Project name: Afghan Women Employment Project

Project donor: UNIFEM 50% & Community & NEC 50%

Project location: Ghazni

No of beneficiaries:130 women

Project duration: July 07- June 08

Total agreed amount:60,000

Status of the project: Going on

Ghazni is one of the big market of dry fruits (risen, almond, pulse, pastiche, walnut, dry apple, dry apricot, berry, and many other items) which are not only Ghazni’s production but also coming from Kandahar, Herat, Wardak and Ghazni is the market to supply them  all around Afghanistan and to Pakistan and Iran as well. The dry fruit mostly carry out as raw martial (Unfinished product) therefore, the prices of the dry fruit is very low.  We add value to it by cleaning and good packing and packaging.

Project description

“The women Employment Project” has been designed to produce employment for 30-130 women for the period of one year. In addition to economical benefits NEC trains these women to fight for elimination of violence against women. These women get training and awareness on the topics of human rights, hygiene and basic health education, women and child rights awareness, peace education, domestic violence and its bad impact in the life, moral building, ways of behaving and communicating with different age and cultural groups etc. This project is intended to utilize the time of those women who are free and unskilled.

Objectives of the project:

  • To start a small income generation project for creating employment opportunities for 30 most vulnerable women by May 2007 in Ghazni province.
  • To buy and process (clean and pack) dry fruit in Ghazni province
  • To generate income by distributing the cleaned and packed dry fruit in large quantity in Kabul
  • To increase quantity of products by effective marketing with consideration of quality.
  • To increase the no of labour from 30 to 130 by the end of the project depending on market demand for production.
  • To provide awareness program for employed women on different topics throughout the project cycle

Project phase-out and sustainability

Poverty has bad impact on the community life especially women. Women have limited access to education, health care and other basic human rights. Domestic violence against women is not only increasing in the community but it has taken ugly face especially inhuman violence of mother in laws towards daughter in laws. Based upon our experience and being in touch with community economic weakness of the families is the root cause of violence against women as women are not able (culturally) to take part in socio economic activities, therefore they are devalued always.

The chains of violence is getting longer by transformation from one generation to the other as women in the villages after house hold affairs setting and talking on useless topics and gossiping after other women and if women kept busy during their free times their energy will not be used for violence, but for a production.

Clients/Beneficiaries:

Ghazni is very traditional and backward province of Afghanistan as we mentioned earlier violence of women towards women is in higher range there, usually marriages are taking place there in early ages and mother in laws in the ages of 35 getting free from house hold affairs and most of their time spent in gossiping and invention of new types of violence in revenge of what had happened to them when they were daughter in laws. Usually elderly women are free from 9:00 am – 12:00 noon, setting on the roofs, under trees and on the fields spend their time in foolish talks.

We have to provide such a free mother in laws training on social and moral issues at the same time they will be busy in a very simple job of packing and packaging of dry fruits and beside that they will have some money in hand to make a contribution to their family economic. The gathering of women will be used for awareness rising and reduction of violence against women from the Islamic prospective.

NEC since last six year of its work in Ghazni with women in different projects covered more than 1500 women and we already have women in our literacy, Quranic education who are complaining from their mother in laws and easily we can register them in the project. These women not only suffering from domestic violence but they belong in vulnerable community who need economic support.

This project is designed to produce labour and start a small business that is easy to handle and has more chances of success, which can ensure sustainability of the project in longer term. From our target beneficiaries we will include women who want to have share in the business by investing their money (a portion of their annual wages) and they will receive their share based on the investment they made.

In addition net income of the project will be reinvested in the project to expand the project income. However, after a year with support of professionals in the field we will develop a strategic plan for the business and can accept investment from other donors or individuals by distribution of share. At that stage we will hire professionals in the field of business management, marketing management, quality control and financial management to ensure quality service and production in this regard.

Besides that during the project cycle we will conduct a research from Kabul and Ghazni markets to identify needs and other new options that deserve investments in with consideration of de-empowered women participation. In addition we will contact other donors and private sector merchants who export dry fruit out side the country to get their support in term of investment or marketing of the product.