Women's Resource Centres » Profiles
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- Panjshir Valley
- Charikar City, Parwan
- Said Khail, Parwan
- Ghorband, Parwan
- Kohistan, Kapisa
- Ghazni City
- Kandahar City
- Herat City
Photo: Pilar Gimeno
Panjshir Valley, Panjshir
A new project supported by UNIFEM is providing classes in literacy and poultry farming to women in a rural village in the Panjshir Valley.
In September 2007, through a project of (NGO NAME), approximately 40 women began meeting every morning for a one-hour literacy and basic math class, followed by training in successful poultry farming.
It is the hope of (NGO NAME) and UNIFEM that these women will be better able to make informed decisions for themselves and their families by learning reading, writing, and basic math skills, and to simultaneously improve their livelihoods by employing better agricultural practices. More »
Charikar City, Parwan Province
The WDC in Charikar City is easily accessible in its central location in the city – an important quality of any women's support centre.
The location also has garden space so that women can meet in open air as well as inside the building.
UNIFEM has supported this centre since early 2003, and also assists in funding the nearby provincial Department of Women's Affairs (DoWA) location. A UNIFEM field coordinator works to strengthen the relationship between the centre, its NGO partners and the DoWA.
Through the centre, NGOs conduct a wide range of classes and services, including pyscho-social care, computer literacy, health education, English training, rights-awareness and legal aid and counselling.
Income generating activities including poultry farming, patu weaving, beauty salons, sweater weaving, shoe making, lace working and embroidery. These activities have provided women with much-needed vocational skills.
Many women have also taken advantage of business development training programmes through the Afghan Women's Business Council. As a result, they have learned how to link to markets and promote their products, such as through exhibitions and finding access to capital through small micro loans.
The centre's computer lab is utilised by girls to gain computer skills that can increase their employability in the future.
Said Khail, Parwan Province
The women’s centre in Said Khail is located in a rural area approximately one hour from Charikar City.
UNIFEM works closely with the Afghan Women's Resource Centre (AWRC), an Afghan NGO, who operates the WDC. While the location is privately owned, UNIFEM supports the AWRC in paying rental fees by funding a variety of activities.
The centre is operated by women in the community who have received training on understanding the specific needs of women in the surrounding area.
Furthermore, provincial authorities have welcomed the centre as a means for providing a safe space for women to meet and learn, which is a vital step in gaining support from the community for women's empowerment.
Projects at the centre began in 2003 through funding by UNIFEM, and have focused on a variety of topics, from psycho-social training, to literacy, to health education and legal rights awareness.
Psycho-social training
This training has provided psychological and trauma counselling to women and girls who have been affected by Afghanistan's decades of war and gender-based violence. Relaxation and problem-solving techniques have been met with real enthusiasm and have resulted in women's ability to better cope with difficult situations in their lives. Some men from the community have also shown appreciation for the project's affect on their wives' emotional stability, and have requested similar training for themselves.
Rights-awareness training
Through this training, women have learned about their legal rights within their community, as well as their families and their country. Training in access to legal services has provided women with the knowledge they need in order to pursue these rights through local, provincial, and national legal systems.
Literacy programmes
Literacy projects focus on the relationship between literacy and vocational success through a small micro-loan component. Micro-loans from US$20 - $50 per person have enabled women to set up bakeries or purchase livestock in order to contribute to their family's well being. Repayment of loans has been highly successful, and the returned funds are utilised directly through the centre to contribute to assisting other women.
Ghorband, Parwan province
The Ghorband WDC is located in a remote, poverty-stricken area in the mountains of Parwan province.
UNIFEM began support for the centre in 2003 through small grants to local NGOs. These NGOs implement projects at the centre including literacy, health education and rights awareness classes.
There are four rooms within the centre, one of which is utilised as a warm, well-equipped kindergarten where the children can learn and play while their mothers participate in centre activities. In such a rural area, this is a vital service in enabling women to attend the centre.
Literacy Classes
Literacy courses follow the official national curricula for schools, thereby ensuring that girls are able to receive proper certification on a national level. Women and girls attending lessons have given very positive feedback on the classes, particularly in the opportunity to meet and interact with their peers, which is otherwise often not allowed by male family members.
