15 officials and people with knowledge of Afghan customs and traditions connected to women’s daily life. To further reinforce the findings of the project, 24 in-depth interviews were carried out with individuals possessing a greater degree of expertise on, and affiliation with, the targeted social groupings. The findings of the project, including recommendations for each five categories (family, religious establishment, public sphere, market place and culture and tradition) in each region were shared with local actors through a provincially held referendum. Referendum participants, which included senior government officials, in large part endorsed the project findings and committed to incorporating the recommendations in their policies and programs. 6 The cumulative findings of the report from the five regions are presented briefly in the following sections. 4. Key Findings 4.1 Women and the Religious Institutions The Mullahs play the most important role in structuring and influencing the direction of the current life of Afghan citizens. They have deep roots in the local communities and control the most important local institutions - the madrasas and the mosques. There are no other institutions at the grassroots level in Afghanistan as powerful and as far reaching in the daily life of the people as the religious institutions. A local mullah, critical of his peers’ role eloquently sums it up: ‘Whoever wears a turban and puts on a religious cloak, wields more influence and attracts greater followership’.7 This quote illustrates the power and influence of the mullahs, who penetrate all social categories and groupings to varying degrees, and whose influence has most affected Afghan women. It must be noted that there are significant variations in the religious institutions and among the religious actors. They do not constitute a homogeneous group with a uniform approach to women. There are moderate religious institutions that uphold the ideals of women’s education and empowerment while taking into account the established religious mores and parameters. They uphold more liberal approaches to women’s roles in socio-economic, cultural and political life. They not only tolerate women’s public role but also encourage it by allowing their own family members to play a part in their communities.8 Local mullahs played exemplary roles in Herat and Bamyan provinces in this respect. However, the number of moderate religious institutions and socially open religious actors are far fewer than the 6.  AHRDO, Referendum Report: Mazar, Bamyan, Herat, Nangarhar and Kabul, March – August 2014 7. AHRDO, Interview with a Local Mullah, Mazar-e Sharif, February 2014. 8. AHRDO, Theatre Performance: Bamyan and Herat, July – October 2014.