Development of a Survey-based Women Empowerment Index for Afghanistan (SWEIA): An Explanatory Analyses of the Afghanistan Demographic Health Survey 2015

Abstract

Abstract Background Although there are several scales to measure women empowerment, the multidimensionality of women empowerment introduced enormous challenges in the quantification and comparability of the results across different contexts. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to develop a country-specific index to measure women's empowerment in Afghanistan. Methods The data from the 2015 Afghanistan demographic health survey (ADHS) was used for the analysis. The dataset was randomly divided into two samples‒one for exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and the other for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA)‒ of women aged 15–49 years. The data on 26 variables across different domains (labor force participation, attitude toward violence, decision-making, access to healthcare, literacy, age at critical life events, and property-owning) were used in EFA to probe the underlying domains in the data. CFA examines the structural validity of hypothesized factors in EFA. Results The final model included 22 indicators across seven domains including labor force participation, attitude toward violence, decision-making, access to healthcare, literacy, age at critical life events, and property-owning. Discussion The index developed in this study shares a common ground for future research concerning Afghan women empowerment and its associated outcomes such as intimate partner violence, reproductive and maternity outcomes, and child health; thus, enhancing the comparability of the results. In addition, having a standard index for women empowerment at the individual and country level could help assess the progress and efforts that have been made to achieve gender equality (SDG 5), and guide the direction of future policies and interventions.