Women’s Empowerment Programs in Afghanistan

GAINS FOR WOMEN AND GIRLS TO DATE

Although Afghan women still face significantchallenges, there have been some notable achieve-ments, including a national constitution thatguarantees women’s equal rights, the adoption ofthe National Plan of Advancement of Women ofAfghanistan 2008-2018, and the growth of civilsociety organizations working to advance women’srights and deliver much-needed services forwomen. There has also been significant progressin getting girls, who were banned from attendingschool under the Taliban, enrolled in publicschools. Today, more than two million girls attendschool, representing 35 percent of the total K-12student population, and women’s universityenrollment is also increasing. Four hundredwomen contested the 2010 parliamentary elec-tions and for the first time, women served as elec-tion observers in all 34 provinces in Afghanistan.

MINISTRY OF WOMEN’S AFFAIRS

In 2002, The Asia Foundation provided earlyassistance to the newly established Ministry ofWomen’s Affairs (MoWA). Since then, the

Foundation has worked to strengthen the MoWAas an effective advocate for policy reform and ini-tiatives to address the most pressing needs ofwomen and girls.

Among the key recent accomplishments: • An organizational assessment of MoWA iden-tified strategic, structural, and operationalgaps, and helped develop appropriate capacity-building strategies. • Assisted MoWA to develop a comprehensivecommunications strategy, which includedcontributions to the National Action Plan forthe Women of Afghanistan, and MoWA’s ownGender Advocacy and Public InformationCampaign.• Advocacy campaigns aimed at women andtheir families, including a campaign on mar-riage registration and elimination of familyviolence, two critical issues for women. • Preparation of the Development of Policyguide, on “Increasing Girls’ Enrollment inPrimary Education.”

The status of women in Afghanistan has been of deep concern since they were stripped of their funda-mental rights under Taliban rule. Today, The Asia Foundation works to promote opportunities for Afghangirls and women through collaboration with a broad range of local partners, including governmentagencies and influential non-state actors, including civil society, and tribal and religious leaders. TheFoundation provides growing support for girls to access education and programs that increase women’seconomic participation and access to justice. The Foundation is helping build the capacity of the Ministryof Women’s Affairs to be an effective advocate for policy reform and provision of services to women.

The Foundation works to

promote opportunities

for Afghan girls and

women through collabo-

ration with a broad range

of local partners, includ-

ing government agencies

and influential non-state

actors, including civil

society, and tribal and

religious leaders.

The Asia Foundation

has provided assistance

to the Ministry of

Women’s Affairs

(MoWA) since 2002.

AFGHANISTAN

• Assessment and recommendations on MoWA budgetprocess to make it more transparent and effective. • Establishment of women’s resource and referral cen-ters at the provincial level.

EDUCATION FOR WOMEN AND GIRLS

Nearly 80 percent of all Afghan women and girls are illit-erate — 90 percent in rural areas. Although the govern-ment has made significant strides getting girls into school,more than 60 percent of school age girls are still not inschool. This is due in part to a shortage of schools andteachers, and in part to the reluctance of parents in inse-cure areas to send their daughters to school for fear ofreprisals such as school burnings and acid attacks on girls.

The Asia Foundation works to maintain and increasegirls’ enrollment in school and provide access to qualityeducation. The Foundation has established strong linkswith the formal education system at all levels, and pro-vides small grants to local NGO partners to create andexpand educational opportunities for girls and women.

IMPROVING GIRLS’ SCHOOLSThe Foundation has helped to improve two large publicgirls’ schools in Kabul: the historic and prestigiousRabia-e-Balkhi Girls’ School, and the Lama-e-ShaheedGirls’ School. Both schools were severely damaged dur-ing the years of fighting. In 2003, when the Foundationbegan its work with Rabia-e-Balkhi Girls’ School thatserves 3,000 students in K-12, classes were being held intents on rubble-strewn grounds with almost no infra-structure in tact and virtually no teaching materials orbooks. In partnership with the National GeographicSociety’s Afghan Children’s Fund and other privatedonors, the Foundation rebuilt 14 classrooms, estab-lished five science labs, provided classroom furnishingsand educational materials, and created a new resourcecenter with a library, conference hall, and computer lab.With support from the Janet Ketcham FamilyFoundation, the National Geographic Society, and theSheridan Urbanski Family Foundation, the Lama-e-Shaheed Girls’ School now has refurbished classrooms, arenovated roof, working sanitation facilities, and a widerange of teaching materials, books, and school suppliesfor the 4,500 girls enrolled at the school.

