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OverviewActionAid International began worl:ing iraAfghanistan in ?tur2, spurred by the cnnanlx.°Ilíngneed for humanitarian and developmentassistance and concern over the potentialramifications of cv cnt.s in Atyluanistan torpeople, c.catnriatmitics and politics in Central andSouth Asia and beyond. AetionAid's mandate isto \yorl: alongside marginalized groups in an(4161t to eradicate poverty. The Afghanistancountry program strategy fi)cuses on fourinterwo\ 1eye1s of involvement:

Grassroots ìOlilltllitaltymobilization activitics-

Local level capacityhuildin

Policy analysis andadvocacy

1\'ctw(arlsirtg andinternational aclvOc<x'v

Afghanistan lias thedubious distinction ofbeing one of thepoorest countries in the

wyorld. llanhed 16'9 out of I countries On theIIunaan Development Index, one of its most.distressing indicators is the low level of femaleliteracy - as little as 1.;`.', of all adult yolncn ern

:Afghanistan are able to read and write. Tiisstatistic is miuched by equally appalling levelsof female engagement in decision- nralcilrg alacibroader go\'crnance prcicesscs.

In 200:i, the war -ravage(] people Of :Afghanistanwitnessed many fundamental changes, includingthe formation of an interim government led byPresident I lanlid líarzai. This post -"l alihangovernment \Vas ushered into office torehabilitate a severely damaged and demoralizednation: The challenges presented by rcbuildingthis fra(t Artel country hay e been numerous and.immense. -I.)espite some progress, the currenthurdles associated with reconstruction willremain for years to conue.

With a population of sonic 2.5 million people,Afghani star) once had more than six millionnationals - litany of theni refugees - hying out-side the country, mainly in Pakistan and Iran.Sirice the removal of the Taliban however,minion have returned.

:After half a decade of oppressive Talibatl rule.,and with a new government installed in Kabul,it is once again possible for Afr;han xvonu+n toworlc openly in civilsociety. Afghanistan'stransition to a liberaldemocracy will onlyhol(] meaning ifwcatnen are invOI\cd onall levels )nul at allstages of the process.\ \'ithin a rural context.this includes empower-ing village vonrcn tourahe decisions affect-ing their own lives.

A 2001, study by theAfghanistan-basedmembers of the PolicyCouncil on AfghanWomen (PCA \V) acoalition of vonm nsorganizations operating-in Afghanistan and theUnited States, generateda list of :Afghanwotrurtt's most urgent development needs. Basichealthcare, literacy and accelerated education,political and civic engagement training, andeconomic opportunity topped their list ofconcerns. Additionally, the study highlighted,the importance of specific types of support fin.\voilier) including anti -domestic violence pro-

grains, mental health services; gentler sensitiza-tion for the media and judicial officiais, legal aid,and leadership training.

ActionAid agrees with the asseswnrcr-rt by l'CA \V'that women's N(;C)s \v-ill play a leading role inthe implementation of these critical programsand services, given their access to remote partsof Afghanistan and their entrenched rclatioI1Ldrips vwith the women the programs wv -ill sr rw e..FM' HOW, ronlerr `J(TOs are no >st.ly involvedwith basis, education, rudimentary health, andincome -generation shrills pr(>grams..Atterrecognizing that mainstreaming wcoriren into

public life \weld notáutornaticarll\ translateinto policy artiolr,several organizationshave also putl'(SOLIl'(eti towwar(f

advocacy. Focusing onboth national andinternational decisi(nimakers, \\omen'sgroups won a rllinll)('1of highly visible vic-tories. Institutionally,their wort: has resultedin the creation of the\Iinistry of \\'omen's.1fì"irirw, as well as riteinc(>rporaltion ofwomen's humanrights into the newconstituticrt1. Theirwork has also tiradefoulest is \ iol(re,which \vas previously

cloaked by shame and household privacy, anincreasingly public issue.

This Issues Itcport offers a brief overview ofsome of the icy challenges and Concerns facedby women's N(X)s wcitlirl Afghan civil society aswomen's rights and opportunities are pursued inflic cOntcxt of national reconstruction anddevelopment.

