As the 16 Days of Activism campaign gets underway, Jennifer McCarthy reflects on the slow but steady changes our partners are helping to bring about in Herat Province.
I have just visited our partners in Herat province. I have returned both inspired and distressed—a condition, I believe that befalls many who spend time in Afghanistan. The distress comes from hearing directly from our partner’s trainers about the challenges and risks they are facing when working in remote areas of Herat and the persisting levels of discrimination and violence that women are facing there. The inspiration comes from seeing with my own eyes how women who are treated with respect within their families and communities have more of a chance to live the lives they want—lives without violence and with an opportunity to provide for their families.
Grim realities
Habib and Samira are two trainers working for our partner who are committed to improving relations between men and women. Every day they travel 2-3 hours out of Herat city to form peace groups who take part in awareness-raising sessions on human rights and women’s rights.
The sessions they undertake are low profile due to the conservative perspectives many men have of women’s roles. These trainers know that men who are aware of the benefits of women and girls being educated, employed, healthy and socially active are men who will enable or even encourage them to seek such opportunities.
They know that these men are less likely to hit their wives or daughters and are thus willing to face the risks in carrying out this important work. They are proud of what they do and are committed, but they are often nervous about attracting the wrong kind of attention. Our partners who work to reduce rates of violence against women tell me how in a desperate attempt to escape domestic violence or forced marriage, women in Herat province resort to harming themselves in protest, including such horrifying actions as setting themselves on fire.
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Encouraging progress
As our partner’s Regional Manager says, there is hope for the women of Herat. I met with groups of women in a couple of different villages who are managing their own business groups in soap making (pictured), tailoring or baking. In order for these women to be able to leave their homes, gather at a meeting place or market their goods, they likely have husbands, fathers or brothers who understand how their involvement in these groups benefits the entire family.
This is exactly the change we and our partner are hoping to achieve—moving from a high prevalence of violence against women toward encouraging an environment within Herat households that allows women to increase their knowledge, skill and connections with other women so that they can better provide for their families.
About the Author: Jennifer McCarthy is CAFOD’s Programme Officer for Afghanistan and Pakistan.
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