The Afghan Women Welfare Department (AWWD) is an independent, non-affiliated, nonprofit Afghan women’s NGO established in July 1989. Its primary objective was to address the pressing needs of women, particularly Afghan refugee women in the NWFP region, who were confronted with significant challenges. Throughout the years of conflict in Afghanistan, Afghan women endured systematic denial of their basic human and national rights, including access to education and healthcare.
Women faced numerous restrictions and limitations on their path to self-reliance, further exacerbated by the civil war. AWWD emerged as a women’s organization dedicated to advancing the welfare of Afghan women in refugee settings. It achieves its goals through community-based programs, focusing particularly on refugee camps where the most vulnerable women reside.
However, AWWD’s support extends beyond refugee situations; it also provides educational and income generation services in rural areas around Peshawar, catering to educated Afghan women seeking such opportunities.
Over the past nineteen years, AWWD has trained approximately 13,000 Afghan women in various fields, including education, vocational training, health, reproductive health, gender awareness, human rights, and income generation. Its assistance isn’t confined to the NWFP region; it also supports women within Afghanistan. To facilitate this, AWWD established sub-offices in Kabul in July 2002 and Jalalabad in October 2003. As the situation in Afghanistan improves, AWWD aims to expand its activities to all provinces of the country.
Presently, AWWD operates in Kabul and Jalalabad, implementing various projects such as English and computer training programs, the DIT program, Women’s Rights/Human Rights projects, women and Islam booklet trainings, free coaching classes for university entry tests, literacy programs, and humanitarian assistance for women through HAWA (Humanitarian Assistance for Women in Afghanistan). These activities are conducted within its two offices located in Kabul and Nangarhar.