19 February 2002

USAID Funds Rebuilding of Afghan Women's Affairs Ministry

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has announced the release of $64,000 for the restoration of the Afghan Ministry of Women's Affairs and $13,000 for the rehabilitation of the offices of Ariana, an Afghan non-government organization devoted to education of women, according to a USAID press release February 19.

The Taliban regime damaged the women's ministry and the Ariana offices during the Taliban's five years in power, the press release said.

Following is the text of the USAID press release:

Kabul, Afghanistan -- At a signing ceremony at the Afghan Ministry of Women's Affairs today, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) representative Jim Kunder, announced two grants totaling $64,000 for the rehabilitation of the Afghan Ministry of Women's Affairs building complex. A third grant of $13,000 will help rehabilitate the offices of Ariana, a national women's non-governmental organization (NGO). The U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker and the Afghan Women's Affairs Minister Sima Samar presided over the ceremony, both stating that these were the first grants they had signed in their new capacity.

USAID is working in cooperation with its implementing partner, the International Organization for Migration (IOM). USAID funding will enable the removal of rubble from the Ministry's auditorium, provide for the renovation and equipping of 11 offices, and provide support for technical advisors. In addition, USAID is providing a technical assistance package to assist the Ministry in establishing operations and developing programs.

The Afghan Interim Authority has assigned the Afghan Ministry of Women's Affairs a complex of buildings in downtown Kabul that housed the Afghan Women's Institute from 1949 until the Taliban closed the Institute. During the Taliban occupation (which began in 1996), the auditorium building on the grounds of the Institute was burned. Today, the walls of the building remain structurally sound, but the roof has collapsed and lies in the rubble along with burned furniture and equipment.

USAID's three-phase rehabilitation project will offer visible signs of physical restoration of the Ministry of Women's Affairs, and symbolically, the more inclusive policies of the Afghanistan Interim Administration toward women. Rehabilitation of the building also will enable the Ministry to carry out ceremonial meetings for the International Woman's Day Conference, which is being hosted in Kabul on March 8, 2002.

In addition, USAID is providing $13,000 through the IOM to rehabilitate the offices of Ariana, a national women's NGO. Ariana is based in Kabul and provides educational and vocational courses to women and girls. USAID will fund general repairs of the building and provide Ariana with training supplies and equipment. Support will ensure that Ariana is able to remain at its current residence for a minimum of one year, increase links between Ariana and the Ministry of Women's Affairs, and increase the organization's ability to provide training and educational courses.

Ariana's courses for women and girls help fill a gap in the educational system of Afghanistan. Ariana began working in 1993. By 1997 Ariana had helped more than 3,000 individuals when its operations were ceased by the Taliban's Police for the Prevention of Vice and the Protection of Virtue. Ariana then went underground and continued to offer education to women.

On March 8, 2002 Ariana will hold a graduation service for all the women who passed through Ariana's underground educational service during the Taliban regime. The Minister of Women's Affairs will attend the ceremony and present certificates to the graduates.

The U.S. Agency for International Development is the U.S. government agency that has provided economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for more than 40 years.