April 19, 2015

Women for Afghan Women

by:	Deniz Zehra Tavli

Women for Afghan Women (WAW) is a grassroots, civil society organization with the mission to secure and protect the rights of disenfranchised Afghan women and girls in Afghanistan and New York particularly their rights to develop their individual potential and to be represented in all areas of life: political, social, cultural and economic.WAW advocates for women's rights and challenge the norms that underpin gender-based violence wherever opportunities arise to influence attitudes and bring about change.

In New York, WAW operates a community center in the heart of an Afghan community in Queens, helping Afghan families by offering crisis services, women, and children, including immigration and employment support, domestic violence counseling, and leadership training. In Afghanistan the organisation operates legal aid centers and emergency as well as long-term shelters for women and children in 13 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces. Women for Afghan Women is the largest shelter-providing NGO in Afghanistan, and often receives the most extreme cases of human rights violations: girls and young women who have suffered mutilation, acid attacks, torture, attempted murder, and rape. Most still reside in their care.

Stand with Women for Afghan Women and support them in their courageous work to guarantee a life free of violence for every Afghan woman and girl!