, a large number of people particularly the youths had access to social networking sites (e.g., Instagram and Facebook) in Afghanistan. A very small number of the participants believed that women's rights were observed in Afghanistan. This can be accounted for by the fact that the Taliban have taken away almost all opportunities from women since the handover of the country to them in August 2021, prior to which women actively participated in all sectors including politics, business and media in Afghanistan (Allen & Felbab-Brown, 2020). Girls are still not allowed to attend secondary and high schools. Women are not allowed to work in offices and their mobility has been utterly restricted. They are forced to cover head-to-toe when they leave home. Classes at universities are segregated and a large number of restrictions are imposed on female students (e.g., covering head-to-toe and not interacting with male lecturers)  and more recently they were banned from attending university Draconian restrictions have been placed on women journalists. They are forced to cover their face when they appear on screens and they are banned from interaction with their male colleagues.
The results showed that the participants used various practices to varying extent to promote gender equality in their communities. They always used passive and low-risk practices (i.e., giving equal importance and treating people equally irrespective of their gender). The participants usually used three high-risk practices (i.e., raising their voice when someone was treated differently due to their gender, supporting women candidates and talking about gender equality). They also sometimes used advocacy, participation in gender equality programs and challenging people with opposing views to promote gender equality. Moreover, the participants sometimes used social networking sites to post about and discuss gender equality issues with their friends, which corroborates the findings by Orfan and Niazi (2021) who found that young people in Afghanistan used social networking sites to post about public and political issues and to discuss them with their friends.
The participants were aware of the roles men, Mullahs and the government can play to promote gender equality in Afghanistan. The large majority suggested the involvement of men and Mullahs and the adoption of necessary actions by the government to promote gender equality. It can be explained by the fact that Afghanistan is a patriarchal country where bringing critical changes without involving men is almost impossible as Flood (2015) argued that men should be involved in work on gender equality since they are "both part of the problem and part of the solution". Moreover, Afghanistan is a religious and traditional country where Mullahs are very influential and can play a crucial role in bringing changes to their communities. Furthermore, the participants realized the significance of education on promotion of gender equality. The overwhelming majority suggested the integration of gender equality in school and university curricula and providing more education opportunities for women. This finding resonates with that of Lamptey et al. (2015) who suggested inclusion of gender equality in curricula and its integration in teacher education programs. The participants also suggested awareness programs, online, offline and house-tohouse campaigns to promote gender equality in the country. It is on par with the study of Tavdgiridze et al. (2021) who suggested awareness programs on gender equality. The respondents' gender had a significant impact on their perceptions, practices and perceived strategies to promote gender equality. Female students were more gender egalitarian than male students were. More female students were in favor of equality of rights and opportunities as well as equal domestic and social roles. For instance, 84% of female students believed that women and men should have equal political rights, while 52% of male students believed so. Around half of male students agreed with the idea of "women at home and men in the workplace" while 14% of female students had such a belief. This finding is consistent with studies by Ramos-Galarza et al. (2018) and Okonkwo (2013) who reported that gender significantly affected perceptions of gender equality, with women being more favorable towards it.
When it comes to practices to promote gender equality, female and male students were not different in their use of low-risk practices (i.e., giving equal importance and treating people equally regardless of gender as well as participating in gender equality programs). However, they were significantly different as to active and high-risk practices (e.g., advocating for gender equality, supporting women candidates). Female students used high-risk strategies more frequently than male students did. Moreover, female students used social networking sites more frequently than male students to post about and discuss gender equality issues with friends. In addition, there were significant differences between male and female students' perceived strategies to promote gender equality. Female students were more aware of the role of men, Mullahs, government, campaigns and education in promoting gender equality than male students were.
The authors believe that several factors may account for these gender differences. In the last two decades, there were countless opportunities for women of Afghanistan, some of which were facilitated through gender equality programs. These opportunities brought dramatic changes not just to women' life but to their families as well (Sopko, 2021). Women know how impactful gender equality is for individuals, families and society relative to men. On the other hand, Afghanistan men may feel that gender equality issues have nothing to do with them and it may not benefit them. Men particularly those from underdeveloped countries may not strongly support gender equality issues since they feel that they may lose their entitlements, as argued by Chant and Gutmann (2000). Furthermore, traditional practices and gender stereotypes are still prevalent in the country particularly in remote areas, which may hinder men to advocate for gender equality.

Conclusion
The findings showed that the majority of the participants were in favor of gender equality, and they used a number of practices to promote it in their communities. It is one of the major hard-won achievements of Afghanistan in the last two decades, which is at high risk of erosion if the Taliban (the most misogynistic group) continue to control the country. Currently, there are no hopes for any actions to promote gender equality in Afghanistan particularly in education since the Taliban have banned girls from attending secondary and high schools and girls and women from attending universities (as of 15 June 2023). They have vowed to Talibanize school and higher education institution curricula. However, if possible, the study suggests integration of gender equality in Afghanistan school and university curricula as research found a positive correlation between inclusion of gender equality issues in curricula and positive attitudes towards gender equality. School and university teachers should be trained on how to incorporate gender equality issues in and use gender inclusive language in their teaching practices and classrooms. Furthermore, student unions on campuses should be encouraged and supported to conduct awareness campaigns on gender equality and its positive consequences for society.
The authors used an online questionnaire to collect data from students of universities mainly based in the north and center of Afghanistan. It may not be generalizable to students of universities based in the south of Afghanistan, which is the birthplace of the Taliban and where gender stereotypes and traditional practices are substantially pervasive. Furthermore, all the participants had access to the Internet and social networking sites. It may not be generalizable to students without access to the Internet. Further studies with a larger sample from various higher education institutions based in different parts of the country are required to gain a deeper insight about students' views of gender equality. Furthermore, future studies can focus on the role of CDCs (Community Development Councils) in promotion of gender equality in Afghanistan. The CDCs were created in villages throughout Afghanistan in the last two decades to provide a democratic local administration with strong women participation.