Vocational Training for Afghan Women

The power of independence

The widows of Afghanistan are one of the most vulnerable groups in the world. Under Taliban rule, they were not allowed to go to school or work outside the home. As a result, up to 97% have no education or marketable skills.

Today, many widows are not qualified for the jobs they need to provide for their families. Most subsist on less than a dollar a day per person in the home. Many are forced into begging or prostitution, and rely on their children to work towards the household income. This means that yet another generation will have to survive without education.

Learning for a better life

We are working together with the women in Afghanistan to find solutions that will help them enter the workforce and achieve independence through the Vocational Training for Afghan Women Project (VTAWP).

The project helps women build their own livelihoods by training them in skills that are in demand and by helping them in their job search. The women are linked to services like savings and loans groups, micro-financing and business training. We also work with widows’ rights associations to increase community acceptance of workplace roles for women.

The widows who participate in VTAWP learn the skills they need to earn a stable income, overcome the cycle of poverty and provide a better future for their children. Through the VTAWP, CARE will train 1,750 widows, helping roughly 8,750 Afghan women and children over the next three years.

Read the story of one of our graduates.

CARE operates the VTAWP program in Afghanistan in partnership with the World University Service of Canada, with the generous funding assistance of the Canadian International Development Agency