The Foreign Service Journal, October 2014

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2014 39 ed serious shortcomings in the performance of an organization that focuses on Afghan women’s education and advises them of their legal rights. e embassy documented systemic aws in the program’s implementation, particularly in terms of following up on legal cases and referring participants elsewhere for additional services. Based on this feed- back, the NGO adjusted its operations to focus on using radio programming to explain sharia law and women’s rights at the local level. Responding to recommendations from the Refugee Coor- dinator and its own evaluation of a decade of programming in Afghanistan, PRM has gradually shifted its programming to build individual and community capacity to address returnee needs. rough the NGO-sponsored program in Ra qa’s commu- nity, for instance, we successfully provided access to informa- tion and free legal assistance to more than 7,000 returning refugee and internally displaced women and girls. e training raised awareness of their legal rights with respect to housing, land and property through a community information campaign that reached more than 600 women. Several participants went on to serve in appointed leadership positions in their commu- nities, defending the rights of women on a larger scale. Paying It Forward Applying her newfound knowledge, Ra qa reached out to help other women in the same position. She was soon appointed the head of 21 shuras, or local councils, in her dis- trict and used the position to educate women about the nega- tive consequences of early marriage and of “baad,” the practice of marrying a woman to someone as compensation to resolve disputes between families. Inspired by Ra qa’s example, a social worker named Hamza was deeply committed to defending women’s rights and was soon handpicked by her district governor to be the head of the district’s Women’s Civil Council. In this role, she argued cases, particularly those related to domestic violence, in front of the jirga, a tribal council. Since there were so few female o cers and lawyers in her district, Hamza assisted local authorities in interviewing women who were brave enough to go to court but needed assistance with their cases. In both Ra qa and Hamza’s situations, strong networks of local NGOs, community leaders and civil society actors expanded the project’s reach to rural areas in an e ort to ensure that vulnerable women and girls have access to infor- mation and services. ey have brought gender-based violence issues into the public discourse, rather than leaving them as private issues marked by social, cultural and political stigma. NGOs often struggle to initiate projects in communities where people are not sensitized to GBV, and are not yet willing to discuss those issues in public. In this case, PRM’s partner managed to gain the support of community leaders, engag- ing both men and women not only to attend trainings but to actively engage in discussion and consult on the speci c design of GBV programs. Assuring survivors that their cases will be kept con dential has been critical to gaining ground. e success of PRM programs is largely due to our NGO partners’ e orts to collaborate closely with community leaders by incorporating them into the decision-making and coordina- tion process—and, of course, to the courage of the women who participate in the programs. Encouraging men, who typically make up leadership councils in communities, to participate A school for Afghan refugee children. Embassy Islamabad