September 9th, 2005
by Claire Curry

Women For Afghan Women
Nonprofit Committed to Ensuring the Human Rights of Afghan Women

Established in 2001, Women for Afghan Women (WAW) protects the rights of Afghan women through community outreach, advocacy and humanitarian assistance. Reaching out to Afghan females of all ages in the New York area, the organization offers several programs to empower women who have endured years of suffering and to encourage greater independence and participation in human rights advocacy for their sisters here and abroad.

"The majority of adult women are illiterate in their own languages, Dari or Pashto," says Executive Director Manizha Naderi. "Most experienced trauma and anguish for decades as they witnessed foreign invasion and civil war lay waste to Afghanistan." Naderi adds that Afghan women have been taught from childhood that the world belongs to men and they have no role in civil society. "These patriarchal values have been imported to America where they are as strong as ever." Living in silence, women and young girls endure restricted lives with little opportunities for education and employment. WAW programs address critical challenges Afghan women face, such as language and cultural barriers, gender inequality, domestic violence, economic dependency on male family members and the mistaken belief that their religion opposes education and employment.

Innovative programs provide women with opportunities to learn, build self-esteem and gain strength from a caring circle of support. They include English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction, religious discussion groups, after-school tutoring for children and domestic violence services and referrals. Assistance with translation, college applications, immigration-related issues, healthcare and public assistance are also available. A 12-week photographic self-portraiture course taught by a professional photographer promotes self-expression by encouraging women to focus on themselves as individuals, rather than solely as mothers and wives.

WAW makes a difference in the community day-to-day through walk-in assistance. "At first a trickle, then a stream, women are now flooding the WAW office with individual problems in housing, immigration, education, health and related issues," Naderi reports. "The problems women actually present are but the tip of the iceberg. Lurking close to the surface, waiting for women to find the courage to reveal them, are domestic violence, forced marriages and forced removal of female children from school before the legal minimum age."

WAW also supports women and children in Afghanistan through advocacy and programs that provide funds for education, vocational training and health services.

–Claire Curry

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