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Gender & Participant Training
The United States is committed to helping remove constraints on women’s potential. Women’s participation in reconstruction will have transformational impacts on Afghanistan. To achieve this, USAID supports legal rights for women, helps them gain access to public services and jobs, builds their capacity, and encourages their inclusion in public life. USAID programs aim to ensure a better future for Afghanistan’s women, their families, communities, and country.
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Success Stories
3 March 2012 | Bamyan, Afghanistan
USAID/ASGP Journalists from Kabul visited the radio station and interviewed presenters and technical staff working for Paywand Radio. Bamyan is a remote...
17 January 2012 | Kunduz, Afghanistan
USAID is strengthening the capacity of women-focused civil-society organizations to contribute to the social, economic, and political development of women throughout Afghanistan.
27 December 2011 | Takhar, Afghanistan
20 December 2011 | Takhar, Afghanistan
2 December 2011 | Samangan, Afghanistan
Women across Afghanistan are beginning to prove their significance at home and within the community USAID/ASGP “A widow among us was...
20 September 2011 | Paktya, Afghanistan
USAID/ASGP Women will soon be able to save money - and perhaps also generate income – for their families by sewing clothes for themselves...
15 October 2010 | Kabul, Afghanistan
With USAID support, the National Women’s Dormitory at Kabul University is preparing to launch civic education and civic participation-based activities that develop the leadership capabilities...
30 September 2010 | Paktya Province, Afghanistan
In September, 50 women graduated from a USAID-funded five-month “Fruit and Vegetables Processing and Basic Hygiene” training course in Paktya Province. USAID’s Local Governance and...
30 September 2010 | Kabul, Afghanistan
Six “Women in Government” interns were recently selected for placement in various Afghan Government ministries to support program budgeting. These six interns will receive training...
30 September 2010 | Arghandab District, Kandahar Province, Afghanistan
USAID’s Rule of Law Stabilization Program – Informal Component (RLS-I) project held several elders’ network meetings in Kandahar City in early September. The meetings’ purpose...
31 August 2010 | Kabul, Afghanistan
Afghanistan’s women farmers will have more access to seeds, supplies, and materials thanks to the opening of the Women’s Farm Service Center in Kabul on...
31 July 2010 | Nimroz Province, Afghanistan
USAID is working with local non-government organizations to implement Jalasa Sehi Jamea (JSJ), or community health meetings, as an effective way to spread...
In The News
20 November 2011 | Kabul, Afghanistan
USAID/Jeremy Maurer Minister of Women's Affairs Dr. Husn Banu Ghazanfar and U.S. Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker attend the Ambassador's Small Grants Program capstone conference....
3 November 2010 | Kabul, Afghanistan
سفیر ایالات متحده امریکا در افغانستان آقای آیکن بیری یکجا با مامورین بلند رتبۀ افغان بشمول وزیر امور زنان ، شاروال کابل، والی ولایت کابل...
U.S. Ambassador Karl W. Eikenberry joined Senior Afghan officials, including the Minister of Women’s Affairs, Deputy Mayor of Kabul, Governor of Kabul province and members...
16 August 2010 | Kabul, Afghanistan
د افغانستان کروندګری ښځی به کرهڼیزتخمونواو اړوندو موادو ته ښه لاسرسی بیامومی ځکه چی نن په کابل کی د ښځو د کرهنیزو خدمتونو مرکز پرانستل...
با تشکر از افتتاح مرکز خدمات فارم زنان امروز درشهر کابل، زنان کشاورز افغانستان به منابع، تخم غله جات و مواد دسترسی بیشتر پیدا خواهند...
Afghanistan’s women farmers will have more access to seeds, supplies and materials thanks to the opening of the Women’s Farm Service Center in Kabul today....
10 August 2010 | Kabul, Afghanistan
د USAID د قابله وو د روزنی بریالی پروګرام چی د افغانستان د نیمایی نه زیاتی قابله ګانی یی روزلی دی د هغه اعلان له کبله لا...
