The Afghan Women's Network (AWN) is a
non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from g ...
(NGO) which was created in 1996 by
Afghan
Afghan may refer to:
*Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia
*Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity
** Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...
women following the
World Conference on Women in
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
and works to "empower women and ensure their equal participation in Afghan society."
About
The AWN sustains the vision of an Afghanistan in which women & men live in a justice and discrimination free society. AWN's axis of focus are:
* Women, peace and security
* Women's political participation and leadership
* Women's social and legal protection
The AWN acts as a foundation supporting other
women's rights
Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...
-oriented NGO in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The AWN receives funding from donor agencies such as the
French Embassy
This is a list of diplomatic missions of France, excluding honorary consulates. France's permanent representation abroad began in the reign of Francis I, when in 1522 he sent a delegation to the Swiss. Despite its reduced presence following dec ...
,
ActionAid
ActionAid is an international non-governmental organization whose stated primary aim is to work against poverty and injustice worldwide.
ActionAid is a federation of 45 country offices that works with communities, often via local partner organis ...
,
UNHCR
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrat ...
, and Roland Berger Foundation. It operates from Kabul, Heart, Balkh, Kandahar, Bamyan, Paktia, Nangarhar, and Kunduz, ... It has more than 3,500 individual members (exclusively women) and 125 women's organizations with memberships.
Executive board members have included
Manizha Wafeq and the current executive director is Hassina Safi.
History
The Afghan Women's Network was established in 1995. Women who had participated in the United Nation Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China decided that they wanted to create a network for Afghan women.
In 2013, The AWN played an active role in the curation of the exhibit ''Women Between Peace and War: Afghanistan'' by Leslie Thomas from ArtWORKS Projects for Human Rights.
In March 2014, the AWN launched the ''Afghan Women Vision 2024'', the ONG's official newspaper supported by the
Heinrich Boell Foundation. In 2014, the ONG stated that 150
honor killing
An honor killing (American English), honour killing (Commonwealth English), or shame killing is the murder of an individual, either an outsider or a member of a family, by someone seeking to protect what they see as the dignity and honor of ...
s affected Afghan women each year. Upon the progressive withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, the AWN brought its focus on maintaining the women's rights benefits gained during the presence of the US troops.
In February 2015, the AWN took part to the marches asking the president
Ashraf Ghani
Mohammad Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai (born 19 May 1949) is an Afghan politician, academic, and economist who served as the president of Afghanistan from September 2014 until August 2021, when his government was overthrown by the Taliban.
Born in ...
to respect his word and name 4 women ministries in his government for fair gender representation. In 2016, the ONG spoke out about the revival of public executions of women in Afghanistan following the new peak of influence from the
Taliban
The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pasht ...
s.
See also
*
Jamila Afghani
Jamila Afghani ( fa, جمیله افغانی; born 1976 in Kabul) is a feminist and an activist for women's rights and education in Afghanistan. She is the founder and executive director of the Noor Educational and Capacity Development Organizatio ...
*
Farida Azizi
*
Taliban treatment of women
During their first rule in Afghanistan (1996–2001), the Taliban were considered notorious internationally for their misogyny and violence against women. Since 1996, women were mandated to wear the burqa at all times in public. In a systematic ...
*
Asila Wardak
Reference List
External links
Official website
{{Authority control
Women's organisations based in Afghanistan
Organizations established in 1996
1996 establishments in Afghanistan