How MNC Domor Aibr,vi 1-C ti Y1 5 WO f 1 1 t' 11 'S

dAhizatio1'15?l"o date, only a fraction of the donor resourcesearmarked fin- Afghanistan are destined to reachlocal or national women's orç;ani-r,ati(>ns. Forexample, only $3.8 million or.5 percent of the

'nearly S75 million given in grant.s to f;;hancivil society groups during 20x02-2001 fìorn theUnited States Agency for InternationalDevelopment (USAII7) were devoted to wvonle.n sc'I\ il society or~alri"/.Ftticrn,.In 20x0.ta, US advocacy

organizations cffcctivcly.sensitized Congress (>fthe need to more specifi-cally target lix'a] wwrotnen'sgroups within Afghancivil society in futurefiireign_)ti<,l legisiati(u1.

The l'olicy- COMIC]] an:1f 'llau \\'ornen idaswvorhed sircccssfi,tlly withother U -based groups to encourage Congressto make a specific reference towards targetingAfghan women's groups in the US Foreign .lid1íi11 for 20o This should send a clear signal toother bilateral and multilateral donors about theimportance of taking extra steps towardsensuring t11at. local Afghan wv( +rnèrt's groups arebeneficiaries of aid prcigranls.

The recognition by the I'S Congress thattbreign aid must be specifically targeted to local

women's civil society organizations inA umist:an will hopefully send a clear signal tothe other major bilateral and multilateral fineigrlaid donors and creditors currently engaged inAfghanistan about the need to ensure that.1frhal wv(rnlen are major beneficiaries of fì>reignassistance. All donors and creditors shouldconsider taking the extra steps necessary toensure that their aid programs and pr(ijects areeffectively targeting local vyOmen's org_ atlii ttionsas recipients.

CapaciN -Bwilbiras forWom >H's 'N GOsTraditionally, building the capacity of NGOsreferred only to enhancing their ability to carryout more projects and larger programs.However, the accomplishments and challengesexperienced by women's organizations inAfghanistan underscore the importance for abroader definition of "capacity building" thatincludes economic literacy, political advocacy,and policy dialogue. It is this broader array oftechnical and political skills that are ofparamount importance if women's NGOs are tobe empowered to engage effectively in politicaladvocacy and policy issues with other decision-makers.

However, most capacity building programs byforeign aid donors have neglected these technicaland political skills. In a well -meaning rush toget people served and projects implemented,donors often overlook these other types ofintermediate- and long -term skill -buildingcommitments that must be financed withadditional and sustained support. All donorsshould reconsider increasing the proportion oftheir capacity- building support for civil societygroups that is dedicated for developing the tech-nical and political advocacy capacity.

Leabersliip Opportunitiesfor Women anti CulturalBarriersThere are approximately 2,400 local and interna-tional NGOs officially registered in Afghanistan.However, the real number of civil society groupsoperating is likely to be much higher. In the lastfew years in Afghanistan, many have seen howwomen's civil society groups have contributed tonational development initiatives. Afghan womenhave had the opportunity to administer and runmany of these civil society organizations and to

address development challenges such as basicliteracy training, income- oriented vocationalskills training, and very basic health services andhealth education. But despite these recentopportunities, social attitudes about women andwomen's roles in society do not change as quicklyor easily as having new freedoms technically andlegally enshrined "on paper."

Advocates for women's development inAfghanistan must consider long -term strategiesfor staying engaged on a host of criticalquestions: What critical barriers do womenleaders still face? Are more women gainingconfidence in their abilities as leader, and arethey taking on more leadership positions in theNGO sector, in Community DevelopmentCouncils, and shuras (traditional communitycouncils)? Are women leaders being accepted,trusted, and appreciated in their leadership posi-tions by society and in particular by men? Ifthere are still cultural and other barriers hinder-ing women in leadership roles, what are optionsto consider, protocols to adopt, and steps thatcan be taken to address such situations?