برنامه موفق آموزش قابلگی اداره انکشافی بین المللی ایالات متحده که بیش از نیم تمام قابله ها را در افغانستان آموزش داده است، ازطریق اعلامیه...
USAID’s successful Midwifery Education Program, which has trained over half of all midwives in Afghanistan, was expanded this week with the announcement of an advanced...
18 October 2009 | Kabul, Afghanistan
به همکاری ایالات متحده امریکا و سایر کشورهای امداد رسان ، حکومت جمهوری اسلامی افغانستان حالا کنترول بیشتر بر تقرری و اداره مشاورین تخنیکی برای...
OVERVIEW
Long-excluded from education, healthcare, employment, and participation in public life, Afghan women continue to suffer from isolation, illiteracy, poor health and extreme poverty. The U.S. Government is committed to removing constraints on women’s potential because their contributions to Afghan society are essential.
INCREASING ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE
Afghan women suffer from extremely high rates of maternal mortality, malnutrition, anemia, post-war trauma, and clinical depression. Nearly 60 percent of the population now lives within two hours walking distance to the nearest health facility, up from nine percent in 2002. USAID projects bring basic health and hospital services to women in 13 provinces. These projects provide maternal healthcare and immunizations, fight malnutrition and communicable diseases, diagnose and treat mental health problems and disabilities, and provide essential medicines.
Infant and child mortality rates have fallen 22 percent and 26 percent respectively since 2002. Support for midwifery education has helped to reduce maternal mortality. More than 1,480 midwives have been trained in USAID-supported projects representing approximately 55 percent of all active midwives in the country. USAID activities aim to increase the number of female healthcare workers and promote women’s entry into medical fields. As a result, the percentage of USAID-funded healthcare facilities reporting at least one female healthcare worker has risen from 26 percent in 2002 to approximately 85 percent in 2010.
DEVELOPING ECONOMIC GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES
Although women make up 35.8 percent of the country’s labor force, less than one percent has access to financial services. Many women work in the informal sector and are denied access to their own incomes. Increasing women’s economic empowerment is the focus of USAID assistance, with $3.5 million dispersed in micro-credit loans to women’s businesses, fostering social participation, as well as increasing knowledge and skills. USAID supported 2,300 women-owned enterprises, helped establish 400 new businesses, and trained more than 5,000 women in local handicrafts, value-chain, and fine-arts businesses. Female entrepreneurs also receive assistance in several areas including horticulture, food processing, veterinary science, and cashmere harvesting. Women comprise 60 percent of the country’s agricultural workforce. USAID established the first Women’s Farm Service Center in Kabul, serving 10,000 women. Twenty-five female agricultural master trainers were taught to train female farmers, and agricultural programs were established in four schools. USAID funds diverse agricultural programs increasing women’s participation in agribusinesses. The U.S. also creates opportunities for women who must work from home and provides marketing services for their products.
INCREASING LITERACY AND EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
Since 2002, Afghanistan has made remarkable gains in increasing girls’ access to education, which essentially was zero during Taliban rule. In 2010, 37 percent of the seven million children attending grades one to 12 are female. Despite remarkable gains in girls (and boys) education, a huge gap remains in the country’s ability to provide quality education to its female population. Nearly 90 percent of rural Afghan women are illiterate.
USAID education projects invest in teacher training for women, development and printing of materials and textbooks that portray women in non-traditional ways, and school security enhancements as well as basic furnishings to facilitate girl’s attendance. Community-based education classes have benefitted 64,600 girls and 390 female teachers in remote areas. Literacy and numeracy skills training has reached more than 94,000 (62 percent female) in 20 provinces. USAID has built or refurbished more than 680 schools since 2002, about 10 percent of which are girls-only schools.