Integrated Literacy and Income Generation
UNIFEM supports projects that link literacy and vocational training in order to further women's full integration into society. These projects include soap making and health and hygiene skills along with literacy classes and rights awareness.
Rights Awareness
Through training on legal rights awareness, women have expressed a new-found confidence in their ability to discuss their rights with male family members – an important step in increasing cooperation between men and women for gender rights.
Kohistan, Kapisa province
The Kohistan WDC is located in a small building within the large village. It has three rooms, and is kept clean and warm. There is a small garden space, but not enough for gardening activities. The centre operates a very small kindergarten, although it is in need of additional support in order to provide the children with toys, learning tools, and blankets to sit on.
UNIFEM has funded a variety of activities through the Afghan Women's Resource Centre (AWRC), an Afghan NGO, including literacy, health education, psycho-social training, poultry farming, rights awareness, and legal aid and counselling.
Health and Hygiene Training
Ms. Sonia, a student with the AWRC explains:
We always used water from the spring and we faced a lot of dangerous diseases such as parasites (stomach problems), but after attending health education trainings we are aware of the diseases and we know that water from the spring is not healthy and how we become ill. Now, we boil the water and after it becomes cold in the urn we drink it.
Rights Awareness, Legal Aid and Counselling
The change in attitude and behavior of women in these classes is outstanding. Women have gained the confidence to exercise their rights and have begun to address negative cultural practices.
One participant, Amina, states
I got married when I was 15 years old. My husband had illicit relations with his sister-in-law. When I knew about my husband's personality, I left his house and came to my parents' house. No one was listening to my tragedy - every one ignored me.I got information about AWRC’s community centre and got admission into the literacy class, while I attended rights awareness training in the centre. As I got awareness on my rights I went to the governor and they helped me a lot regarding my case as I didn’t want to live with my husband. At last I got a divorce from my husband whom I didn't want to live with any more.
Poultry Farming
Through training in best practices in poultry farming, 350 women have received equipment to set up their own small poultry unit by their house. Raising poultry has allowed these women and their families to earn income and/or use the products for consumption.
Ghazni City, Ghazni province
The Ghazni WDC is located on a plot of land owned by the Department of Education, and shared with the provincial Department of Women's Affairs (DoWA). The centre is quite large, with 8 rooms, and is in a central, accessible location in the city.
Although there have been a number of security challenges in the area, the centre is one of the most utilized in the country, and many of UNIFEM's NGO partners have expanded their outreach into nearby rural districts.
Despite the challenges, UNIFEM, through its local NGO partners, has succeeded in funding activities such as; micro-finance, computer and English training, bag-making, legal aid and counselling, honey production, soap making, tailoring, and gilim/patu weaving.
Kandahar City, Kandahar province
Due to recent security challenges, UNIFEM is no longer directly supporting the Kandahar WDC. Yet local NGO partners continue to operate the centre under the threat of increasing tension.
The Kandahar WDC is located in a small building behind the provincial Department of Women's Affairs (DoWA) building. One room serves as the WDC Coordinator's office, while the second contains seven computers procured for the centre's computer literacy classes.
UNIFEM began supporting this centre by training volunteer Executive Committee members, as well as some DoWA staff, in gender equality, report and proposal writing, and management skills.
UNIFEM has also provided grants for implementing income generating activities. These have included soap making, embroidery, flower making and beauty salon.
Other projects supported by UNIFEM have included computer and English courses, health education and sanitation training.
While women have learned income generating skills, the security problem in the area, as well as cultural restrictions, have limited women’s ability to access markets and continue to pose challenges in strengthening the centre's resources.
Herat City, Herat province
The Herat WDC is located in the provincial Department of Women's Affairs (DoWA) building, approximately 5 kilometers outside the city. While there is local transportation available to women, the centre remains somewhat difficult to access.
A team of knowledgeable, professional women act as the centre's Executive Committee and work closely with the DoWA.
UNIFEM has funded various training projects at the centre, including agricultural planting, glass-carving, computer, literacy and English courses. UNIFEm works closely with local organizations including;
- the Commission of Cooperation and Collaboration (CCC) and;
- the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission’s (AIHRC).
UNIFEM also attends regular meetings such as the Protection Working Group Discussions (PWG) and the Women Protection Meetings (WPM).
UNIFEM