Before Women for Afghan Women:
- 90% of WAW clients had been victims of violence
- 81% did not know how to read or write
- 95% of children of women prisoners were incarcerated with their mothers
Grassroots. Comprehensive. Culturally Sensitive. Diverse.
Over the past two decades, Women for Afghan Women has grown from a small network of volunteers to become the largest women’s organization in Afghanistan. Today, WAW has expanded to provide life-changing services, education, and vocational training for our clients across Afghanistan and in the United States (US) who have endured rights violations.
The key to our enduring impact is that WAW always hires locally and uses:
- a bottom-up approach,
- local knowledge, and
- a deep understanding of and sensitivity to local culture, traditions, customs, and challenges.
Pragmatically, this approach and operational model has manifested into core programs and services in Afghanistan and the US and that serve to meet the needs of 8,000+ clients every year.
Mission
Women for Afghan Women (WAW) is a grassroots civil society organization dedicated to protecting and promoting the rights of disenfranchised Afghan women and girls in Afghanistan and the United States. In particular, WAW works to help Afghan women and girls exercise their rights to pursue their individual potential to self-determination, and to representation in all areas of life—political, social, cultural, and economic. WAW relentlessly advocates for women’s rights and challenges the norms that underpin gender-based violence to influence attitudes and bring about change.
Vision
Women for Afghan Women is committed to working towards a world in which Afghan women and girls enjoy peace, justice, equality, and the freedoms to participate in all spheres of life and live without fear. Women for Afghan Women envisions a world in which all women and their families thrive and prosper.