News Archive

In Afghanistan, a 16-year-old Girl Dares to Learn
Toronto Star
November 13, 2010
One of our partners, The Afghan-Canadian Community Center (ACCC), has been incredibly successful in providing educational opportunities to women and girls in Kandahar through long-distance learning programs (such as the Alliance's English Program). However, despite its great successes, the ACCC is struggling to find international assistance.

Time Magazine features the struggle of Afghan women and girls under Taliban rule
Time Magazine
July 29, 2010

UN Creates New Structure for Empowerment of Women
United Nations Press Release, July 2, 2010
In an historic move, the United Nations General Assembly voted unanimously today to create a new entity to accelerate progress in meeting the needs of women and girls worldwide.

The establishment of the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women — to be known as UN Women — is a result of years of negotiations between UN Member States and advocacy by the global women’s movement. It is part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact.

You can read the full press release here.

Academic Muslim women’s conference opens in Tehran
Tehran Times
April 26, 2010
Women from Afghanistan and Tajikistan are participating in the 2nd International Conference of Scholarly Muslim Women, with the theme “Women, Family, and Islamic Civilization.” Attendees will discuss issues about mass media related to the family, culture, and civil rights.

Kyrgyzstan's interim govt unveils reform plan
Reuters
April 19, 2010
Kyrgyzstan’s interim government has revealed a plan to help restore democracy in the country. The plan, tentatively called ‘The Return to Democracy,’ aims to decrease presidential power, add a system of checks and balances, and hold presidential and parliamentary elections this fall. The interim government plans to work with human rights organizations during this process.

Afghan police learn how to fight domestic violence
Reuters
April 8, 2010
50 police officers received training on how to protect women against domestic violence. The training included role play sessions, instruction on the law, what to do in practical domestic abuse situations, and the psychological effects of abuse. The session instructors noted the officers’ struggle between personal and religious beliefs and upholding the law as police officers.

President of Kyrgyzstan Signs on to UNiTE Campaign
UNIFEM
April 3, 2010.
Kurmanbek Bakiev, President of Kyrgyszstan, joined the UNiTE Campaign to stop violence against women and girls in his country. The campaign was launched in Kyrgyszstan on International Women’s Day on March 8 to raise awareness for women’s human rights.

UNiTE to End Violence Against Women: “Kyrgyzstan, It's Time to Act!" - First Art Workshop held in Bishkek
United Nations
March 27, 2010.
The first of three art workshops of the UNiTE to End Violence Against Women Campaign was held, which had the theme “Life Free of Violence.” The session presented the experiences and creative expressions of women and girls who have been abused. These workshops are designed to increase awareness among government, media, and nationals toward preventing violence of women and girls and supporting the abused.

Afghan women flex economic muscle
Relief Web
March 25, 2010.
The Agriculture and Handicrafts Association of Parwan Province helps Afghan women and their families escape poverty by teaching various textile and crop skills. The women become self-sufficient in their skills areas and are able to sell their goods to support their families. The Association plans to begin similar agricultural training projects.

Mothers in Mongolia receive aid during 'dzud' weather pattern
MediaGlobal
March 11, 2010.
Recent severe weather has posed a challenge to pregnant Mongolian women in need of basic medical care. To help these women have a safer birth, the United Nations Population Fund has sent medical workers and supplies to the area. The organization is educating these women on health issues, and planning to offer trade instruction.

Uzbekistan Provides 128 Women With Micro Loans for Business Development
Forbes
March 1, 2010.
The “Social Support of Family Entrepreneurship” awards competition is designed to support female businesses in Uzbekistan and through networking and skill development. 128 women entrepreneurs received awards in trade categories including agriculture, textiles and clothing, catering and retail services, and personal and social services. The winners also participated in professional classes to increase their business skills.

