Women Empowerment through Debate
| Activity | location | Donar | Start Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Women Empowerment through Debate | Nangarhar University | Youth for Society Organization (YSO) | 2019-06-10 | 2019-06-25 |
The number fifth of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations relates to the achievement of gender equality and empowerment of all women, especially girls. This aims to curb discrimination against women in every shape and shade throughout the length and breadth of the country. Although significant strides have been made in this regard, the cultural norms and traditions remain the biggest impediments in full-fledged and swift implementation of the said SDG. The end result of this is highlighted in a survey conducted by the National Statistics and Information Authority (NSIA) which reported an appalling 80 percent illiteracy among Afghan women while a mere 2 percent were fortunate enough to have access to higher education. Despite the fact that women's participation has significantly increased over the course past two decades or so, but this development is unfortunately confined to the urban areas while women in the rural areas still face huge challenges. A great majority of these challenges emanate from the local customs, traditions and culture, e.g. misquoting the religious text against women, forced and under-age marriages of young girls or wedding them without taking their consent, and the pre-dominant patriarchal culture exuding misogyny. They are completely kept aloof of their basic human rights and not even allowed to make choices on their own. Most appalling of all, these actions are not even recognized as mistreatment of women, let alone condemning them. They are kept withdrawn from local communal institutions both formal and informal, alike. To top it off, frequent harassment and sexual abuses are limiting their participation to extremely low levels in almost every aspect. In this respect, YSO has taken it upon itself to work towards women empowerment in collaboration with other development sector organizations in order to abridge the huge gap in the realm of gender equality. This is to ensure the erection of sustainable communities and societies across the country where women are able to make choices on their own and to partake in the national debates and actions. In the absence of women empowerment, it is not possible to make significant strides in the development of the country since not only YSO but most of the world leaders opine that the dividends of sustainable development are not possible without gender equality and women empowerment. Hence, it is an established fact that participation of both men and women is vital for the much needed development of the country in particular and the world over, in general.