Women in Afghanistan are not very visible in society. There is ongoing resistance to improving their rights, and girls are often prevented from going to school. Yet, it is women who symbolize the greatest hope for establishing sustainable peace in this war-torn country.
Development and Peace's partners in the country understand the important role that women play in improving the living standards of communities and is striving to promote their active participation to ensure a more positive future for Afghanistan.
It is achieving this by providing vocational and literacy training, health education and micro-credit loans to women in some of the most impoverished parts of Afghanistan.
“Women are always key in building peace in any part of the world. In Afghanistan, it is women who have suffered throughout the war. They were widowed, they lost their husbands, brothers and sons. They face many forms of violence, including physical violence, and they have been deprived of education and work. They can understand very well how much peace is important for Afghanistan and how it would affect their own lives,” says a country representative for one of our partners.
In the poorest parts of the province of Kapisa, our partner is helping women overcome the many challenges they face to becoming active and significant actors in the development of their community by giving women the opportunity to start businesses, escape domestic violence and learn how to read. These opportunities are allowing women to support their families and each other and to feel proud of their accomplishments. In addition, these women now understand just how valuable they are to Afghan society and that they deserve to live in dignity.
Read also: Human dignity is the right for women to participate in society