INGO - local NGOProtocolThe relationship between international and localNGOs can be mutually beneficial, but too oftencan result in a net loss fbr local groups. Manydomestic groups have sub -contractor relation-ships with larger international NGOs, but rarelydo the relationships focus on building theexpertise and technical capacity of the localpartner. Often, the most skilled and experiencedlocal professionals will leave local NGOs to seekmore secure and higher- paying employment withinternational NGOs, resulting in a constant"brain drain" of the most skilled orknowledgeable staff from domesticorganizations. INGOs and local NGOs can alsoinefficiently duplicate work projects through, alack of coordination. And often representativesof international NGOs have much greater accessto senior government and ministry officials thanmany smaller domestic NGOs. These dynamicscan sometimes fray relationships between nationaland international organizations, which ought tobe mutually -empowering and mutually beneficial.

International NGOs should negotiate with localNGOs (including local women's organizations)in developing an overarching protocol thatwould establish "best practices" guidelines for allaspects of INGO - local NGO relations. Suchtopics should include: instilling bettercoordination of projects and the use ofresources; regularizing funding streams tosupport the capacity -building and operationalcosts of local NGOs; developing protocols forcontracting and subcontracting; financingschemes for higher salaries for local NGOs toprevent the brain drain to INGOs; protocols forensuring access for local NGOs in dialogues withgovernment officials and foreign aid donors; anda host of other areas.

Ideally, international NGOs should be able tomake long -term financing commitments to localwomen's organizations for all types of capacitybuilding, skills training, and political advocacytraining. International NGOs should not meetwith Government officials without also ensuringthat space is made for the inclusion and partici-pation of local NGO partners, including localwomen's organizations.

Health CareThe 2004 PCAW survey of Afghan women'smost urgent development needs found that theneed for accessing basic health care was themost common item cited by women. Whilereconstruction has moved forward on somefronts, there has been little progress towardsrebuilding the public health system or inexpanding access to women.

Several NGOs have voiced concern regardingthe World Bank's health sector reform plan tochange health sector policies in Afghanistan.Rather than dedicating serious resources to thelong -term task of rebuilding the public healthsystem, the World Bank's plan to liberalize thehealth sector places its emphasis on makingresources available for contracting -out to privateNGO service providers based on three- year.

agreements, with the possibility of bonuses for(rood results. the Government of Afghanistanand the World Ranh say t }tat this arrangementwill improve service delivery, though NGOs arewnrriecl about what will happen in three wars itthe Goverrinetit of :Afghanistan cannot yet fundthe clinics on its own. It will either ha\etoborrow more money, or the clinics will close, andin either case, the real substantial long-terminvestments in the public health system are.(li\'crted.

NGOs suggested that a safer approach initiallywould he to begin the long -term rebuilding ofthe capacity in the Ministry of I lealtl} to ensureits capacity to deliver health care over the longNM. There is a related concern that as theGOv crntucnt_ot' :Afghanistan atttcntpts to reachout to rural communities in the countryside andimprove its relations, the \ \World Rank's approachto privatization of health services is destroyingsome of the links the i\'iinistry of I iealth stillhas with communities, since this was the onlyministry t.ha1 functioned to a reasonable le\ eltI t oughout the wars and the "I'aliItii period.

c)NCAtiaflOvercoming harriers. to getting girls intopriniary education and achieving and sustaininghigh primary school completion rates tin- girls

arc some of the most important t'tctors inincreasing women's opportunities in society.action, \id ,Afghanistan's current educationproject, HEl'IA("t" (Regenerated FrcireanLiteracy through Empowering Collttnllnity'Fechni(lues), aims to mobilize and strengthen\\ollten's groups in northern Afghanistan. Thisinternatiimally- applauded program facilitateswomen's plarticipation in larger processes ofsocial change, while also teaching importantliteracy and numeracy shills.

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REFLECT is an innovative internationalprogram that links the teaching of literacy andother communication shills to communityparticipation in wider- processes of developmentand social change. lice to this approach is thetOrmation of RI ?I IJ (`T circles under theguidance of a trained facilitator. Thee thrumsenable community members to comprehensivelydiscuss issues Of relevance to their lives and planconstructive solutions to problems. 'ThroughIll.:II E(T groups, participants develop their(tru learning materials. which in turn are used totransfer vital literacy and numeracy shills.