REMEDIAL EDUCATION FOR WOMEN AND GIRLSThe Asia Foundation works with Aid Afghanistan forEducation (AAE) to provide remedial and acceleratededucation classes to more than 2,000 students, primarilygirls, in eight provinces of Afghanistan. This programaddresses the needs of girls and young women who were

unable to attend school during Taliban rule. To close thegap in their secondary education, students advance at anaccelerated pace, completing one grade level every eightmonths until they complete their education, preparingstudents to enter university or the job market.

KABUL UNIVERSITY’S WOMEN’S DORMITORYResponding to a critical need for affordable, safe housingfor women who want to attend Kabul University, inpartnership with the Ministry of Higher Education, theFoundation oversaw the building of a women’s dormito-ry, which houses 1,000 female students and subsequentlyassumed operational support. This included providingsignificant upgrades for the living space, library, andhealth clinic, as well as programs for residents in leader-ship development and civic participation.

TEACHER TRAININGAfghanistan’s national university entrance examinationfocuses heavily on science and mathematics, but thecountry has a severe shortage of qualified science andmathematics teachers, especially female teachers forGrades 10 - 12. Between 2007 and 2008, theFoundation funded refresher courses for math and science teachers in four provinces, and supported theestablishment or improvement of science laboratories inmore than 40 girls’ schools.

UNIVERSITY ENTRANCE EXAM COURSESAlthough university education is free in Afghanistan, inmany universities there was not a single woman enrolledbecause most women lacked confidence and adequatepreparation to take the entrance exam. In 2005, theFoundation piloted a university exam preparation coursefor women, in conjunction with Kandahar University,which then had no female students enrolled. Eighty per-cent of the women who participated in the first coursepassed the entrance exam and enrolled in the university.Subsequently, the Foundation expanded the programnationwide. Over a two-year period, 13,000 teacherswere engaged across all 34 provinces of Afghanistan.These teachers reached approximately 200,000 studentswho were eligible for the national college entrance exam-ination. In 2009, 60,000 Dari and 40,000 Pashto exami-nation guidebooks were distributed to students, and6,000 teachers’ guides went to teachers. The Ministry ofHigher Education has now assumed complete responsi-bility for the preparatory courses.

Subsequently, the Foundation expanded the programnationwide. Over a two-year period, 13,000 teacherswere engaged across all 34 provinces of Afghanistan,who then reached approximately 200,000 students who

were eligible for the national college entrance examina-tion. Additionally, in 2009, 60,000 Dari and 40,000Pashto examination guidebooks were distributed to stu-dents and 6,000 teachers’ guides to teachers. TheMinistry of Higher Education has now assumed com-plete responsibility for the preparatory courses.

PHYSIOTHERAPY AND REHABIL ITATION SUPPORT FORAFGHANISTAN (PARSA)Building on PARSA’s years of experience in Afghanistan,the Foundation helped PARSA develop psychosocialtraining for Afghan schoolgirls in Kabul, and incorpo-rate the resulting curriculum into the Kabul UniversityPsychology Department’s training program for professionals.

SOCIAL JUSTICE FOR WOMEN WITHIN AN ISLAMIC

FRAMEWORK

Since 2003, the Foundation has worked with influentialMuslim leaders and institutions to promote the consti-tutional rights of Afghan women in the context ofIslamic tenets and principles, and to increase justice forwomen through non-formal conflict resolution mecha-nisms. Partners include the powerful Ministry of Hajand Awqaf, the Ministry of Justice, Kabul University,and leading religious scholars, tribal and communityleaders, Imams and other religious leaders.

BOOKLETS ON PROTECTION OF WOMEN’S RIGHTSThe Foundation has developed a series of 16 booklets inboth Dari and Pashto addressing specific issues relatedto the protection of women’s rights within an Islamiccontext for both Shia and Sunni communities inAfghanistan. The booklets serve as a catalyst for discus-sions among scholars, community leaders, and tribal andreligious leaders regarding women’s rights in an Islamicframework. Using the 16 booklets, the Foundation alsoworks with Afghan parliamentarians, key staff in theOffice of the State Minister for Parliamentary Affairs,and the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, to raise awarenessof women’s rights in Islam.

TRAINING CURRICULUM FOR IMAMSThe Foundation has supported the development of aSouth Asia regional training curriculum for Imams inAfghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan on social justicefor women within an Islamic framework. The curricu-lum, which addresses women’s rights and roles in educa-tion, the family, political participation, and economicactivity, has been redrafted and adapted for each countrycontext in consultation with religious scholars and civilsociety representatives. With the endorsement of a broadrange of influential religious and community leaders andwomen’s rights activists, the curriculum was pilot tested,and it will soon be used to train over one thousandImams in the three countries in how religious leaderscan raise awareness and cultivate support for social jus-tice for women.

COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE ON WOMEN’S RIGHTSWITHIN AN ISLAMIC FRAMEWORKDelegations from the Ministry of Women’s Affairs visitedIndia, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Turkey to gain a com-parative perspective on efforts to advance women’s rightsin an Islamic framework. The delegations visited min-istries that focus on women’s rights, and other influen-tial institutions that support those efforts.

WOMEN’S POLITICAL PARTICIPATION

Afghanistan’s constitution and election law reserve anumber of seats in parliament for women. But thirtyyears of war, limited literacy, and the huge gap betweenthe last elections of the mid-1970s and the new electioncycles since 2002, have produced several generations ofAfghans with no direct experience of democracy. TheAsia Foundation works extensively to educate women ontheir voting rights. In preparation for the 2010Parliamentary Elections, the Foundation provided civicand voter education to women across the country. TheFoundation’s work encourages women’s participation atall levels of public decision-making and political life—focusing on women as voters, as candidates, and as observers.

CIVIC EDUCATION FOR HOMEBOUND WOMEN Reaching women in rural villages, who may have limitedaccess to outside information, is a particular challenge.The Afghan Civil Society Forum (ACSF) along withother partner organizations, such as Afghan WomenCouncil (AWC), Afghanistan CommunityRehabilitation Unit (ACRU), Bachakhan Centerfor Peace and Conflict Resolution, and WelfareAssociation for Development of Afghanistan (WADAN),conduct door-to-door education campaigns. They takeplace in Baghlan, Farah, Kandahar, Laghman, Paktia,

Takhar, and Uruzgan provinces, where the level ofcivic education is lower than in other provinces.ACSF has recruited a core group of community-based female trainers in the two provinces, whocarry out their civic education activities by visit-ing women in their homes.

VOTER BEHAVIORThe Foundation supports the Afghan Women’sNetwork (AWN), which conducts research anddata collection on voter behavior, levels of politi-cal knowledge, people’s perceptions of their roleas citizens, and their responses to parliamentaryelections. AWN plans to use this data as aresource for the proposed 2014 and 2015 presi-dential, parliamentary, provincial, and districtcouncil elections.

LABOR RIGHTS OF WOMEN

Women in the workforce face serious challengesin Afghanistan. The Asia Foundation cooperateswith the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs,Martyrs, and the Disabled (MoLSAMD) toincrease awareness and understanding of therights of women workers under the new labor law.The Ministry works with other ministries andcivil society organizations to promote internationallabor standards, including elimination of genderdiscrimination in employment, and equal pay forwomen. In addition to public awareness programs,the Foundation organizes workshops for womenworkers in the target provinces of Balkh, Herat,Kabul, and Kandahar, and for MoLSAMD offi-cials, helping to strengthen MoLSAMD’s genderunit and to bring gender issues into the policymainstream, and to build more effective linkageswith gender units in other ministries.

WOMEN’S ROLE IN AGRICULTURAL

PRODUCTION

The Asia Foundation recognizes that the role ofwomen in agricultural production needs to growbeyond subsistence farming into higher-value andmarket-oriented agricultural production. TheFoundation supported the establishment of aGender Resource Center within the Ministry ofAgriculture to institutionalize promotion of therole of women in agricultural production.

HEADQUARTERS465 California Street, 9th FloorSan Francisco, CA 94104 USATel: (415) 982-4640Fax: (415) 392-8863info@asiafound.org

WASHINGTON, DC1779 Massachusetts Ave., NWSuite 815Washington, D.C. 20036 USATel: (202) 588-9420Fax: (202) 588-9409info@asiafound-dc.org

AFGHANISTANHouses # 48 & 50Street No. 1, Hajji Yaquob SquareShahr-e-NawKabul – AfghanistanTel: +93 (0) 75 202 3558Email: tafag@asiafound.org

www.asiafoundation.org

11/2011

The Asia Foundation is

a private, non-profit,

non-governmental

organization. Through

its programs, the

Foundation builds

leadership, improves

policies, and strengthens

institutions to foster

greater openness and

shared prosperity in the

Asia-Pacific region. It is

funded by contributions

from corporations,

foundations, individuals,

and governmental

organizations in the

U.S., Europe, Canada,

Australia, and Asia, and

an annual appropriation

from the U.S. Congress.

In Afghanistan, The Asia Foundation’s programs receive funding from the Australian Agency for International Development, U.S. Agency for InternationalDevelopment, U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Embassy - Afghanistan, the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development, and UK Embassy,Canadian CIDA, the Royal Netherlands Embassy, Belgian Government, the European Union, the National Geographic Society, the United Nations DevelopmentProgram, International Trade and Labour Program - Canada, U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, private donors, and theU.S. Congress.