SUPPORTING WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Women have long been restricted from public life in Afghanistan, even though the constitution protects them. Afghan women have limited awareness of their rights, and the formal justice system has limited reach outside of urban centers. To promote change, USAID provides women’s-rights awareness training for female law students and judges, sponsors roundtables to promote public debate and dialogue on women’s rights, helps build their skills to influence public policy and reform advocacy efforts, supports equal voter registration outreach, assists women candidates, and promotes gender equality in political parties. USAID trains female judges to officiate over the courts, manage cases, and provide due process. Additionally, USAID has provided news-media training to more than 820 female journalists, 720 executive staff women, 1,280 civil-society organization (CSO) members, and 166 national legislators across the country. USAID initiatives have helped shape gender-related legislations such as the law for the elimination of violence against women.
HELPING WOMEN PARTICIPATE IN CIVIL-SOCIETY
The Ambassador’s Small Grants Program to Support Gender Equity in Afghanistan works with the Ministry of Women’s Affairs (MoWA) to improve the status and quality of life of Afghan women and girls by strengthening the capacity of women-focused CSOs to contribute to the social, economic, and political development of women throughout the country. This three-year, $38.9 million project covers all 34 provinces. In addition, USAID provides technical assistance, capacity building training, and grant support to CSOs, and supports the implementation of the non-governmental organization law in Afghanistan. A new network of women focused civil-society organizations has just been launched in cooperation with MoWA. USAID also supports MoWA in the area of organizational capacity building and public outreach, and is designing a program to support women’s affairs at the provincial department level.
Fact Sheet Gender Sector May 2012
Ambassador's Small Grants Program to Support Gender Equality in Afghanistan (ASGP)
Civilian Technical Assistance Program (CTAP)
Services Under Program and Project Offices for Results Tracking (SUPPORT)
The Ministry of Women’s Affairs Initiative to Support Policy and Advocacy (MISPA)
Daniel Wilkinson/State Department
The 5th Annual Afghan theater festival took place in Kabul. Acts from all over Afghanistan participated in the week long event.
USAID/Afghanistan
A camel delivering supplies of oil from USAID.
A woman and child walk along a dusty road in Kabul, Afghanistan.
A woman places peppers out to dry.
USAID/ASMED
The Afghan Artist and Artisan Exhibition in Hirat led to sales of more than $60,000.
Afghan girls.
The Government has approved the National Action Plan for Women and the Law on the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
An Afghan man rides past a deserted soccer field in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan.
A participant in the 5th annual Afghan Theater Festival bares his feet in a play about the war torn country of Afghanistan.
AWBF members display their products at the annual Opportunities for Women Business Conference in Jalalabad.
A member of the Band-e-Amir Protected Area Committee discusses the challenges of creating Afghanistan's first National Park.
Afghan men getting ready to eat at an Iftaar, the evening meal for breaking the daily fast during the Islamic month of Ramadan.
A woman entrepreneur receives her business development course certificate of completion.
Women spin cashmere thread at the Mazari Sharif International AgFair and Cashmere Exhibition, which took place March 12-13, 2009.
Guests gather to celebrate the opening of the Women's Garden in Puli Khumri, Baghlan Province.
USAID/ASGP
A grant from the Ambassador’s Small Grants Program allowed a local association in Char Bolak to purchase ten cows and run a livestock program for vulnerable women.
USAID/IDEA-NEW
A woman weighs cheese at the Spinghar Cheese Processing Center.
Dr. Zahir, NPO/RRAA
An agriculture advisor monitors the assembly of chicken coops that will house chickens distributed to impoverished women in Mendrawol Village, Laghman Province.
School aged children in Kabul regard coalition forces that patrol their neighborhoods.
National Solidarity Programme
Men attend literacy class in the afternoon.
Women learn to read in a literacy class established by the community development council.
USAID/IRD
Because of this program, Jamela was able to produce higher-quality traditional embroidery and weavings and sell to customers from outside her village at the crafts exhibition. Future events will be held as a result of this exhibition’s success.
Workers from the World Food Programme distribute food in Kabul in the spring of 2008.
USAID/TAF
Student dorm committees discuss the importance of civic participation and ways to better the community through volunteering and activism.
The training for Departments of Women’s Affairs was highly interactive, with lots of discussion and role playing.