\etion;\id Afghanistan is assessing theGovernment's National Development Frameworkfrom the perspective of the most marginalizedcommunity groups. In partnership with a localNGO, _Action,lid International is also organizing

community discussions on the Constitution ofAfghanistan to feed into the drafting process.ActionAid's Community Based ParticipatoryChange Plan (CBPCP) helps marginalizedcommunity groups analyze the causes of theirvulnerability so that we can then together developmethods to address issues of key concern. As aresult, governance has emerged as the centraltheme of our engagement within communities.

DebtA process of indentifying debts undertaken byprevious administrationsand reconciling theiramounts with the debtclaims of Afghanistan'sexternal creditors isexpected to be completedin March 2005.Substantial progress hasbeen made in this areaby the Ministry ofFinance in Afghanistan,but cooperation bycounterpart agencies inidentifying and resolvingpre -war claims isnecessary. A number ofcountries have alreadystepped forward in thisregard and several haveprovided significantbilateral debt relief onold claims.

Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF) donations -began paying off the arrears owed to the IMFand World Bank. The two institutions insistedthat as a condition of renewed lending assistancefollowing the 2001 Bonn Accord, thatAfghanistan would have to clear its arrears tothem. Continuing debt service to cover theremaining pre -1979 loans is covered by ARTFfunds.

The IMF's economic growth and other projectionsare predicated on the assumption that all ofAfghanistan's bilateral creditors will provide debt

cancellation. However,NGOs have expressedconcern about the dangerof building again anunsustainable debt burden.During the first twoquarters of 2004/05,Afghanistan has contractednew external loans onlyon highly concessional(grants or verylow -interest) terms.

AfglraNista» facts

known ül'licially as the'l'ransitional Islamic `!state ofAfghanistan, the nation has a population of some

million, which is expected to nearly double withiirthe next 20 years. Its two main religious sects areSunni Dluslint and Shia Muslim. The core ethnic_groups are Pashtutt, 'l'ajìk and Hazara. The two

main spoken languages are Dari (Afghan Persian)and Pashto.

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Source. CIA Factbook

Afghanistan began defaulting on its debt serviceto the International Monetary Fund, World Bank,and others after the 1.9 79 Soviet invasion, thoughthe government continued making some pay-ments until the communist government was over-thrown in 1992. Since the Taliban literally lootedthe vaults as the government fell in 2001, theinternational community, notably Japan, the UK,Sweden, Norway, Italy and several other foreignaid donors- through Afghanistan

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Ties -AidForeign aid is considered"tied" when the richdonor country is reallygiving coupons for therecipient country to useto spend on goods,services, and consultancies

located in the donor country. It goes against thetruism: "If you give a person a fish, you feed herfor a day; if you teach a person how to fish, youfeed her for a lifetime." In practice, many donorcountries have traditionally tied large percentagesof their foreign aid to purchases of their owncountry's goods and services. This has beenparticularly true of international consultancies inthe field of development work.

1i however,rather than

helping localproducers or serv-

ice providers in therecipient country, tied -aid

favors domestic companies indonor countries over the needs of the

poor; diverts funds away from building long-term sustainable development locally;discourages Racal commercial participation indonor projects and local ownership of donorprojects-, and perpetuates the over -reliance onhnowledgc, technologies, and spare parts fromotlrer donor countries.

If donors untied larger proportions of theirforeign aid, it w'oidd: make more resourcesay ailable for Iostcring local economic growctla;increase local ownership of donor -financedprojects; allow for morelocal companies ororganizations to engage in competitive tcndcrinc.;:encourage more bids from local industry andconsultants; tillow borrowing governments tobuy goods and services at more competitiverates; and begin a long-term task of reducingdependency on-companies and consultants based

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in deceloped COMArieti.

The Organization tor Economic Cooperationand Development's (()F.CU) I)evclopmcntAssistance Committee represents all the tyorlcl'sbilateral tòreign aid donors. In :April 2001,ft theyrecognized the harmful side-effects of tied-aidand fìrrmally agreed to untie "to the ltirt;cstextent possible" their aid to least developedcountries beginning in January 2tt(a_'.

