A clear majority of Finns felt sad about the situation of women and girls living in Afghanistan under the Taliban, according to a study commissioned by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
According to a study by the Economic Survey, 86 percent of respondents liked the situation of women in Afghanistan either "somewhat" or "completely" sad.
The survey, conducted at the end of August, involved some 1,200 people as international forces, diplomats and others evacuated a war-torn country, leaving the Taliban in power, raising fears about the uncertain future of Afghan women and girls. .
According to the survey, about 75 percent of respondents partially or completely agreed that Finland should provide emergency aid to Afghanistan, such as food, shelter, and water.
On the other hand, only 39 per cent answered that they agreed to some extent or completely that Finland should immediately invest in long-term development programs in Afghanistan. Forty-two percent of women and 31 percent of men supported such goals.
The party is divided
Questionnaire responses often varied by party. About 79 per cent of supporters of the Greens supported the immediate resumption of development programs in Afghanistan, while only 10 per cent of supporters of the opposition party supported the idea.
About two thirds of the respondents considered development program co-operation to be very or quite important, but at the same time a quarter answered that they have a more negative attitude towards Finland in providing such support.
Among the supporters of various parliamentary parties, the most critical of Finland’s offer of aid to Afghanistan were loyal to the Basic Finns and the Movement Now party – 70 per cent said that they did not support or were indifferent to aid measures.
About 80% of the supporters of the Greens and 70% of the Left Alliance considered development cooperation to be very important.
Good but ineffective
Most of the respondents to the survey said that they believed that Finland’s development cooperation during the 20 years spent in Afghanistan had improved the position of women and girls there.
The Ministry noted that while many respondents considered Finland’s efforts to reduce poverty and inequality, most did not consider development programs to be effective or efficient.
"We need to listen carefully to this concern and make sure that people get enough information about our work and its effectiveness in the future. For example, protracted conflicts and disasters may raise doubts as to whether we will be able to achieve sustainable results at all. From our own monitoring, we know that we have achieved results," Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade, Ville Skinnari (SDP), said in a statement.
The Ministry will submit a report to Parliament on the effectiveness and results of Finland’s development co-operation next autumn.
A total of 1,173 people from all over Finland participated in the survey conducted through online panels and personal interviews. According to the ministry, the margin of error in both directions was 2.7 percent.