It’s that time of the year again, when children of all ages put away their summer memories and pack their school bags with new notebooks and pens. They’ll receive a Chromebook in homeroom and sit in clean, well-lit classrooms, at laminated desks or tables. For some, it’ll be a new experience, entering kindergarten. Others will enter their last year as seniors, contemplating which college they’ll go to, or maybe a trade school. Now imagine if half those children were told they couldn’t go to school, couldn’t go to college, couldn’t be trained in a trade. What if half of those parents couldn't allow their children from attending school because they faced similar restrictions? This is the state of education for females in Afghanistan. Girls seeking to elevate themselves through education no longer have the right to do so. The de facto Taliban regime waffled on how education was to be delivered to females. First, it was segregated classrooms. That was followed by the elimination …
Afghan Girls
Dismantled Rights
During the US-led NATO military presence in Afghanistan (2001-2021), the Ministry of Women’s Affairs (MOWA) advocated for the rights of women into law. While these rights were met with skepticism, if not outright hostility, with certain segments of Afghan society and the Afghan parliament, it was a promising way forward. The Law on the Elimination of Violence Against Women (EVAW LAW) was issued by decree by President Hamid Karzai in 2009 and by President Ashraf Ghani in 2018. Injustices such as domestic violence, forced marriage, immolation, forced prostitution, and many others, became illegal. Women and girls became free to pursue an education, enjoy fresh air and socialize in parks, travel wherever and whenever they pleased. School-aged girls’ dreams came true as young women graduating from university. That all came to a halt on August 15, 2021, when the Taliban took over Afghanistan. Like water dripping on stone, the rights women had come to enjoy eroded. Shortly after the …
First Lady of Afghanistan: 2019 Message to WAW
On the occasion of WAW's EXPO 2019: #CelebrateCourage, The First Lady of Afghanistan, Her Excellency Rula Ghani celebrates courage with Women for Afghan Women (WAW) and, once again, extends her support, congratulations, and blessings to WAW's life-saving and life-changing work in Afghanistan. …
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WAW Featured on ATV: Women’s Rights and Islam
WAW Staff are interviewed on Afghan TV (ATV) discussing the importance of WAW's work on human rights, WAW's Women's Rights ARE Human Rights, and how women's rights and equality are enshrined in Islam and in Islamic law. …
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WAW is #ByHerSide in Afghanistan
WAW’s #ByHerSide program in Afghanistan provides access to critically-needed health services including: treatment for survivors of rape or incest (including emergency reconstructive surgeries as needed); treatment for survivors of physical abuse or violence by family or community members; obstetrics and gynecological services for pregnant women (including nutritional supplements to reduce incidences of malnutrition and providing medicines such as pain relievers); and birth and after-birth services in a high-quality medical facility. …
Afghan Youth Rising
For young women aged 16-20, providing them with support on college applications, including writing exercises, and leadership workshops, communications skills development, life skills training, and career counseling. Read on for more details. …