Hut today, the degree of tied -aid for Afghanistanis not clear. :Advocates for .better tiare:ign aidshiaulcl insist on ascertaining from their govern-ments what percentage of donor aid toAfghanistan is being spent on locally- Iarodticedgoods or services inside Afirhanistan and whatIacrcentagc is still being spent on goods andservices (consultants) trona the donor countries.If donors were to untie more of their fcareitgnassistance, how much more resources could bemade a\ ailaable to local women's organizations?

TrekcThe Official foreign aid donors have been assisting?tfg,hanistan wvitll the construction ofessential roads in order to open t\t o Central\siart transit corridors: one heading west to Iran;aril the other east to Pakistan. \ \'hile these.routes are expected to generate trarl.sit.and

.

customs revenues, as well as avenues rot.Afghanistan's exports, they can also workagainst the hest interests of Afghanistan ifi-iteop imported goods are dumped in localmarkets: This has profiaund implications for thedevelopment. of industry in :\1t lianistana, whichwith the exception of handicrafts, carpets, anddried fruit~, is nascent at best.

Althe >ugh the INA reports that the WI state -owned enterprises operating in Afghanistan arenot profitable or even self - sustaining, they doprovide important, jobs, and an economic lifelinefor employees and their families. Tue degree oftrade protection for these enterprises has laeendiminished as .Atghanistan signed a trade

agreement at the \Vorld Bank's 2ova annual meet -ings in 1)ubai with China, Iran, Pakistan,"l'aiikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Thereis a concern that Afahanístan's current and futureindustrialists will he increasingly faced withsubstantial ccmrpet.ition from competing cheaperimports from these more advanced economies, andAfghanistan could lose these few remainingindustrial jobs it the competition is too intensefor these enterprises to withstand. ('hiss's andIndia's nearby powerhouse economies, and theirabilities to flood Afghanistan's markets andhamper future industrial development, should berecognized now.

would be so much greater that they would morethan make up thr their lost import/export rev-enue. however, after ' o years of such advice, ashocking September 20u01, Ii\tI research papertitled, "Tax Revenue and (or'?) TradeLiberalization" limn(' that, using panel data co\eì'rng 125 countries over time period I97 -000,high income countries have recovered revenueswith ease, but griddle income countries haverecovered only about 3:; -5.5 cents for each dollarOf trade tax revenue they have lost; and still moretroubling, low income countries have recoveredessentially none. These are significant amounts oflost revenues, which could have been used by poorcountries for health, education and other develop-

The opening up of the regional transit corridors went needs over the years. Given thatalso Coincides with US_AII), AVurld Bank. Asian :Afghanistan is such a low- income country; time (br-1)eveloptiment Bank, and IN-i1 assistance in customs eign aid donors' current plans forreform programs which has a clear preference for rapid trade liberalizationfree trade policies, even through many industrial- raise deep con-ned countries slid not themselves adopt more tern, for

open trading; policies until their domestic indus- bothtries were Much more advanced first. In additionto standardizing customs procedures, exchangerates and valuations countrywide, customsreform is seen as a way to increase domesticrevenue, These refinins, together with timeopening up of new trade routes, suggestan emphasis on generating transit rev-enue as in the "glory" clays when thearea that became :\1'e,Iìanistan was acritical pathway Oil the Silk (toad.Again; little if anymention is Made of how thesereforms and improved inlì'astructureran harm domestic- industrialdevelopment, small farmers, orwomen.

\lt.licurgh most developing countriestraditionally received -a greatamount of their revenues fromimport/export taxes, time WorldRani; lias bung told developingcountries not to worry about lostrevenues from trade liberalization,because their increases in exports

the ability of dorm±st:ic companies to -w it]!stan(1 aflood of cheaper imported goods /Hid

the fiscal soundness of accepting Irrst revenuefrom trade tames.

13efirre encouraging Afghanistan to so quicklysign onto new trade liberalization deals, adycxiatcsfrr .Afghan women should call ou donor counniesto finance tirs commissioning of a Trade ImpactR rvie\ ('1 l lis modeled on the \i'onren's ICdgc]proposal to the US Government) that wouldanalyze the gender impacts of the !major tractenegotiations Afghanistan has recently begunwith several of its neighbors aitd tither tradingpartners. Such a TIR would provide for acomprehensive assessment Of the gender-differentiated impacts of new trade and foreigninvestment trgrec'nents, and could be undertakenprior to their negotiation and signing by thegovernment of Afghanistan.