Tajik village yearns to see first girl in university
WFP.org
February 16, 2010
The World Food Programme started a new school feeding plan in an impoverished village in Tajikistan in order to help girls graduate. The rations of flour, vegetable oil, and salt for girls who attend 80% of the time will encourage parents to keep their daughters in school instead of pulling them out for economic and cultural reasons. No girl in the village has ever attended university, but community leaders hope the plan will change that.

DoWA and UNAMA want increased women participation in civil service
ReliefWeb
February 15, 2010
The Department of Women’s Affairs invited community leaders, including elders, religious scholars, and women in Dai Kundi province to discuss ways to increase women’s participation in the civil service. The governor made a commitment to prevent discrimination against women in the workplace and to include more women in his administration.

Afghanistan’s Sikh heroine fights for rights
BBC News
February 11, 2010
Dr. Anarkali Kaur Honaryar is one of only 3,000 Sikhs and Hindus left in Afghanistan, down from 50,000 prior to 1991. As a Sikh and a woman, she has two strikes against her, but that has not stopped her from studying medicine; becoming part of the loya jirga, which chose the interim government that replaced the Taliban; working for the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission; and recently being named “Person of the Year” by Radio Free Europe’s Afghan chapter.

Girls in Kandahar city brave threat of violence to learn job skills
The Canadian Press
February 4, 2010
Ehsanullah Ehsan founded Kandahar’s Afghan-Canadian Community Centre, which started with a dozen girls in 2006 and now has an enrollment of 1,300 students, half of which are female. At the Centre, girls take courses in English, business management, and information and computer technology. Despite the violence that follows them to school, including recent acid attacks that blinded or disfigured a dozen, these girls continue their studies and greet each other happily in the courtyard with uncovered faces.

Afghan financier offers countrywomen a door into the business world
Seattle Times
February 14, 2010
Storai Sadat, head of Ariana Financial Services, provides microloans to female entrepreneurs in Afghanistan, whether they plan to work alone at home, form cooperatives, or open kiosks or stores. Ariana loan officers also teach the women basic accounting techniques. Ariana has loaned more than $16 million to 54,000 people since 2003.

Afghan women fear peace plans will reverse rights
AFP
February 5, 2010
Pop star-turned-politician Farida Tarana expressed concern over Afghan president Hamid Karzai’s plan to work peacefully with the Taliban, fearing that such a partnership will overturn the achievements of women’s rights activists. While Afghan women remain the most marginalized group in the country, they have equality with men under the current Afghan constitution. While most activists are worried the Taliban will destroy the sliver of democracy they have won, at least one female parliamentarian has hopes that the Taliban can change.

UNICEF-supported literacy centres empower Afghan women and girls
UNICEF
February 2, 2010
Twenty years ago the Afghan Ministry of Education started literacy centres for women and girls, but traditional attitudes and the Taliban kept women away. In 2008, UNICEF stepped in to support those centres and improve the literacy rate of one out of six women. Keeping women and girls in attendance is still a difficult task, but the work is already making a difference by helping women read newspapers and price tags.

US military experiments with empowering Afghan businesswomen
New York Times,
January 29, 2010
The US military has set aside a certain number of contracts for women-owned businesses in Afghanistan to make Afghan military uniforms with two goals in mind: empowering women and boosting the local economy. When the businesses failed to meet submission guidelines due to the language barrier and unfamiliar specifications, the Camp Eggers base in Kabul decided to offer training sessions rather than scrap the plan. While the base will have to continue to work with these businesses to increase their capacity, leaders hope the initial partnerships can be used as a model for future female entrepreneurs.

Afghan women warn against possible deal with Taliban
New York Times
January 27, 2010
Afghan women’s groups urged the international community to maintain their commitment to women’s rights, warned them about making a peace deal with the Taliban, and expressed concern over the lack of women participating in an upcoming conference about Afghanistan’s future. They emphasized the need for women’s full participation in the public sphere.

Afghan women tune in to women’s rights through education
Canada Free Press
January 26, 2010
In the three Afghan provinces rated lowest for girls’ education, attitudes about women’s roles are beginning to change, albeit slowly. An increasing number of women are learning about their rights through civics training, female journalists are broadcasting on the radio, and female students will soon enter university. The construction of a women’s prison means that women will no longer automatically be executed for crimes, as they were under the Taliban.

