22 JANUARY 2011 | KABUL, AFGHANISTAN

 

In December 2010, for the first time in the history of the Afghan women’s civil society movement, the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and twenty Afghan civil society organizations joined together to establish the Afghan Women’s Advocacy Coalition, a nation-wide coalition of more than twenty women-focused Afghan civil society organizations and individuals.

 

With assistance provided by the USAID supported Ambassador’s Small Grants Program, the advocacy coalition is developing a comprehensive strategy to conduct advocacy campaigns and initiatives to further the goals of the National Action Plan for the Women of Afghanistan.  Through campaigns and strategic initiatives that will reach across the country, the advocacy coalition is committed to achieving lasting change in three core areas: women’s political participation and leadership, education, and access to justice and human rights.

 

Representatives from the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and the Ambassador’s Small Grants Program signed a memorandum of understanding to formalize the partnership between them at an event hosted by the Ministry in December.

 

The partnership will foster added support for the advocacy coalition, enhance the Ministry’s advocacy efforts, and promote the launch of campaigns in support of national action plan goals.  “It is about time to reach out to women across the country through a coalition like this,” says Roshan Siran, an advocacy coalition member.

 

Since its inception, the advocacy coalition has already expanded to include additional individuals and civil society organizations, including two female members of Parliament and the Afghan Women’s Network, the largest network of women-focused organizations in Afghanistan.