USAID/TAFA
Participants of the Baseline Assessment Survey of Women and Young Entrepreneurs workshop in Kabul.
Elaine Eliah USAID/ADPNW
Nazo, one of the top tailors at the garment production center, loves designing women’s clothing and can reproduce designs pictured in magazines.
USAID/AIRP
Fatima Kohstani works for USAID’s Afghanistan Infrastructure Rehabilitation Program as an engineer specializing in hydraulic design.
Girls wait for classes to begin at Fayzabad’s Girls School No. 2.
Monisa, an IT specialist, troubleshoots computer problems.
Internews
The successful growth of open media in Afghanistan provides jobs for both men and women.
USAID/CAWSA
The brother and sister team of meter readers records the water usage of a customer in Ghazni province.
A female meter reader takes a meter reading and explains the importance of potable water and paying water bills on time.
Wahida, a technician at the power plant, says, “Being a woman in construction – this is a first time experience.”
USAID
The UN World Food Programme helps Kabul residents.
USAID/LGCD
“Fruit and Vegetables Processing and Basic Hygiene” training course graduates receive their marketing toolkits.
A woman in Puli Khumri practices her gabion-weaving skills.
Bibi Ayesha (above) and 119 other women learned to weave gabion at a USAID training.
Employees at Gardez Water Supply Company, Afghanistan, performing their duties on computers provided by a USAID-funded project
USAID/MISPA
Minister of Women’s Affairs Hosn Bano Ghazanfar holds a press conference to mark Elimination of Violence Against Women Day.
USAID/PRT Gardez
A girls’ choir in Paktya sings in honor of Women’s Day.
Young girls study their lessons at Sardar Kabuli Girls’ School in Kabul. Currently, there are more than two million girls in school in Afghanistan, which exceeds the total school enrollment of boys and girls under the Taliban.
The USAID-supported World Food Programme (WFP) helps to alleviate hunger in Samangan Province, Afghanistan.
The hills surrounding Kabul are dotted with homes that are made of mud and stone.
Afghan horse used in the fierce sport of Buskashi.
A booth at the USAID/Afghanistan Implementing Partners’ Fair displays health products, such as oral rehydration salts, promoted by USAID.
USAID/PRT Tarin Kowt, Uruzgan
In celebration of International Women's Day 2009, the Director of Women's Affairs in Uruzgan distributed gifts to 600 women at an event in the provincial capital. One attendee said that while she appreciated recieving a gift to commemorate the day, the real 'gift' was the gathering itself, where a large group of women could come together in a safe and comfortable environment.
USAID/Uruj Perwaiz
These graduating midwives will reach 345,000 mothers and children throughout Jawzjan.
A Kabul hotel.
USAID/RLS-I
Sixty-five women – primarily from the villages of Arghandab – discussed women’s roles in resolving village conflicts in Kandahar.
Mayor of Kabul Yunnus Nowandesh, Minister of Agriculture Mohammad Asif Rahimi, Minister of Finance Dr. Omar Zakhilwal, Minister of Education Faruk Wardak and Director General of the Independent Directorate of Local Governance Barna Karimi and launch the Civilian Technical Assistance Program (CTAP) at the Ministry of Finance on July 28, 2010.
ECW
The women of Kahrotai Village are pleased to have the opportunity to take skills and literacy courses.
USAID/SPR-SEA/Shahpoor
Women attend a literacy training course. Halima has learned to read and write thanks to the course, and noted, “Now I am able to help my daughter study her textbooks.”
Marzila Mashal
Madina is a community health worker in the village of Istalef. She travels from house to house three days a week to provide prenatal care and family planning advice to women.
An Afghan woman markets her handicrafts at the Mazar-i-Sharif AgFair in Balkh Province.
Women spin cashmere thread at the Mazari Sharif AgFair and Cashmere Exhibition.
At the Mazari Sharif International AgFair, an Afghan woman demonstrates her carpet weaving skills. USAID supports carpet weaving training and carpet branding programs to help women carpet weavers improve their craft and sales opportunities.
