Access to education for all children around the world is supported by international
human rights conventions. Despite this broad endorsement, some international
actors wonder whether promoting access to education for girls may conflict with
dominant local attitudes, values, or customs. Using stratified survey data and
complementary qualitative interview data, this study explores why parents in
Uruzgan, Afghanistan, choose to send their boys and girls to school, what prevents
them from doing so, and what kinds of normative tensions emerge during this
process. First, our data show that placing value on their boys’ education is not
enough to prompt parents to enroll them in school; parents also must perceive
that educating their boys will have future returns, thus prioritizing pragmatic
assessments over normative value. However, those who send both boys and girls to
school are more likely to prioritize the value of education. Second, our data show
that parents who report experiencing or having personal knowledge of a higher
number of attacks against education are less likely to send their children to school.
Finally, our data show that normative struggles over girls’ education take place
primarily within the local community and society, rather than between foreign
organizations and the local population.