GENDER EQUALITY PROJECT - UNDP Afghanistan
GENDER EQUALITY PROJECT - UNDP Afghanistan GENDER EQUALITY PROJECT - UNDP Afghanistan
sub-national institutions Community Development Councils) and implementing activities for the socio-economic empowerment of women. A number of trainings on basic management skills for PWDC members and officials from the DoWA and Department of Justice from Herat, Balkh, and Nangarhar were conducted to improve their service delivery. The training content focused on results-based management techniques and project/program cycles. However, the training will expand in the future as the PWDCs in Bamyan. Balkh, Herat, and Nangarhar identified new areas for capacity development which include entrepreneurship development skills and localization and globalization. As a result, during the quarterly PWDC meetings held in the four provinces: Bamyan, Balkh, Herat and Nangarhar, the participants identified new areas for capacity development of the target groups and prepared a quarterly plan of action for implementation. Some of the new areas included are as follows: information relating to localization and globalization, market access and other related issues. GEP complemented PWDC trainings with a number of other initiatives in order to promote the socio-economic empowerment of women. One of those initiatives was gender sensitive media advocacy and public outreach. GEP helped design and implement training for local media personnel in Balkh and Bamyan. The emphasis on the training was on balanced reporting of those techniques across different media channels In Q2, GEP continued to deepen the collaboration with religious leaders through two new innovative initiatives. The first was the organization of inter-district-exchange visits for 100 mullahs who have been trained by the previously organized religious training programmes from Shindand and Gulran districts in Herat to Guzara and Zindajan. Given the influence that mullahs have over the communities, GEP has mobilized them to raise awareness of to be an effective channel. The second activity was the organization of a joint program with DoWA and DoHRA involving twenty-five religious leaders and twentyfive women activists who shared a common platform to debate issues relating to gender equality within the overarching umbrella of Islamic principles. This was the first time such a public event was held with representatives from both sides for the debate. During this event, both sides were able to share the view points that marked a Figure 3: Religious leaders during a working group session on gender equality issues. Photo Credit: Shaima Siddiqi h towards socio-economic empowerment of women. The key topics discussed included issues relating to: early marriage, forced marriage Another initiative is the Legal Help Centres (LHCs) which provide women access to the justice system when exposed to gender-based violence and raise awareness among women and in collaboration with the DoWA ad DoJ in Injil and Kohsan districts. These were opened in response to a special request by the community who heard about the support being provided by the LHCs in other districts. There are now 22 LHCs operating in the four provinces. 10 | P a g e
Shafiqa was nine years old when she was engaged to her first cousin. After her marriage, instead of being cared by her mother-in-law, she was subjected to inhuman treatment. Her family came and took her back but her in-laws - mother registered her case with the Legal Help Centre (LHC) in the DoWA in Herat and she was sent to a shelter from where her case was presented before the court of law. She was granted divorce and is now living with her parents who are now contemplating her marriage but only with her consent. The following table provides details on the number of cases registered and resolved by the LHCs in the four provinces: PROVINCE NAME # OF CASES REGISTERED # OF RESOLVED CASES THROUGH LOCAL MEDIATION Herat 240 142 Balkh 142 99 Nangarhar 150 51 Bamyan 46 37 The services of the LHCs in the provinces are now being supported by a hotline that provides free counseling/advice to the victims which began as a pilot in Balkh towards the end of 2011. This service is being acknowledged as an important input for providing support to the victims of domestic violence. In Balkh, the hotline has been widely publicized and presently ten calls per day are being received. The calls are documented by the professional telephone operator and a monthly report is prepared to show details of the calls location of the caller, nature of abuse, action take/advice given and other details. There is also a website: www.vaaw.af/ which is being maintained and all these details are regularly updated online for reference and general information purposes. In addition, GEP has obtained a short code from the Ministry of Communications and Informational Technology to enable easier access to the hotline and in turn increase the number of calls received. The PWDCs in the four provinces approved, implemented, and supervised a number of income-generating activities and trainings. In Herat, a home decorative and handicrafts training was held for 35 rural women in Karokh district in collaboration with DoWA. The training was well received by the women participants as Figure 4: A woman entrepreneur expands her business after receiving the home decorative handicrafts training in Herat Province. Credit: UNDP it enhanced their skills and knowledge to produce marketable products. On completion of the training programme, Nargis, one of the participants stated, The additional economic income benefited their families since it increased their quality of life by allowing them to buy nutritious food and giving 11 | P a g e
- Page 1 and 2: GENDER EQUALITY PROJECT SECOND QUAR
- Page 3 and 4: ACRONYMS AWP CSO CSO DoJ DoHRA DoWA
- Page 5 and 6: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Gender Equali
- Page 7 and 8: Nafisa, one of the participants men
- Page 9 and 10: Table 1: Progress towards annual ta
- Page 11 and 12: 2012 Baseline 2012 Annual Targets Q
- Page 13: The feedback received from the trai
- Page 17 and 18: Table 2: Progress towards annual ta
- Page 19 and 20: officials. This will be included in
- Page 21 and 22: B. ANNEX 2: EXPENSES BY OUTPUT Proj
- Page 23 and 24: 2.1 Improved capacity of sub-nation
- Page 25: E. ANNEX 5: ISSUE LOG ID Type Date
Shafiqa was nine years old when she was engaged to her first cousin. After her marriage, instead of being cared by<br />
her mother-in-law, she was subjected to inhuman treatment. Her family came and took her back but her in-laws<br />
-<br />
mother registered her case with the Legal Help Centre (LHC) in the DoWA in Herat and she was sent to a shelter<br />
from where her case was presented before the court of law. She was granted divorce and is now living with her<br />
parents who are now contemplating her marriage but only with her consent.<br />
The following table provides details on the number of cases registered and resolved by the LHCs in<br />
the four provinces:<br />
PROVINCE NAME # OF CASES REGISTERED # OF RESOLVED CASES<br />
THROUGH LOCAL MEDIATION<br />
Herat 240 142<br />
Balkh 142 99<br />
Nangarhar 150 51<br />
Bamyan 46 37<br />
The services of the LHCs in the provinces are now being supported by a hotline that provides free<br />
counseling/advice to the victims which began as a pilot in Balkh towards the end of 2011. This<br />
service is being acknowledged as an important input for providing support to the victims of<br />
domestic violence. In Balkh, the hotline has been widely publicized and presently ten calls per day<br />
are being received. The calls are documented by the professional telephone operator and a<br />
monthly report is prepared to show details of the<br />
calls location of the caller, nature of abuse,<br />
action take/advice given and other details. There<br />
is also a website: www.vaaw.af/ which is being<br />
maintained and all these details are regularly<br />
updated online for reference and general<br />
information purposes. In addition, GEP has<br />
obtained a short code from the Ministry of<br />
Communications and Informational Technology to<br />
enable easier access to the hotline and in turn<br />
increase the number of calls received.<br />
The PWDCs in the four provinces approved,<br />
implemented, and supervised a number of<br />
income-generating activities and trainings. In<br />
Herat, a home decorative and handicrafts<br />
training was held for 35 rural women in Karokh<br />
district in collaboration with DoWA. The training<br />
was well received by the women participants as<br />
Figure 4: A woman entrepreneur expands her business<br />
after receiving the home decorative handicrafts<br />
training in Herat Province. Credit: <strong>UNDP</strong><br />
it enhanced their skills and knowledge to produce marketable products. On completion of the<br />
training programme, Nargis, one of the participants stated,<br />
The additional economic income benefited their<br />
families since it increased their quality of life by allowing them to buy nutritious food and giving<br />
11 | P a g e
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