USAID/AECB
Engineer Shanaz, Solar Energy Director at MEW, discussing her goals with a colleague at a leadership course held at MEW.
USAID/ADP-E
Shah Bibi is one of 18 women selected by their home communities to take part in an 18-month course offered by the Ghanikhail Midwifery Training Center.
USAID/HSSP
Mehrunnesa is an example of the positive impact a skilled birth attendant can have on a community.
Midwives graduate in Hirat.
USAID/ARoLP
Minister of Women’s Affairs Hoson Banu Ghazanfar thanked USAID for organizing the workshop and said such trainings are integral to the advancement of women in Afghanistan.
Mrs. Pashtoon Shana has been the principal of Girls School No. 2 in Fayzabad, Badakhshan Province, since 1994. Today, the school enrolls 1,280 girls in grades 1-12.
USAID/LTERA
Mrs. Semeen, a longtime resident of District # 7 in Kabul City sits on the community council and is the Director of the Women’s Center: “Because of this USAID program, people are hopeful and satisfied that this community will become a formal part of the city.”
USAID/CADG
The newly renovated Nangarhar Teacher Training Institute building.
Over 180 female legal professionals from eleven provinces attended the workshop.
More than 500 women from every walk of life attended the National Women's Council.
The council provided women an opportunity to voice their concerns to President Karzai.
U.S. Mission, Kabul
Ambassador Wayne speaks with Deputy Minister of Education Babury and students about life in the USG-built National Women's Dormitory.
USAID/BASICS
A community health worker provides basic information on newborn care to Miriam from Bamyan Province.
U.S. Embassy/Daniel Wilkinson
Ambassador and Mrs. Karl W. Eikenberry cut the ribbon at the reopening of the Women's Garden in Kabul.
IRD
Peace building training in Ghazni Province.
Rural community in Afghanistan.
USAID/ASGP Herat Staff
Women from the Saffron Makers Association of Jebrayel prepare pickles for processing.
Of the six million children enrolled in primary and secondary school, 35 percent are girls.
IPACS/KHDO
Schoolgirls in Kandahar celebrate their achievements in English and computer courses offered by the Kandahar Health and Development Organization.
A Shindand resident carries her USAID-funded winterization kit.
USAID/ASAP
Afghan women sort pomegranates before they are processed into juice concentrate. Afghanistan’s new facility will create 200 jobs and benefit an estimated 50,000 farmers.
USAID/IRD/SPR-SEA
Mapari from Lokhai, Nangarhar, can now provide for her children and send them to school as a result of SPR community grants.
Elementary school students in Nangarhar received backpacks emblazoned with women’s rights messages as part of USAID's Women's Access to Justice Campaign.
Known as Subha, the counting beads are used to recite the 99 attributes of God, with the last bead reserved for reciting the name of Allah
A tablet with a Surah is displayed at the Goldasta Mosque in Kabul. A Surah is a verse out of the Holy Quran.
Deputy Ambassador Francis Ricciardone and his wife Marie celebrate Take Your Child to Work Day with young Afghans.
USAID/Amy Koler
A girl votes during USAID’s mock election.
USAID/SARI
Delegates tour Tata BP Solar India Limited’s solar water heater production facility in Bangalore.
The children of Afghanistan stand ready for change.
The Hindu Kush, August 2008.
USAID/Creative Associates
The Minister of Women’s Affairs, ASGP, and key civil society stakeholders lead the launch of the Afghan Women’s Advocacy Coalition.
The National Museum in Kabul.
Guests gather for a feast to celebrate the opening of the Women's Garden in Puli Khurmi, Baghlan Province.
USAID/ASGP Kabul Staff
Thirty vulnerable women are learning skills in jewelry making and hope to develop their association into a sustainable cooperative.
Wildlife Conservation Society
Twelve-year-old Seema interviews a local Wakhan farmer for a USAID-funded survey on livestock mortality. She is a member of one of 56 committees formed at the school level to educate communities and raise awareness about environmental issues that affect their lives and livelihoods.