International taule commitments, like macroeco-nomic policies, are not gender -neutral. in orderto avoid any unintended consequences acidpotentially negative impacts of tracte investmentagreements on women, a TITI analysis isrequired to ascertain the repercussions, costs,and benefits to Worten and their färiaílies. The'FIR offers a fraurcworh for a genclered analysisand identities a number of indicators that thole

be monitored in order to assess the genderimpacts of agreements. `Tyre 'h[R should hefinanced externally and administered by theWomen's Ministry and a coalition of local,\boll en's organizations.

7formulAtion of Sector.ticies

h`orcign aid clonons have moved loo quickly toutilize outsiders to redraft many existing policiesand tt'ameworks. It is almost impossible todetermine where Government policies begin /mddonors' influence ends Policies now beingfrantically rewritten relate to banking, privatesector investment, energy and mining, customs,and transit trade, not to mention the strategyplans of the health, education, and social sectors.\\ hile niant' policies and laws are outdated andniant' had been "Sovietized" and later"'l'alibanized ", the rush for tbreign consultants torewrite them all immediately raises concerns.Policies should be written with the voice of:Afghans, not international consultants.

'Without addressing the lack of capacity iu a

realistic time frame and finding at wad. CM' tlu'(Onntry to train a range Of oriel -level professionalsincluding bureaucrats, accountants, managers,agronomists, professors, engineers, and doctors,new policies will have little long -lasting impactsince they will not be meaningful to those taskedwide implementing theme. The speed and mannerwith which t)ew policies have been derivedby°donors should be reconsidered, and it should beclear that they should be open to revision by

eleCttcl Afghan administrators and guided bypublic policy choices in the tìature

Pr-iv..tc foreisrt hivestmcrtt.\While private sector development is clearlyimportant. fi.)r .1f'ghanistaut, the rush to rep\ ri elaws in favor Of the private sector and increasedtransit trade does not take into consideration thecurrent state of development in Afghanistan.'1'hcre appears to he no guarantee that Afghans«ill benefit from such business activity. C'nd(rthe newly -proposed po1Î('ICs, many of theregulations on fì)rcign investors that aredesigned to ensure positive spin-off benefits fhr

the local economy (and long used by all of thesuccessfully industrialized (OUntries) have beenstripped away. For example, under these policies,foreign companies would be encouraged but notrequired to lire Afghan nationals. The require-ments that foreign investors deposit SLO,) O toobtain a commercial license and that dc>rr)tsticinvestors deposit half the value of the proposedinvestmer)t have also been waived, making it

.

easier tOr unscrupulous businessrnei) to abscond:leaving workers and vendors unpaid with norecourse_ There are also tic) dysfitnctiorial stateenterprise's remaining. but even if they are poor -ly managed, they are still assets of Afghanistanthat should not be recklessly auctioned off in anunregulated fashion (as in the case of Russia) tomake a few individuals wealthy. Linfi)r'tutiately,the new im estment lams also make no guaran-tees that privatized industries, even if foreignowned, do not simply take advantage of taxbreaks to repatriate all profits outside the court-try rather than invest even a portion of them inA:ghanistau.

The World Bank's Private SCct(r1)tveloprnettt (PSI)) Strategy and its output-based aril (Olia) approach to procurement callfì)r projects to be carried out by privatecontractors, local or national, as long as they caneli) -all Of the \orli ttpíi -orrt then Wait. f<)r art V

independent auditor to confirm that they cont-

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pleted the project befhre getting reimbursed by the\\'orld Bank. This ORA approach wasostensibly based on the desire to get hatterverifiable "results" from t<)reign aid, yet such ap )(C (Iure clearly privileges the largerr, internationalPrivate service -providers which have stub deeperpockets than smaller locally-owned firths.

