Building A Voice For Women: One Club Makes A Difference

  • P Project/Program

? Activity Status: Unknown

Key Information

UWHAW began by learning as much as possible about the lives of the women they wanted to support, talking first to the military as Canadians were still deployed in Kandahar when the group began. They read books and reports from international organisations, heard lectures at Ottawa’s three universities and the Aga Khan Foundation, tapped into NGO stories, met with diplomats and development workers and listened to Afghans, both students and recently arrived immigrants to Canada. From this base of knowledge they felt they had a viable voice to advocate for these women. UWHAW has advocated for these women internationally, including at GWI in Istanbul, at the United Nations (UN) Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in New York City, at the American Association of University Women (AAUW) in Connecticut, at CFUW AGMs, at the AGM of Women Graduates-USA and at the Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan (CW4W Afghan) Symposium and AGM in Harrison Hot Springs, British Colombia. Concerned particularly with post-secondary education, UWHAW was attracted to the Gawharshad Institute. The student mix, which covers all religions and ethnicities, includes the highest percentage of female students in institutions of higher education in Afghanistan. At Gawharshad the classes are mixed, a quite exceptional circumstance, and the importance of human rights for all is threaded throughout the curriculum. Tuition, a reasonable $600 per year, makes the goal of post-secondary education a possibility. Supporting the girls at Gawharshad as they work towards their dreams has been a life-enhancing experience for many CFUW-Ottawa members as well as for the Gawharshad girls and their families.


Lead Implementing Organization(s)

Location(s)

South Asia

Afghanistan

Government Affiliation

Non-governmental program

Years

Not applicable or unknown

Partner(s)

Not applicable or unknown

Ministry Affiliation

Unknown

Funder(s)

Not applicable or unknown

COVID-19 Response

Unknown

Geographic Scope

National

Meets gender-transformative education criteria from the TES  

Unknown

Areas of Work Back to Top

Education areas

Attainment

  • Post-secondary

Cross-cutting areas

  • Community sensitization
  • Economic/livelihoods (including savings/financial inclusion, etc.)

Program participants

Target Audience(s)

Girls in school, Youth

Age

Not applicable or unknown

School Enrolment Status

All in school

School Level

  • Tertiary

Other populations reached

Not applicable or unknown

Participants include

Not applicable or unknown

Program Approaches Back to Top

Community engagement/advocacy/sensitization

  • General awareness-raising/community engagement

Policy/legal environment

  • Advocating changes to existing laws/policies
  • Raising awareness about existing laws/policies

Reducing economic barriers

  • Scholarships/stipends for school fees

Program Goals Back to Top

Education goals

  • Increased school completion (general)
  • Increased school enrolment (general)

Cross-cutting goals

  • Changed social norms
  • Improved critical consciousness
  • Increased advocacy/civic engagement