Vocational Training for Afghan Women Project (VTAWP)

An Afghan Widow cuts the ribbon to a new training centre in Kabul, March 2008.  © Mirwais Nahzat

There are 30,000 to 50,000 widows in Kabul alone, most of whom lost their husbands to decades of fighting in the country. Plagued by low literacy levels and limited access to good jobs or credit, they now face the challenge of increasing rent prices and debt levels. Often, labour-intensive, low-paying activities, such as cleaning or weeding, are their only source of income. Some are forced to send their children out to beg in the streets or work as daily labourers.

Understanding the context
Past programs have helped these women by providing food rations. Now, WUSC and CARE will team up to address the need for these women and their adult family members to develop self-sustaining livelihoods in order to avoid the cycle of dependency.

A survey conducted recently by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) found that while the average monthly household income in Afghanistan was $48, for women-headed households the figure dropped to just $16 a month. Women earned that meagre amount in labour-intensive, low-income activities. Their situation is compounded by extremely low literacy levels, limited access to credit and rapidly rising rent prices in Kabul.

Because of our work in Sri Lanka, where WUSC has delivered vocational training programs since 1989, we are familiar with strategies that are successful at encouraging women to gain meaningful employment.

Our Sri Lanka program integrates a gender strategy in order to address the impact of ongoing conflict on poor and   marginalized women. In line with the development priorities of Afghanistan, this new project will let us adapt the       knowledge we have gained in Sri Lanka over the past 18 years to the Afghan environment.

We expect that over the course of this project, households headed by women will begin to enjoy a higher standard of living, and there will be improved community acceptance of women in the workplace. Ultimately, if more women acquire better literacy skills and sustainable jobs, the whole country will benefit economically.

Our partners
We are working in partnership with CARE Afghanistan and CARE Canada. Funding for the Vocational Training for Afghan Women Project is being provided by the Canadian International Development Agency. 

Challenges Facing Afghan Widows
When livelihoods are not self-sustaining, a cycle of dependency develops. Women working in poorly paid, labour-intensive jobs will raise children who are destined for the same fate. Uneducated children who grow up contributing to their family's income by begging in the streets become part of a poverty cycle that is difficult to break.

During its regime, the Taliban virtually eliminated girls and women from most jobs and prevented them from pursuing education. When social restrictions, poverty and a patriarchal society are factored in, it is not hard to understand why women-and the households they head-are particularly vulnerable to poverty.

A survey in 2005 offer highlighted the main problems they face: 

Low literacy levels. The 2005 survey found a literacy rate among widows of just 9.6 per cent. This is thought to be the result of girls living far away from schools and being expected to stay home to care for other children.

Limited access to jobs. The Taliban regime effectively barred women from participating in any type of trade. Most women have few or no marketable skills. Many do have some form of income, but it generally comes from part-time, unskilled work like cleaning or weeding, and it isn't enough to meet their basic needs.

Increased debt levels and rent prices. Many widows live in the abandoned houses of Afghans who sought refuge in Iran or Pakistan during the war. An influx of people returning to their country now is forcing widows out of those houses and into greater debt while rent prices continue to rise.

Limited access to credit. The small number of women who do have marketable skills are hampered by the lack of small-business training and credit available to them.

Although Afghan women have been offered vocational training in the past, most initiatives focused on traditional, culturally acceptable trades which tend to have much lower income potential than non-traditional trades. WUSC's Vocational Training for Afghanistan Women Project will equip women with the skills they need to enter trades that offer a better, more sustainable living.

Benefits of the project
The Vocational Training for Afghan Women Project will help widows acquire the job skills they need to enter trades that offer better incomes and more sustainable livelihoods.

While there are cultural difference between Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, both countries have been affected by years of conflict that have taken a toll on poor and marginalized women. By adapting what we have learned on similar projects in Sri Lanka, we expect to be able to help Afghan women become comfortable working in "non-traditional" jobs and help employers and the community to accept women in those roles as well.

Specifically, we expect to see the following improvements in the lives of women and their families:

• More women will have basic literacy skills and will possess technical skills that are in demand in the labour market. Our goal is to enroll 1,750 widows and their families in vocational training programs.
• Women will have better access to job placements, will have help finding work, and will be able to take advantage of small-business training and micro-finance.
• Both men and women will have a better understanding of human rights and gender issues. Communities will be more willing to see women play an active role in society and at work.
• At least 50 instructors will have better training skills, and 10 training institutions will have improved management, administration and teaching practices.

As the project moves forward, women's standard of living should increase. Communities will become more at ease with women in the workplace. And local vocational training schools will be equipped to offer effective, market-driven training to the most vulnerable groups of women.

Click here for the WUSC in Afghanistan Factsheet.