Women for Afghan Women

Women for Afghan Women (often shortened to WAW)  is an organization that was founded in 2001. It wants to help women in Afghanistan. It is independent of the government.  It is the largest non-government Afghan women's rights organization in the world. It is dedicated to protecting the rights of Afghan women and girls. The staff are mostly Afghans. WAW adopts a community-based approach. For example, they give workshops about women's rights according to Islamic law. WAW opened what it called family guidance centers: there, women can ask for help, if they have problems at home. They also get counseling, for example, if the women  are the victims of domestic violence. If there is a danger to the health or the life of the woman, the woman is sent to a women's shelter. In the shelters, women can talk to layers who help them fight for their rights. They can also get teaching in different skills. When these services are not enough, WAW also helps the women get a divorce. As well as the women, their children can also get a basic education in these centers. 

Women in Afghanistan have built houses for women as shelters in most of the provinces in Afghanistan such as in Kabul, Kapisa, Mazar-e-Sharif, Kunduz, Faryab, and Saripul. The vision of the organization is to help the women get independent, WAW wants the women to participate in different areas of society:  in  politics, cultural reforms and  social development. 

According to WAW, there are many rules and norms which stand in the way of the women getting more freedoms.  To achieve their goals, the organisation also relies on religion, and the social context these women are in. It wants to  establish a shelter for women in every province in the country. Accorording to WAW, the Taliban have become more violent, because there were freign troops in Afghanistan.  WAW also teaches its members how to read and write. Children enter the organization's kindergarten to learn reading, writing, doing art, sing songs, and playing games.  Women for Afghan Women uses the Bill of Afghan women in order to implement women's right and meet the needs of woman in Afghanistan. The Bill of Rights was signed by the president of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai and it was handed to all women who participated the third yearly conference of the organization.

When it comes to freedom, Afghan girls and women are in a bad position: In 2012, Afghanistan was nominated the most dangerous country that a girl can be born in. Many women are poor, and getting health care is difficullt for them. This is mainly caused by decades of civil war. Because there was no economy that worked well, this made it difficult for women to live there. When a woman with children is sentenced to go to prison, she usually takes her children to prison as well.  WAW's Children's Support Center (CSC) raises money to get children out of prison. WAW has a program that helps uneducated children meet the criteria to enter a  local school.  Afghan women are usually afraid to speak about  the mistreatment that they face every day in their lives. WAW's biggest projects is to give these women a voice, and to build the self-esteem of Afghan women who are used to burying their emotions and their opinions. Ten percent of the Afghan women receive this aid, and can express their opinions in front of millions of  people.

WAW also operate halfway houses, for women who have just left prison, and have nowhere else to go. In these halfway houses, WAW also helps these women find a new job, and a place to live.

Other websites

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Afghanistan