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Awakenings
June 2003
In this issue:
Copyright © 2001-2002
Jagriti International.
All rights reserved.
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June
2003
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Bridging Worlds Emerging Leaders from Afghanistan
and Pakistan
In the March issue of "Awakenings" you
met our Bridging Worlds Emerging Leaders from India and Nepal.
Now we would like to introduce four Emerging Leaders from Pakistan
and Afghanistan. We look forward to welcoming all 8 Emerging
Leaders to Santa Barbara, California in September, for a two-week
orientation and leadership training program. Following this
orientation each Emerging Leader will have the opportunity to
expand her skills and knowledge by volunteering with a U.S.
based women's organization. In the next issue of "Awakenings"
we will introduce you to their U.S. host organizations!
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Bheshta Omar, World Organization for
Mutual Afghan Network (WOMAN)
Afghanistan |
Bhesta's Organization |
World Organization for Mutual Afghan Network (WOMAN) was
founded by Mina Sherzoy in 2002 in Kabul, Afghanistan.
The mission of WOMAN is to "educate, train and empower
women not only to become self-sufficient but to play a
very important role in their family life as well." The
primary focus of this organization is helping widows and
the needy, as well as promoting the self-sufficiency of
women. During its short existence, WOMAN has initiated
50 women's literacy classes with 2000 students, sent 4
girls on a law scholarship to Poland, and established
on-going bead work and tailoring projects. Currently,
WOMAN is working to add a maternity health clinic which
trains nurses. |
Bheshta's Story |
"I am Bheshta Omar. I am 21 years old. I have graduated
from Rabia-e-Balkhi High School in Pakistan.
I have seven members in my family. My father is a retired
army officer and my mother is a house wife. I have four
sisters and one brother.
I love my family for being supportive in my education
and my future. They are happy that I am with a non-governmental
organization (NGO) like WOMAN so that I can learn and
grow with the organization. I am excited about the Bridging
World Programs.
I consider myself very lucky to be available to take use
of this wonderful opportunity.
My hobby is reading old story books.
I love music and being with people.
I am looking forward to becoming an expert in learning
more professional skills as well as management.
Thank you for your consideration and providing the opportunity
for Afghan women to grow in their society.
From the Bridging Worlds Program I hope to learn more
about computers to make my work easier and less time consuming.
I would like to become an expert in management so that
I can manage the office work while Ms. Sherzoy (founder)
is not in the office." |
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Sadiqa Basiri, Afghan Women's Network
(AWN)
Afghanistan |
Sadiqa's Organization |
Inspired by a UN Conference on Women in 1995, seven female
Afghan participants founded the Afghan Women's Network
with the idea of establishing an environment to promote
unity and cooperation among Afghan women. Their mission
is to promote the rights of women and children on a national
and international level by providing them with a strong
voice. This voice is achieved through the formation of
committees where educated females learn how to train and
hold workshops for less educated women. Human and child
rights, issues of gender, and problem solving are all
issues that the committees discuss and explore. The committee's
past and present activities include conducting capacity
building workshops and skill development training of the
English language. AWN has initiated gender training in
six provinces of Afghanistan by developing a training
team. AWN currently has an office in Afghanistan as well
as one in Pakistan, where over twenty four NGO members
work for women's empowerment. In the future Afghan Women's
Network will hold a Child Rights Convention and wishes
to establish a child rights committee in schools throughout
Afghanistan and Pakistan. |
Sadiqa's Story |
"I am Sadiqa Basiri. I was
born in 1979 in Kabul, Afghanistan. I am an Afghan
citizen who has been living in Pakistan for almost
18 years.
I am related to a big family that consists of my
parents, three sisters, five brothers and me. I
am the eldest among my sisters and brothers. My
father is an engineer; he is based in Afghanistan
and my mother is a housewife. My brothers and sisters
are going to schools. I am the second person to
support my family. |
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We migrated from Afghanistan due to bombardment in our
province Wardak. When I left my country for Pakistan I
was six years old. Thus I did not remember Wardak before
1994. In 1994 I had a chance to go to my province Wardak
but due to the rotten condition in Kabul I could not visit
it.
I started going to school after we migrated to Pakistan
where I finished class 12. After class 12, I started going
to University but due to some problems and the shutting
down of the University during the time of the Taliban,
I could not continue. It was a tough time not only for
me but for more than 2,000 University students as well.
I wanted to study no matter the situation so my father
helped me by providing me the chance to go to a Pakistani
private college. I started going to college for one year
receiving a diploma in computer science. Meanwhile I started
teaching English to beginner level students at Arabic
Faculty and computers at SUSIT Girls Computer College.
