VOICES FROM AFGHANISTAN:Youths open up about women's status and empowerment

To better understand Afghan youths' vision for their country, the

Chemonics gender team on USAID's Regional Afghan Municipalities

Program for Urban Populations engaged hundreds of young men

and women in conversations about local governance and women's

empowerment. In these conversations, young people across

Afghanistan opened up about women's status and what they

believe needs to be done to empower women. This slideshow

highlights a few of the themes that emerged in these candid

conversations.

Together, they reveal a hunger for change among the next generation of Afghans.

COMMUNITY SUPPORT“The community elders say that women have no rights. I do not accept this − I want to make progress so that I can serve my country.”

— 25-year-old female, Kandahar

EQUAL ACCESS TO EDUCATION“We can bring improvements to our society when we are educated to do so.”

— 20-year-old female, Qalat

ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES“I plan to work outside the home if there are the facilities to do so and security is guaranteed. If women work, society’s economic problems can be solved and we will help develop the country.”

— 17-year-old female, Qalat

OPPORTUNITIES FOR CIVIL ENGAGEMENT“I need to cooperate with the government and be involved in activities. But first I need to be invited to participate.”— 17-year-old female, Zaranj

ENDING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN“We need to improve conditions in general and focus on addressing violence against women − especially those women who are being abused and kept inside the house.”

— 20-year-old male, Nili

WOMEN’S RIGHTS UNDER THE LAW“The law should be equally applied to men and women. There is a lot of corruption and so the law is not equally applied and this impedes development. The municipality should improve its relationship with citizens by enforcing the law.”

— 18-year-old female, Zaranj

For more information and stories about women’s experiences in

development, visit www.chemonics.com.