About UNIFEM Afghanistan

UNIFEM is the women’s fund at the United Nations. It provides financial and technical assistance to innovative programmes and strategies that promote women's human rights, political participation and economic security worldwide. Go to UNIFEM International

History

UNIFEM established its presence in Afghanistan in early 2002 following the collapse of the Taliban. Since then UNIFEM has been in close consultation with Afghan women and the government of Afghanistan in order to understand how best to meet the needs of women in the context of their country’s history and culture.

To read about the history of the United Nations in Afghanistan, visit the UN News Centre

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Goals

UNIFEM’s goal in Afghanistan is to increase opportunities for women by transforming the overall development of Afghanistan into a more equitable and sustainable process.

UNIFEM supports the long term goal of Afghan women to fully realize their human rights as enshrined in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) .

OUR MANDATE IS TO...

• support innovative and experimental activities that benefit women in line with national and regional priorities;
• serve as a catalyst, with the goal of ensuring the appropriate involvement of women in mainstream development activities, as often as possible at the pre-investment stage, and;
• play an innovative and catalytic role in relation to the United Nations system of development cooperation.

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Strategies

In partnership with UNIFEM’s three main constituents - the government, civil society (NGOs) and the UN system - UNIFEM’s priorities in Afghanistan have been informed by the following strategies:

• Strengthening the capacity and leadership of women’s organizations and networks through the Ministry of Women's Affairs (MOWA) and NGOs.
• Building sustainable knowledge and action networks by supporting the establishment of Afghan women’s civil society legal organisations, as well as media forums.
• Forging new partnerships among women’s organizations, governments, the UN system and the private sector;
• Advocating for gender equality in the rebuilding of the country's governmental institutions through the Justice Working Group.
• Undertaking pilot projects to test innovative approaches to women’s empowerment and gender mainstreaming at the provincial and community level, such as women's legal aid referral centers and a Resource Centre for Women in Politics.
• Leveraging political and financial support for women from a wide range of stakeholders.

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Programme Activities

Through collaborative efforts with government, the United Nations, and non-governmental partners, UNIFEM promotes Afghan women's human rights through three programmes:

• Community Empowerment and Economic Development
• Institutional Capacity Building of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs (MOWA)
• Gender and Justice

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