Mrs. Laila of Kandahar Province signs the papers legally freeing her from marriage after her husband’s death eight years before.
Momena Mohammadi uses her stethoscope to check the health of cattle in the province of Hirat.
A poultry farmer tends to her chickens in Qalat, Zabul.
USAID/SPR-SEA/Gul Agha Baturi
Halima displays a dress that she has embroidered in the cherma dozi style. Cherma dozi is a tradition in Afghan culture. Gold and silver threads follow a lace-like pattern around the neckline, sleeves, and borders of women’s dresses.
An Afghan woman uses a foot-treadle spinning wheel that has boosted her productivity and helped to provide jobs for other local women.
DAI
“My earnings at the nursery aren’t huge but they bring us a peace of mind. At last my husband and I can sleep at night since we no longer have to cultivate poppy so our children can go to school,” Shah Jan, Co-owner of a plug seedlings enterprise, Nangarhar
USAID/SPR-SEA
Women in eastern Afghanistan like Musharaba are now enjoying newfound confidence and skills in carpet weaving and literacy thanks to USAID.
USAID/ALP/E GME Unit
“ALP/E provided me with vocational skills; now I can contribute to support my family and rebuild my country.”
Women learn to clean and process raisins in Zabul.
Women employed in processing edible pinenuts.
USAID/LGCD/DAI
Women in Kunar learn to grow seedlings during a USAID-funded agriculture training program.
USAID/EGGI
Newly hired interns participate in a two-day orientation session.
Through a grant from ASGP, women learn interviewing skills, broadcasting, media use, computer skills, and photography in a program designed by the Bamyan Journalists Association.
Women learn vocational skills at the Afghan Women’s Initiatives organization through funding and support from USAID.
For many women, the Women Legal Professionals Leadership Workshop provided their first opportunity to meet and network with other women in similar positions.
180 women judges, prosecutors, defense lawyers, academics, and Ministry of Justice staff attending the first national Women Legal Professionals Leadership Workshop, December 15-17, 2008.
USAID/LCEP-2
Women gain literacy and business skills thanks to a USAID-funded community education program.
USAID/COMPRI-A
A facilitator leads a community-based JSJ women’s health meeting.
The women of Towalidat Banoo receive training on the new fruit processing equipment.
The head of the Women United Independent Society signs a grant agreement to provide library books for Gharghast Girls’ School.
Customers examine farm supplies at the Kabul Women’s Farm Store, which provides agricultural supplies and services to support key licit crops and animal health.
USAID/PRT Tirin Kot
The Director of Women's Affairs in Uruzgan distributes gifts to 600 women at an event in the provincial capital.
The governor of Hilmand presents a gift on the occasion of International Women’s Day.
The Women's Garden provides the women of Kabul a safe space to participate in a range of recreational and educational activities.
USAID/CDP
The Afghan delegation meets with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (center) and Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues Melanne Verveer (far left).
Female Afghan officials in Baghlan learn about the media and its uses.
The women’s elders’ network meeting included presentations and discussions in Behsud and Surkh Rod districts.
World Food Programme food distribution in Kabul, spring 2008.
USAID/APAP
Afghan youth took part in a USAID and Afghanistan National Assembly sponsored Youth Parliamentary session in June. Nearly 90 youth, almost half of them young women, participated in the event.
Note: Cross-cutting includes gender activities as well as support to the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF), the National Solidarity Program (NSP), strategic communications, public outreach information systems, and evaluation and M&E programs.
Almost 750,000 women and children receive health treatment monthly with USAID support
Over a hundred thousand micro-finance loans worth $85.7million have been extended to women
Twenty seven percent of seats in the Parliament, one governor, three cabinet, and 120 judicial positions are now held by women
More than 223,125 Afghans (132,660 female) received literacy and numeracy skills training in 20+ provinces
(Data as of January 2013)
Last updated 21 Feb 2013
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