Afghanistan Women Council

November 22, 2006
Graduation Ceremony for "Women Support Program"

Afghanistan Women Council completed a "Women Support Program" for 100 women and their 150 Children in the area of Benehesar, which was sponsored by War Child Canada/CIDA during the past year. AWC held a seminar to celebrate the graduation of its trainees. It was held in the conference hall of the Ministry of Media, Culture & Youths in Kabul. Among attendees were the deputy of Mr. Karzai, the Governor of Kabul, the Minister of Women Affairs, and the Minister of Economy. Representatives of registered NGOs, the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Work and Social Affairs, heads of leading women’s organizations, women from the Canadian and British Embassies, and donors from MISFA also attended. USAID, high ranking authorities of the Afghan Government, writers, scholars, journalists from various television and radio stations were also there to witness 100 students graduate from the Women Support Program. The program started at 9:00 a.m. and ended with the serving of tea at 12:00 noon.

The program started with the recitation of a few verses of the Holy Koran and then Madam Gailani gave her speech. She drew the attention of the Afghan government and the international community to the situation facing Afghan women today and explained how challenging it was to run this program and take it through to the end. She explained how important such programs are in the lives of Afghan women. She informed participants of the psychosocial, social and economical changes they made to the lives of these 100 women.

She also said that women were facing a lot of problems from their family members, neighbors, villagers, and many others on their way to coming to their classes. AWC staff members also endured ill treatment. Some people even threw stones at them in the beginning. When people finally understood what they were trying to accomplish, they later came to the AWC offices to say thank you for the great job they did. Madam Gailani added that the women have gained respect in the family and society. Now those who once joked about the women are borrowing money from them. They respect them as active participants of the village and ask their opinion on village issues. She said our 100 women graduates are business women and now they are not obliged to beg from their brothers, sisters and other relatives. Instead they have their own income and support their families. They are able to send their children to school instead of sending them to collect garbage and bring papers etc. for firewood or begging. She said our trainees love their children and good relations have been established between family members, relatives and villagers because they received psychosocial counseling support and are healthy.

Madam Gailani said that in the past few years the cause of women has been used but nothing effective has changed in women’s lives. She requested that the Afghan government and the international community stop their support in words and take practical action for any possible change in the lives of women. Afghan women are very tired of deprivation. They have lacked access to health resources, education, and economical growth and have suffered in their ignorance and poverty. Afghan women were always the victims of war, injustice, and violations of human rights and women’s rights in the country and for too long their problems were ignored.

Ms. Fawzia Habibi, head of the education department of AWC, Mr. Ramazan Bashar Dost, the Parliamentary member representing Kabul, Mr. Abdul Hakeem Tanweer, the director of the Media Department of the Ministry of Media, Culture and Youth, Mr. Mohammad Saidee, a diplomat and political analyst, Abdul Lateef Minatbar, a senior journalist, Dr. Parwanta, a consultant of income generation projects in the Ministry of Commerce and Ms. Maryam and Zuhal, representing the graduated trainees gave their speeches. All of them appreciated the War Child/CIDA/AWC efforts for the empowerment of women in Afghanistan. They requested that War Child/CIDA/AWC continue such useful and fruitful programs in the country. Also they requested that they expand their program to other parts of the country. Children from the kindergarten of the AWC program presented national songs. The women graduates also presented a stage show. All of which were met with the appreciative clapping of the participants.

The trainees’ products were presented to the participants including handcrafts, pickles and jam etc. At the end of the program Madam Gailani and other senior participants distributed the trainee’s graduation certificates and the program concluded after the serving of tea at 12:00 noon.