The Afghan Women's Council (AWC) (also known as the ''Women's Council'') was a women's organization. In Afghanistan. It was a non-profit organization that strived to help Afghan women and children by improving their living condition as well as raising the awareness of human rights. In 1990, the

Democratic Women's Organisation of Afghanistan The Democratic Women's Organisation of Afghanistan (DOAW) (''Sazman-e Zanan-e Dimukratik-e Afghanistan'') was a women's organisation in Afghanistan, founded in 1965. It was a component of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA). It pla ...

was abolished because it was considered too Marxist in a period when President Najibullah wished to appease the Islamic resistance. It was replaced with the Afghan Women's Council, which was a more apolitical women's organisation.Valentine Moghadam:
From Patriarchy to Empowerment: Women’s Participation, Movements, and Rights
' Until 1989, the leader of the organization was

Masuma Esmati-Wardak Masuma Esmati-Wardak was an Afghan writer and politician. She was jointly one of the first women to serve in the Afghan parliament and served as Minister of Education. In 1953 she graduated from Kabul Women's College, and received a degree in bu ...

, Wardak was not a member of the

People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan The People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), ''Hezb-e dimūkrātĩk-e khalq-e Afghānistān'' was a Marxist–Leninist political party in Afghanistan established on 1 January 1965. Four members of the party won seats in the 1965 Afgha ...

(PDPA) and in 1991 she became Minister of Education. The organization was run by Wardak and a staff of eight women. Some of these staff members were also members of the

PDPA PDPA can refer to: * People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan – a communist party * Personal Data Protection Act 2012 – a Singapore law governing the use and protection of personal data *Professional Dart Players Association – a trade associ ...

. When the communist regime began in 1978, under

Nur Muhammad Taraki Nur Muhammad Taraki (; 14 July 1917 – 9 October 1979) was an Afghan revolutionary communist politician, journalist and writer. He was a founding member of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) who served as its General Secret ...

, the government gave equal rights to women. Women now had the ability to make decisions about their own lives. The membership of the AWC was around 150,000 around the country and had branches and bases in all Afghan provinces except Wardak and

Katawaz Khairkot ( ps, خیرکوټ), also known as Zarghun Shar (), Zarghun Shahr (), or Katawaz (), is a town in and administrative seat of Khairkot District, Paktika Province, in eastern Afghanistan. The town is located within the heartland of the S ...

. Most of the women in Kabul resisted the

Mujahideen ''Mujahideen'', or ''Mujahidin'' ( ar, مُجَاهِدِين, mujāhidīn), is the plural form of ''mujahid'' ( ar, مجاهد, mujāhid, strugglers or strivers or justice, right conduct, Godly rule, etc. doers of jihād), an Arabic term th ...

because of their retrogressive laws concerning women. The AWC provided social services to women in Afghanistan, in the fight against illiteracy and vocational training for those in the Secretary, hairdressing and workshop fields. Many feared the sacrificing of the AWC in the national reconciliation talks, which started in 1987. One of the most important AWC programmes was the fight for the literacy and education of girls. According to an AWC survey, in 1991, an estimated 7 thousand women were in institutions of higher education and around 230,000 girls studying in schools around Afghanistan. According to the survey, there existed about 190 female professors and 22,000 female teachers in the country.

References

People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan Women's wings of political parties Women's rights in Afghanistan Women's organisations based in Afghanistan Feminist organisations in Afghanistan {{Women-hist-stub

See also

References