!Many NGOs argue that rather than designingdonor policies deemed to open ,Afghanistan widelyand quickly to toreign private investors andimporters, and thereby drastically curtailing thefunctions of the state to a minimum, a betterapproach would he to begin the long-term work ofrebuilding the state's capacity for basic service pro-vision. A Nlarcin 2OO1. Discussion Paper by Novib-Oxfam Netlrcriands, ;ActionAíd International, andAlternatives was loiut.1v'- presented to the intcrna-tiona) donor's (Onference in Berlin. Tine papertitled, "On Securing Afghanistan's Future: Thecase for more anti not less government, Offered acritique of the donors' plans to diminish theresponsibilities of the state. 'Fine report arguedthere is are essential role for the state in develop-ment. The fundamentals of social justice andexisting inequalities and the necessary state inter-ventions needed for reducing these disparitiesshould profile more dominantly in the policies withrc ,a rd to the role Of the state. Though importantfor economic growth, investments in private sectordevelopment, free markets, and trade heed to bedefined in relation to the development stage-Afghanistan is in at the present.

If poverty is to be addressed, there is a need forpolicies and actions of the central state, such asmarket regulation, land reform, public credit facili-ties, tariffs, etc. that yFill ensure time inclusnOn ofthe poor in the growth /development processes.'These irtt:erveut.ic)ns are important also to establishauthority, secure the economy and ensure equitable0-row-tin.

Equally, the government should alsointervene sharply in social servicesprovision. As stated in the United NationsDevelopment Program's !human Developutent

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Report (2003), the experiences of rich countriessuggest that the sequence for social services(health, education, water) should be a comprehen-sive provision by they state early on,followed by more targeted interventions, at .i thenpublic-private partnership.

About ActioriAib AfstiAnistmM\ctionAid Afghanistan works with a local team of

Afghan staff and has offices in Kabul, 'Lazar -i-Sharif, and Kandahar. \Ve collaborate closely NN itit

the fì)lloving partners:

1`,,,han people: :\ction \icl International works tosupport and strengthen communities' participationin their own development_ We aim to help ruralcommunities participate actively to the rebuildingof their nation, rather titan leaving them as passiverecipients of donor -imposed development. Thismeans \ve work at village level yith the mostN ulnerable f tmilies (as identified by the community),often implementing 'cash for wort.' programs tohelp them restore and rebuild communityinfrastructure.

NGOs: ActionAid works through a network oflocal NGOs, thereby benefiting from a wealth oflocal knowledge and experience. In Afghanistan,we work alongside ten local NGO partners togather resources to meet the needs of variousprojects. We also encourage active involvementfrom community representatives. ActionAidAfghanistan conducts capacity -building work-shops for NGO staff, government staff (mostrecently the Ministry for Rural Rehabilitationand Development), and students interested in thefield of development.

The training covers:

a.

a

Poverty, human rights and developmentGender and developmentEquity and sustainabilityEmergency, conflict management andpeace- building processesGlobalization, governance and participatoryapproaches in research and development

We further seek to coordinate all activities withvarious specialized agencies working in theregion. These relationships are developedthrough both informal meetings and working

through existing structures such as the AgencyCoordinating Body for Afghan Relief (ACBAR)and United Nations Assistance Mission forAfghanistan (UNAMA). This coordination isparticularly important in bringing togetherresources for our projects, because it ensures weuse existing services and avoid unnecessaryduplication of activities.

Government and policy makers: At the policylevel, ActionAid Afghanistan has conducted twolarge scale research projects looking into thepopulation's ability to participate in governmentprocesses. The first is focused on theGovernment of Afghanistan's NationalDevelopment Framework (NDF), and the secondon the constitutional process. These policy initia-tives aim to provide a critical analysis from theperspective of the most marginalized communitygroups.

In 2003, ActionAid initiated communityconsultations on Afghan's constitution inpartnership with a local civil society member.ActionAid is now lobbying alongside the LoyaJirga (traditional Afghan assembly) members, themedia and civil society. In doing this, we aim tobring the interests of poor and marginalizedAfghans to the center stage by helping theminfluence policies and programs.

