By Natalie Ghany | Development & Reporting Officer
Country: Afghanistan
Organisation: Afghanistan – Women for Afghan Women
Project title: Family Guidance Center – Kabul Province
Reporting period: March 1, 2011 – May 31, 2011
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
WAW’s Family Guidance Centers and shelter provides relief to victims of domestic violence and other forms of human right violations. The violations women in Afghanistan suffer include domestic violence, rape and other sexual abuses, such as trafficking, underage and forced marriage, the exchange of female children as payment for a crime (the custom baad), and threats of honor killings. On a daily basis, the FGC helps women seeking a divorce when there is no alternative to violence, women and girls facing prison sentences for running away from abusive situations, and girls as young as 9-years old who have been sold as brides to men of all ages.
Women may arrive there after fleeing to the Ministry of Women’s Affairs (MoWA), Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), hospitals, police departments or the FGC itself. WAW staff evaluates each case in its own unique context. In all cases, women are provided with counseling and mediation to ensure the successful resolution of family conflict and reintegration into society. Women living in families that are deemed untreatable or in situations that defy remediation will stay in our secure shelter until WAW mediators facilitate their reintegration with their marital or birth families or work out another solution. During that time, they receive literacy training, life skills training, counseling, legal services or other services as may be necessary to alleviate her situation.
As for children accompanying their mothers, WAW provides medical attention as needed and places them in our kindergarten.
Before a woman can return to her home, if that proves possible and in keeping with her human rights, the family must agree in writing to permit follow-ups, unannounced visits for a minimum of one year. This step is essential in a culture where “honor” killings of women who bring shame on the family are common and go virtually unpunished.
WAW has a high success rate in resolution of cases in the shelter for many reasons. Whenever possible, WAW involves the perpetrators of crimes in these efforts, and religious leaders are often included in family discussions. The news of WAW’s FGC has spread to relatives, neighbors, communities, and government agencies. Our work influences far more people than just our immediate clients. This is evident in the increasing number of women seeking WAW’s services on their own (as opposed to being referred by other agencies). Since 2007 to present, WAW has registered a total of 2,814 cases across the country.
*WAW's full report for the period of March - May 2011 is attached.
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