Best qualified but no top jobs for Afghan women
Reuters
January 25, 2010
Afghanistan’s parliament rejected two of Karzai’s three female nominees for his cabinet despite their top-notch qualifications, disappointing women’s rights activists. One nominee was approved to be minister of martyrs and the disabled.

Women Protest President Hamed Karzai's List of New Cabinet Members
FNAW Listserve Press Release
posted January 20, 2010.
On the 20th of December 2009 a press conference was held at the AWN office to protest the suggested list of new cabinet members of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan by Hamed Karzai the President of Afghanistan. A number of women from Governmental and Non Governmental Organizations as well as Human Rights activists, Civil Society (CS) activists and journalists attended the conference.

Committee on elimination of discrimination against women holds informal meeting with non-governmental organizations
ReliefWeb
January 18, 2010
CEDAW, the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, met with NGOs from Uzbekistan, Ukraine, and Malawi. Representatives said women were unable to “participate equally in the economic, social, and public life in Uzbekistan.” They asked the Committee to ensure that the Uzbek government pass legislation providing equal opportunities, economic and employment rights, and freedom from discrimination based on sexual identity.

Mongolia to abolish death penalty
Times of London
January 15, 2010
President Tsakhia Elbegdorj called for an end to the death penalty, citing moratoria across the world as well as overturned and dropped cases as factors. While the number of executions is a state secret, Mongolia is one of the few countries that use the death penalty for ordinary crimes.

Afghan woman leads the development of her community
UN Calling Asia, United Nations Radio
January 15, 2010
Zainab Rezai, midwife and head of the Women’s Community Development Council in Darai Azdar of Bamiyan province, motivated her community to start improvement projects, including building a new road with their bare hands. Seeing women as victims inspired her to encourage the community to work together. Once the women started working on projects, the men decided to help. Rezai also helped approximately 200 women become literate.

Fund for gender equality announces more than US$9 million in grant to advance women’s economic and political empowerment worldwide
UNIFEM Headquarters, January 11, 2010.
The Fund for Gender Equality works to “advance innovative programmes which focus on women’s economic and political empowerment at local and national levels. This is the first allocation in the US$68 million initiative, this group of grant was awarded to 27 initiatives in 26 countries, including Afghanistan’s Women and Children Legal Research Foundation, which will improve women’s access to the right to property, inheritance, and land.

Today Tajik women less active than in the Soviet time, says expert on gender issues
ASIA-Plus
January 11, 2010
At a roundtable called “Participation of Women in Parliamentary Elections in Tajikistan,” politicians, female candidates, diplomats, and representatives from NGOs and international organizations found that no single point on the president’s decade-old decree to increase the role of women in society has been fulfilled. Participants said that women need more education on the political system and Tajikistan must elect women to government minister roles in order to have a true democracy.

Afghanistan: New UNAMA radio programme on the rule of law
Relief Web, January 9, 2010.
United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA)
by Sayed Barez, UNAMA
Not many ordinary Afghans are aware of their basic rights after years of war and instability and even the most simple of privileges are not realized by some. A middle class citizen may not be able to tell you how he would argue with a police officer for his rights; people have forgotten their rights. Now the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) in the north of the country has started a radio programme up with the local station in Mazar-i-Sharif, Radio Nehad, 90.4 FM.

Female major slips away to meet Afghan moms who want girls school
ABC News
January 8, 2010.
In a conservative part of Zabul province, the Taliban keeps girls from attending school beyond fourth grade, so their mothers reached out to the women’s affairs office of the Provincial Reconstruction Team. Because male village leaders cancelled the women’s meeting with two American female soldiers at the town hall, the women planned a clandestine meeting, where they requested help to start a school for 300-400 girls.