ActionAid Afghanistan has also formed allianceswith academics, media and socio- cultural groups.Partnerships with the Government ofAfghanistan and the Ministry of RuralRehabilitation and Development have furtherhelped strengthen our work.

ActìonAid AfghanistanHouse #74(Opposite Medina Bazaar)Qala- e- :FatuallahKabul, AfghanistanTel: +93-79-205-324> niaíl: aaafghan(ìactionaidafg.orgwww.ac tionaid.orgiafghanistani

"Women's Ebse Report: 2')N7 VS T'ro5r,2041 f1e1p

A V1/o M ell's G r OVII rsIn the spring of 2004, Afghanistan -based membersof the Policy Council on Afghan Women (PCAW),a coalition of women "s organizations operating inAfghanistan and the United States, generated a listof the most urgent development needs of Afghanwomen. Basic healthcare, literacy and accelerate t

education, political and civic engagementand economic opportunitytopped their list.

Following the recent launch of new international assistance programs tobuild ;Afghan \Ornen's civil society. the Women's Edge Coalitionreleased a report analyzing the programs' potential effectiveness instrengthening Afghan women's organizations. fhe paper, entitled"Strengthening Afghan Women's Civil Society to SecureAfghanistan's Future," ( www.womcnscdgc.ort ) puts forwardrecommendations to officials in U.S. government agencies,C'ongressional leaders and staffers, and representatives of Afghan andinternational nongovernmental organizations.

Additionally, the coalitionhighlighted the importanceof specific types of supportincluding anti -domesticviolence programs; mentalhealth services; gendersensitization for the meditiand judicial officials; legalaid; and leadership training.As Malaly Volpi, ExecutiveDirector of the PolicyCouncil on Afghan Womenexplained, women's NGOswill play a leading role inthe implementation of these critical programs, giventheir access to remote parts of Afghanistan andtheir entrenched relationships with the women theprograms will serve. For now, women's groups aremostly involved with basic education, rudimentaryhealth, and income- generation skills programs.After recognizing that mainstreaming women intopublic life would not automatically translate intopolicy action, several organizations have also putresources toward advocacy. Focusing on bothnational and international decision makers,women's groups won a number of highly visiblevictories. Institutionally, their work has resultedin the creation of the Ministry. of Women'sAffairs, as well as the incorporation ofwomen's human rights into the new constitu-tion. Their work has also made domesticviolence, which was previously cloaked byshame and household privacy, anincreasingly public issue.(tt w w,policycouncil.org)

l han

,roul)s..country,

hi 2004. the United States:Agency for InternationalDevelopment (l [SAID)announced two programscreated to strengthen andpromote civil society inAfghanistan: t I) the Iwo -year. S IO million Literacyand ConmlunilyEmpowerment Program(1.CI P) to engage conlnnt-nity groups in activities toexpand literacy eco-nomic opportunity and (2)the three -year. S 15.(' millionInitiative to Promote -

Civil Society (l -PALS) to support. the work of women'sdevelop a legal framework ibr how N(it)s operate in theand create a strategy for sustaining Afghan civil society.

Women's Edge notes that because previous US approaches Glade littleeffort to directly support and build Afghan women's organizations, thenew assistance programs represent a significant shift front -the earlierdevelopment approach taken by the United Stales. "We are pleased thatthe I ! , oternnnent has initiated these critical programs and think theyrepresent an important first step in strengthening Afghan women'sgroups." said Rini Sharma, President of the \ \-omen's Edge Coalition."Our coalition, Afghan women's organizations, and others will be watch..ing closely to sec how the programs are implemented in the field, And we

will work to ensure that real money is available once these programsprove that they work."

"Since President Bush pledged three years ago to help Afghan women,AAfchan women leaders have been waiting to see what programs the UnitedStales will oiler." said Mayfly Volpi, Executive Director of the Policy

Council on Aighan Women. a coalition of Afghan and internationalnongovernmental organizations. "Now that the assistance programs arelaunched. our members will closely monitor the programs' progress in the field

Ice ensure they arc reaching .Afghan women in need,.' ,aid Volpi.

(hup: www.tvoincnsedge.or0ocuments:rAtgluir"rï,?Owourcn_'Upolicy2f)paper.pilf)

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