Empowering Women in Afghanistan

Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow. Since 2007, The Institute for Economic Empowerment of Women (IEEW) has educated 508 women entrepreneurs in Afghanistan through its PEACE THROUGH BUSINESS(r) program. Over the years, the alumnae have persevered every imaginable scenario and a few unimaginable circumstances. IEEW will continue to educate the more than 2,471 formal women business owners of Afghanistan as they continue to reach their goal of a more sustainable economic future for their countrymen and women.

As a member of the United States-Afghan Women’s Council, and now celebrating 15 years of service in Afghanistan, IEEW remains steadfast in its mission of economic, social, and political education for women throughout Afghanistan and beyond.

April 14, 2021 

In light of President Biden’s announcement on April 14 that the United States will withdraw all of its  forces from Afghanistan by September 11, the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council remains deeply concerned  about the status of women and girls in Afghanistan, particularly as attacks against female leaders of civil  society groups, women in the security forces, health workers, and journalists continue to escalate. We  stand in solidarity with Afghan women, and remain steadfast in our determination to preserve and  advance the gains they have made in the previous 20 years.  

While U.S. military forces might be leaving Afghanistan, our members vow to remain. As the USAWC  approaches our 20th anniversary, USAWC members are united by a common commitment to support  and carry out programming to further Afghan women and girls’ education, healthcare, economic  opportunities, and leadership. USAWC members will continue to amplify the voices, experiences, needs,  and achievement of Afghan women and girls. 

For Afghanistan to rebuild and for any peace to be sustainable, the country will require a diversity of  ideas, experiences, leadership, and action – from all of its people – to move forward. Such progress is  impossible without the dedicated, long-term involvement of women, which allows for shifts in both long  held beliefs and practices and for systematic approaches. We must continue to work, together, to  create a shared vision of Afghanistan’s future that puts Afghan women, and all of Afghanistan’s people,  at the center.