Afghan police work to overcome barriers for women
e-Ariana
December 26, 2009
With 650 out of 93,000 slots reserved for women, there are 500 active-duty policewomen in Afghanistan. Only a few dozen are in the areas where Taliban influence is strongest, but those women are crucial to stopping insurgents since it is unacceptable for men to search a home where women are present or to search women for weapons. Policewomen often face harassment and violent threats.

Afghan women lead protest against government corruption
LA Times
December 10, 2009
Hundreds of women led a peaceful protest in Kabul, demanding that President Karzai remove those in his government who are connected to war crimes, the Taliban, and corruption. In a surprising role reversal, approximately 500 male supporters marched behind them. The group, Social Association of Afghan Justice Seekers, expressed disappointment in Karzai’s re-election and a desire to see him reform the government.

Advancing Women a Top Clinton Goal
New York Times, November 24, 2009.
by Janine Zacharia
Many politicians are increasingly aware that improving the lives of women around the world can be the key to lasting change. Secretary of State Clinton is working on behalf of this administration to bring women's issues to the forefront of foreign policy. This strategy is being tested in Afghanistan.

Kazakh Police Arrest Human Traffickers, Free Captive Women
Spero News, November 18, 2009
"Kazakh police have detained four suspected human traffickers and freed 16 young women who had been forced into prostitution in Almaty."

Six Days on the Road
Mercy Corps, November 18, 2009
by Janice Setser
Janice Setser, "Single Year Assistance Program" Programme Manager for Mercy Corps in Garm, Tajikistan writes about her six day journey through Tajikistan's border area with Kyrgyzstan in the Rasht Valley. Tajik women will be expanding the work Mercy Corps has helped establish by learning and discussing the topics of safe pregnancy, breast-feeding and supplementary feeding of children over six months.

Broaching Birth Control With Afghan Mullahs
New York Times, November 14, 2009
by Sabrina Tavernise
Afghani Mullahs led class on lowering birth rates in Afghanistan; the country with the second highest maternal mortality rate in the world. Scripture from the Koran and Islamic Clerics are being used to garner support for this effort.

Worldview: Afghan women need help to sustain their fragile gains
The Philadelphia Inquirer November 8, 2009
Philadelphia Inquirer Opinion Columnist traveled to Herat, Afghanistan and visited Suraya Pakzad's shelter for abused women where thoughts on the international community's role in Afghanistan were discussed. By Trudy Rubin.

Humanitarian Workers Weigh In On Afghanistan
NPR.org November 2, 2009.
Two Afghan women involved in humanitarian and human rights work in Afghanistan — Fatima Gailani, president of the Afghan Red Crescent Society; and Suraya Pakzad, founder and executive director of the Voice of Women Organization — speak to host Melissa Block about the current situation in Afghanistan, and their thoughts about the future.

UNFPA and MOH organize strategic kick off meeting for youth sexual reproductive health campaign in Mongolia
November 2, 2009.
Work will begin on a youth-driven media campaign to increase reproductive health knowledge, increase the demand for services, and to decrease the incidence of sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancies among young Mongolian men and women.

For one Afghan girl journalism prevails over medicine
October 25, 2009.
She has her two legs firmly on two different boats – journalism – and the other is the hope of her parents – to be a medical doctor.

Equal Opportunities for Women and Men in Kazakhstan: Reality and Prospects
October 15, 2009.
The United Nations Development Programme organized a conference on gender equality to bring attention to gender policy in Kazakhstan.

First Regional South Asia Summit for Women in Media
October 10, 2009.
The South Asian Free Media Association hosted more than 200 delegates in Lahore, Pakistan, to discuss the challenges facing women in the media, including discrimination, the need for independence, and the problems of working in conflict areas.

Afghan Legislature Nudges Women's Rights Forward
NPR.org, October 1, 2009.
The Afghan legislature is about to enact the Elimination of Violence against Women Act, which will help protect women from domestic violence. The Act outlaws spousal abuse, bartering female relatives and child marriages.

