Reviving the Forgotten Roles of Women

Thursday, November 24, 2016

The buzz of women’s voices fills the room; in their groups they converse excitedly. “Work together to draw a river representing the past sessions of Community Change,” says Sohaila, handing each group a large sheet of flipchart paper.

“You can include symbols in your river, such as fish, turtles or other creatures to represent positive resources, and rocks or waterfalls to represent difficulties.”

A hard road to follow

Tradition in Afghanistan holds that all authority on the levels of family, society and government should be in the hands of men. In this view, men are considered the sole breadwinners of families, and women, incapable of employment, remain locked inside of their homes. 

This meeting of minds occurs in a context where women are the most oppressed class in their society. Twice a week, women of different ages gather in a gender-specific location to participate in the Community Change (CC) sessions facilitated by Sohaila. In these sessions participants have the opportunity to voice the burning, unspoken issues and to identify the misconceptions and false beliefs often held in their village.

Positive changes ahead

World Vision Afghanistan (WVA) empowers women by enhancing their political and civil roles in society. The “Women’s Empowerment” Project is implemented with the financial support of the European Union (EU), in partnership with the Social Development and Advocacy Organisation (SDAO).  

Women in Community Change Sessions

Using the Community Change model, the project has formed 15 community-based groups that include influential civil and religious leaders. The purpose of the groups is to identify cultural barriers to women’s participation and to implement actions that would change attitudes and perceptions.

These groups work in very remote areas of Herat Province where there are deep social and cultural issues that impact women and girls.

In Community Change, people from different groups in the community come together to discuss, debate and decide on issues affecting their well-being. The aim of these discussions is to use community resources to take action based on common solutions.

In Sohaila’s village, two CC facilitators (a woman and a man) were trained by the project to facilitate local CC sessions. Sohaila was the only woman in her village who was allowed to become a CC trainer.

“I was very excited because it was the first training I’ve ever participated in in my life.

 

“My father allowed me to participate in a seven-day CC training that was conducted in Herat city,” she says. “I was very excited because it was the first training I’ve ever participated in in my life.

At first, active participation, such as asking questions, was an almost unbearable burden for Sohaila and her fellow woman participants. “I felt too shy to ask questions,” she says. “I thought the…men would make fun of me or they would tell me that I was indecent [for sitting] in a room with [them].”

But the outcome was different for Sohaila and her colleagues. The training environment and discussion topics melted away their concerns. During the CC session these women had the opportunity to debate the root causes of their village’s problems.

“After two days, we decided to play an active role in the training because we were told that we would need to conduct a similar training in our village.” Sohaila and the others knew they would have engage and master the conversation topics – how else would they teach their fellow villagers?

When Sohaila returned to her village to replicate the CC sessions she found it challenging to find women who were willing or able to participate. Men found it unusual and difficult to allow their wives, daughters or sisters to attend trainings where they would learn how to become decision makers in their homes and village; this could jeopardise the power that men have traditionally held.

A picture of Sohail, the Community Change Facilitator 

The village elders, the SDAO representative, the village’s Mullah (who had participated in the “Gender in lslam” training conducted by the project) and the two CC facilitators banded together to find a solution.

Sohaila recalls how, after many negotiations and presenting of evidence from the perspective of Islam, the community allowed their women to participate in the CC sessions.

Abdulsalam was an opponent of the training. He didn’t like the idea of his wife and daughter attending the sessions. He says, “I am a 67 year old man and during my lifetime I never saw a woman participate in such things. As long as I can remember a man always made the decisions. When I was told to allow my wife to participate in the sessions I was furious and said ‘Why? Neither God nor His Prophet allow women’s participation in society.’ but now I know that I was wrong.”

Today, Abdulsalam, his wife and his daughter are active members in CC sessions. One can even see the three of them come out of their home and walk toward the session centre together, as a family. Abdulsalam participates in the session with a male CC facilitator, and Sohaila trains his daughter, his wife and the other women.

A picture of Abdulsalam, the second person from left, in one of the Community Change sessions

New horizons

Back at the session, Sohaila engages her group of eager trainees. “This is our fourth session; in this session we are covering the ‘river of life’ topic. In this session the participants will share their village’s concerns and [discuss] opportunities [for the future].”

 Violence against women, literacy, job opportunities and lack of electricity are the main concerns drawn by the women on the river of life. During 20 sessions the community will be able to identify their challenges, concerns and development gaps. Then they will decide on the kinds of actions that hold the greatest promise in addressing the problems they have defined. 

In the CC methodology the community itself is the agent of change. Community members are the ones in leadership positions, and are responsible for addressing the issues that most concern them. Through this process, women and men are empowered to identify and implement changes that often go to the heart of long-held values and customs.