Gender Equality Afghanistan Project #31948

Empowering women in Afghanistan

by Global Hope Network International

Project Report | May 13, 2021
Celebrating Women's Empowerment!

By Martin | GHNI TCD Worker

International Women’s day was celebrated at The Women’s Empowerment Centers in Afghanistan!

At The Women’s Empowerment Center in central Afghanistan, our government partners attended the event and spoke about the importance of this day. Many people read encouraging articles and shared their talents along with other entertaining activities.

Deeba* is one of the students in our English class. She read an inspiring article at the event. Just like Deeba, many others also read their articles. Additionally, it was the first time that a young boy sang a rap song for the people. Many people clapped and cheered! The youth union in the village asked us to continue having this celebration each year.

It was the first time we celebrated International Women’s Day in East Afghanistan and we were so excited about how many people were able to attend.

Aina* is one of our English class students at the center. She prepared and read an article about how inspiring women are and also helped other classmates sing a related song. Aina is a model student who also likes to play volleyball in the schoolyard, and she encourages other girls to get involved in many of the activities.

In the area, we are still facing resistance towards sending girls to school because of traditions. We are trying to spread awareness and continue to help women at the center by teaching them hygiene, Birth Life-Saving Skills (BLiSS), and how to support themselves. We are encouraging parents to allow their daughters to attend school!

Transformational Community Development Update:

At the centers, we are continuing to

Education - Women were given a book about BLiSS (Birth Life-Saving Skills), focusing on maternal and infant health, especially during the time of pregnancy and after birth. Students are also learning English, progressing month after month!

At the center in East Afghanistan, we distributed masks, soaps, notebooks and other stationery to the women and students. Meanwhile, the other neighbouring villages are also interested in Health lessons. We went to remote villages and distributed Birth Labor and Life-Saving Skills (BliSS) books and other awareness lessons about COVID-19.

Some villagers had concerns about the second wave of coronavirus. The awareness booklets were distributed to all the women and students at the Empowerment Centers.

Wellness - Football and volleyball are sports that the girls enjoy as they get exercise, learn teamwork and enjoy the camaraderie. They also hope to compete with other girls in the area.

Income Generation-In addition to providing vegetable seeds to have enough food for themselves, we are encouraging the women to sell things at the market to generate income for them and their families.

We are grateful for all our donors and supporters who make this work possible!

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Jan 15, 2021
Transforming Lives through Education

By Martin | GHNI TCD Worker

We are excited to share that centers have reopened! The government announced that schools would be closed for four months because of the cold season and the second wave of COVID-19 outbreaks. Although this is a very difficult situation, it also meant that students could safely attend the Women’s Empowerment Center.

Asmaan* is a 23-year-old English instructor at the Women’s Empowerment Center (WEC). She is excited to have the opportunity to teach her students English back to back! We are excited to see the progress she will make. The students are also learning about Transformational Community Development, which includes health lessons one day a week.

English class and Health lessons are also going well at the Women’s Empowerment Center—East (WEC2). We were able to distribute notebooks, pens, soap, toothpaste, and toothbrushes for each of the participants, and the women and students were so grateful.

We are also working to empower all of the girls physically. They now have a volleyball team and play inside the school yard. We encouraged them to be active when we started WEC2. We bought them a ball and also gave the students support by cheering them on!

Traditionally, the people did not allow their daughters to attend English class and play sports. WEC2 is bringing about change (transformation) in this and the surrounding communities.

The winter season is the best time for the girls to come to the center because the schools are closed. They are passionate about coming to WEC2 every day to learn English. They love learning TCD lessons about sustainability, community ownership, and hygiene.

We are excited to see the growth in all of these students. Thank you for all of your support! It is because of you that we are able to reach the people in this community!

*For purposes of safety and wellbeing, “Asmaan” is a pseudonym for the individual involved with this project.

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Sep 18, 2020
Students Eagerly Await Center Reopening

By Martin | GHNI TCD Worker

Our Women’s Empowerment Centers (WECs) are currently closed due to COVID-19, but we remain in touch with our staff and students. The women and girls have learned how to have a healthy life and a thriving community. We hope that the quarantine will be over soon so we can resume our Transformational Community Development (TCD) and English lessons. They are eager to start class again at the center!

Over the course of this month, we distributed various kinds of vegetable seeds to help people in the village boost their immune systems and have fresh food for the summer and fall. We also distributed liquid soap to about 90 people after teaching about hygiene, trying to ensure that participants wash their hands many times each day.

The health trainer is reading BLLiSS (Birth Labor and Life Saving Skills) books to prepare to teach women how to keep themselves healthy during pregnancy and after giving birth once the lockdown is over. The trainer said that since we started health lessons the number of patients in the local hospital has decreased significantly, even during the pandemic.

One of the young women we have been working with has made a huge difference in her community. Shirin* is a 20-year-old student. She lived in Iran with her family for many years. She speaks Farsi with an Iranian accent and also wears traditional Iranian clothes. When we held English classes before the coronavirus outbreak, she attended both primary and middle-level English classes.

During the lockdown, she has memorized our disease prevention instructions. Since the coronavirus began, she has taught women how to properly wash their hands and how to keep their homes and community clean. She has helped dozens of women keep themselves and their families safe during these challenging times. Shirin also uses pictures and coronavirus awareness brochures from the ministry of Health.

The women and many of the parents of the students said that due to the virus, they have lost their jobs and incomes. We are looking forward to reopening our centers, but also grateful we are able to to still help the community!

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