Despite Fraud, Female Electoral Participation Registers Gain
Eurasianet.org, September 29, 2009.
The Washington-based National Democratic Institute found that in the 2009 elections in Afghanistan, the number of women candidates running for office increased by 15% over the 2005 election, and that the turnout of women voters on election day was strong as well.

Afghan Women Take Battle to the Taliban as Police Recruits
Belfast Telegraph, September 11, 2009.
A British military policewoman has trained thirteen Afghan women to work as police officers, battling Taliban insurgents.

Afghanistan's Contentious Family Law Quietly Enacted
CBCNews.ca, August 17, 2009
The contentious law allows Shia Muslim husbands to refuse to support their wives if the wives do not agree to the husbands' sexual demands. The law also requires women to obtain their husband's permission to work.

Extending the Horizon for Women's Aid Projects in Afghanistan
New York Times, August 15, 2009
After many failures, the goal in many recent aid programs is to assist women in building the skills they need to find and create jobs.

In War and Isolation, A Fighter for Afghan Women
New York Times, July 28, 2009
An Afghan woman fights to improve maternal health throughout Afghanistan.

Afghan Women Land Jobs with Calgary College Certificates
CBC News, June 1, 2009
Twelve Afghan women from the Kandahar area graduated from an online business management certificate program offered by a Canadian college. The women did not attend graduation ceremonies for fear of being targeted by extremists. They have, however, already found jobs with international organizations in Afghanistan.

NYer of the Week: Local Women Help Afghan Women Adjust to U.S. Life
NY1, May 26, 2009
Sunita Viswanath is the founder of organizations in both New York and Afghanistan that aim to help women overcome their struggles.

Selling of Souls: Combating Human Trafficking in Mongolia
TerraceStandard.com, May 26, 2009
A Canadian intern discusses her experiences working for an anti-human trafficking organization in Mongolia.

Women's Rights Activist Named Afghanistan's Person of the Year
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, May 17, 2009
Anarkali Honaryar, a 25-year-old Afghan dentist and women's rights activist, is honored for her work in helping raise awareness of women's rights.

Legal Limbo for Tajik Islamic Brides
BBC, May 14, 2009
This article details the difficulties faced by many wives in Tajikistan whose marriages were never registered and who have no legal standing when their husbands leave them and their children.

SWAT Schoolgirl's Harrowing Escape
BBC News, May 14, 2009
In this latest diary entry of a seventh-grade girl in Pakistan, she chronicles her family's flight from their home to escape fighting between the Taliban and the army.

The 2009 TIME 100: Suraya Pakzad
TIME, 2009
One of TIME's top 100 people of 2009, women's rights advocate Suraya Pakzad provides shelter and aid to abused Afghan women.

Afghan Rights Chief Fears Vote Fraud Against Women
ABC News, May 3, 2009
As Afghanistan's presidential election nears in August, the nation's top human rights official warns that women's ballots may be vulnerable to fraud.

Home Schooling: One young woman's fight to set up schools for girls in Afghanistan despite formidable cultural and logistical obstacles
Newsweek, May 1, 2009
Meet Sadiqa Basiri Saleem, a young Afghan woman who battles numerous cultural obstacles to bring education to girls in rural Afghanistan.

Educator, Activist Sakena Yacoobi Seeks to Better Afghan Women’s Lives
VOA News, April 22, 2009
An Afghan woman named Sakena Yacoobi founded the Afghan Institute of Learning to provide health and educational resources to Afghan women and children. This article profiles the activist and her accomplishments.

Afghanistan to Change Controversial "Rape" Law
CNN.com, April 16, 2009
After demonstrations and backlash from abroad, the Afghan government will change a law that appears to legalize marital rape.

Afghan Women Protest Against Law That 'Legalises Rape'
The Guardian, April 15, 2009
About 200 angry Afghan women, chanting slogans and carrying banners, gathered outside the Kabul mosque run by hardline Shia cleric, Mohammad Asif Mohseni, to protest against a law that human rights organisations claim legalizes marital rape. A roughly equal number of largely male counter-protesters also gathered.

