Overall Ratings Up This Year
In February 2002, not long after the Taliban were defeated, only about one in four Americans (26%) had a favorable opinion of Afghanistan, while two in three (68%) had an unfavorable view. These ratings showed only modest variations in 2003 and 2004. This year, though, the favorable rating jumped to 40%, although a majority of Americans, 54%, still view the country negatively.
Most Women Unfavorable, Men Divided on Views of Afghanistan
Men and women differ dramatically in their views of Afghanistan, with women more negative than men.
From 2002 through 2004, only about one in five women had a favorable opinion of Afghanistan. This compares with roughly a third of men who rated Afghanistan favorably during that same time. By February 2005, ratings of Afghanistan had improved substantially among men, but only improved marginally among women. Twenty-eight percent of women currently have a favorable opinion of Afghanistan, while 63% have an unfavorable opinion. Men are more divided, but tilt positive with 51% rating the country favorably and 45% unfavorably.
One likely explanation for women's negative ratings of Afghanistan is the way women were treated in that country in the past. Under the Taliban regime, women were not allowed to read, learn, or work, and many were abused and tortured.
Since the end of the Taliban regime, young girls are going to school, and many older women, previously barred from education, are also taking classes. The new Afghanistan constitution calls for women to be represented in the nation's new parliament. In early March, the Afghanistan government appointed its first female provincial governor, Habiba Sarobi, in the Bamiyan province of the country.
Yet even though great strides have been made for Afghan women, many factions continue to oppose equal rights for women, and in many areas of the country -- particularly rural areas -- continue to oppress women.
Women Also Less Favorable Toward Iraq in Recent Years
This gender divide is present not only in ratings of Afghanistan -- a similar pattern is emerging with regard to Iraq. Before the Iraq war started in March 2003, views of Iraq were roughly even among men and women. Fewer than 1 in 10 of both men and women viewed Iraq favorably in 2002 and 2003, while the vast majority of both genders rated the country unfavorably.
Over the past two years, however, ratings of Iraq among all Americans have started to improve, but much more so among men than women. In 2004, 27% of men rated Iraq positively, compared with 16% of women. Currently, 36% of men have a favorable opinion of Iraq, as do only 21% of women.
Bottom Line
Gallup's data on rating of 26 different nations finds relatively few gender differences. The fact that men and women differ in their views of Afghanistan and Iraq suggest that specific conditions in those countries may cause American men and women to view them differently.
*These results are based on telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of 1,008 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted Feb. 7-10, 2005. For results based on this sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum error attributable to sampling and other random effects is ±3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.
