Afghan Women’s Resource Center

Project:  Vocational Education for Girls and Women

Location: Kabul Province of Afghanistan

Duration: 2011-2014

Partner: Afghan Women Resource Center (AWRC)

The situation

Women and girls in Afghanistan have very few opportunities for education and training, and as a result gaining entry into the job market is very difficult.  Although the constitution provides equal rights for men and women on paper, and various efforts have been implemented to address gender disparities in education for women and girls in Afghanistan, the obstacles that women still face are almost insurmountable.

The objective of this project is to enhance young women’s vocational skills and empower them within an educational and labour setting. AWRC will do so by establishing an educational institue to facilitate the running of vocational courses (i.e. Management in the nongovernmental sector and Journalism).

What Womankind is doing

Womankind is providing a three-year grant to AWRC in order to ensure that the new education center is set up to provide women with the necessary resources.

The project will:

• Ensure the continued access of women to educational and labor opportunities by providing a safe space where women can attend classes, stipends for vulnerable students, research facilities and provisions to equip individuals as required and providing transportation where necessary
• Advocate at local and national level for the socio-economic benefits of inclusive educational materials (ie – materials that mention and include women) by undertaking additional educational events, workshops and panel discussions, in the province with the direct involvement of local communities to further enhance young women’s enrolment in schools and women’s participation in higher educational institutions.
• Work with institutions to effectively contribute to the improvement of the Afghan educational system by providing training for staff; trainers will have relevant experience but also be encouraged to build upon their experience and increase their repertoire of training methods. This will be done by introducing new teaching methodologies, networking with academic institutions both nationally and internationally, in order to increase awareness and more widely address educational opportunities for women in Afghanistan.
• Raise awareness among women and girls attending the institute on women’s and human rights and gender equity themes.

What we have achieved so far

• Signed protocol with Ministry of Education to establish a Management and Journalism Institute in Kabul province
• 94 students are enrolled for Institute in the first year
• 7 staff members have been recruited within the AWRC education department as well as an advocacy and mobilization manager