Turkmenistan Hosts UN International Conference on Gender Issues
Turkish Weekly, April 13 2009
The "International Standards in Development of Gender Policy" conference, organized by the United Nations Population Fund, Turkmen Foreign Ministry, and Turkmen Democracy and Human Rights Institute was held to discuss successes and challenges in a wide range of critical gender-related issues in the region.

Kyrgyz Housewives Fight Poverty with Needle and Thread
ADB Review, March 2009
A press release regarding a project in the Kyrgyz Republic to improve the livelihoods of rural women by developing the handicraft industry.

'Worse than the Taliban' - New Law Rolls Back Rights for Afghan Women
The Guardian, March 31, 2009
According to the United Nations Development Fund for Women, a new Shia Family Law will revoke a number of women's rights and legalize rape in marriage.

Afghan Women Seek Inclusion in Taliban Talks
AFP, March 9, 2009
In a meeting in Washington, D.C., Najia Zewari, the Gender and Justice Unit Manager for the Afghanistan branch of the UN Development Fund for Women, told U.S. lawmakers that Afghan women are in favor of discussions with the Taliban and want to be included in any talks.

Grim Struggle Continues for Women in Afghanistan
Associated Press, March 8, 2009
Both a recent self-immolation by a widow and a speech by President Karzai drew attention to the need to improve the situation of women in Afghanistan despite the fact that more women go to school, start businesses, and participate in government since the fall of the Taliban.

Diary of a Pakistani schoolgirl (v)
BBC News, February 20, 2009
This is the fifth excerpt (links to previous excerpts appear at the end) of a diary written by a seventh-grade girl from Swat in north-western Pakistan. She began her diary after the Taliban began closing girls’ schools and implementing Sharia law.

Taliban Who? Afghan Filmmakers Brave Off-screen Dramas
Christian Science Monitor, February 3, 2009
This article tells about several Afghan films in the making and the trials and tribulations of the filmmakers, including a female police officer/filmmaker.

First Afghan Woman Mayor Says Women's Rights Worsened
Reuters India, January, 15, 2009
Afghanistan first woman mayor was recently appointed, Azra Jafari, was recently appointed. In the article, Mayor Azra Jafari discusses the need for improving overall conditions in the province of Dai Kundi and raises the issue of women's rights in Afghanistan.

Afghan Girls, Scarred by Acid, Defy Terror, Embracing School
New York Times, January 13, 2009
In November, 14 girls were burned with acid in Kandahar—today, nearly all of the wounded girls are back at the Mirwais School for Girls, and almost all female students have returned.

Female Cops Test Traditional Gender Roles in Afghanistan
Christian Science Monitor, Jan 7, 2009
Featuring stories of two policewomen, this article covers the recent progress women have made in becoming members of the police force in Afghanistan and the daily challenges they face.

Two Gang-Rape Victims in Afghanistan Cry for Justice
RAWA News, December 30, 2008
This news report, which includes an interview on Afghan TV, tells the story of two young girls (ages 12 and 13) who were gang-raped.

First Skowhegan Sewing Project Helps Afghani Women
Morning Sentinel/Kennebec Journal, December, 24, 2008
To support the Afghanistan Women's Sewing Initiative, a Maine woman and her daughter sell handmade scarves and shawls made by Afghan women, returning all proceeds to the women who made them.

The Afghan Women Jailed for Being Victims of Rape
The Independent, August 18, 2008
In Afghanistan, many women convicted for illegal sexual relations are in fact victims of rape. This article recounts stories of some of the women sentenced to twenty years in Lashkar Gah prison.

Afghanistan's Epidemic of Child Rape
Time, August 17, 2008
This article details the increase of rape of children in Afghanistan's northern provinces.

Rape Getting a Public Airing in Afghanistan
Associated Press, August 11, 2008
Families of young girls who have been victims of rape are speaking out against the crimes.