It was a time when I was self-sufficient and I remembered
the questions that I had heard from my villagers and female
cousins in 1994 in Wardak, Afghanistan. They were asking
me to explain to them:
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- What do schools look like?
- Who can be teachers and what do they look
like?
- What do you learn and how do you learn?
- How can you go alone to your school?
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These were questions, which I could
not answer them that time because I was a student of class
8 and I did not have any idea to help them. It has always
reminding me that there are some girls who want to go
to school though. After getting my first salary I decided
to work harder to make good money in order to be able
to make arrangement for their primary education. It was
a time when I did not know a lot about the activities
of NGOs. I applied to an NGO to work and make some money.
Fortunately, I found an excellent job, which met my aims.
I understood about leadership and the work of NGOs and
I understood it is a right place since I can fulfill my
goals.
After a two-month project with Afghan Women's Education
Center (AWEC) in Pakistan, I left for Afghanistan to open
a primary school for those girls who have been deprived
from education. Now there are 35 girls of 7-12 year old
and they continue their lessons. I could not encourage
more young girls to come to school since I could not find
another educated female to teach them.
My dream is to see my sisters well educated in a peaceful
Afghanistan. They should be able to raise their voice
to get their rights since I can't stand seeing them tortured
and murdered in the name of honor anymore. I would love
to work to help street children who are orphans and who
beg for money/food on the streets to support their families.
I am interested in the Bridging Worlds program because
I need training in management and leadership in order
to assist the Director in leading AWN better. AWN works
for Human Rights and Domestic Violence in Afghan society
and Advocacy is one of the strategic aims of AWN so I
would need to get the training and get new ideas in this
regard. Management, grant making and fundraising are the
basic skills, which are significant enough for employees
working for non-governmental organization to learn. Without
strong management skills and funds an organization can't
be sustainable. My organization would like its staff to
be trained in this field. As AWN is developing a website
to disseminate information globally, it is an excellent
opportunity for me if I could learn more about computer
technology specially in developing dynamic pages." |
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Ayesha Mahmood, Struggle for Change (SACH)
Pakistan |
Ayesha's Organization |
Struggle for Change (SACH) is an organization that works
toward the rehabilitation and reintegration for survivors
of organized violence and torture. The organization operates
by using an interdisciplinary and holistic approach. They
focus on human rights issues with a special focus on women
and children, due to the fact that they are often the
most oppressed. SACH works specifically with victims who
are in prison and refugees who have fled from their native
lands due to war, inhumane treatment instigated by their
governments or oppressive socioeconomic conditions surrounding
them. The organization's goals are to raise consciousness
against torture, violence and cruel inhumane treatments
and punishments. Furthermore, they aim to train professionals
to work with victims of torture, and to provide feed back
to the government on policy implications regarding all
forms of institutionalized traumatic human rights abuses.
The organization currently has training, workshops, and
shelter based services in place to achieve their goals. |
Ayesha's Story |
| "My
name is Ayesha Mahmood and I have done my Bachelor's
in Business and Information Technology (IT) from
Beaconhouse Informatics, affiliated with Curtin
University, Australia. |
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I was born on the 8th of July, 1980 in Lahore, Pakistan,
and later my family moved to Islamabad city the capital
of Pakistan.
I grew up in a small family consisting of one older brother
and a younger sister. I am very close with my family and
they have all helped me to get where I'm at today. I enjoy
a wide variety of activities, which include surfing the
internet, reading, watching movies, dancing, singing,
sight seeing, bowling and much more.
During my college, I was not only good in studies but
also was a very active part of different student clubs.
Due to my outstanding performance in studies I was offered
a visiting faculty position in my college to teach web
development related subjects and basic computer applications.
I was also referred to some well-known companies by my
teachers to design and develop websites, as it was one
of my biggest strengths.
I am also working with SACH-Struggle for Change, an NGO
working on the issues of Human Rights Abuses, since 1997.
My main activities here are documentation and IT administration.
Initially I started doing volunteer work for SACH in my
spare time but now for almost a year I am working here
as part time IT Consultant and Documentalist.
As for the Bridging Worlds Emerging Leader Volunteer,
I consider it a challenge and a huge stepping-stone for
my future endeavors. I believe one of my strengths is
my versatility to either be a leader or a pawn, depending
on what is called upon me. I also have a good sense of
humor and believe that one is needed to stay loose and
positive while working in these groups. I am looking forward
to the challenge and know that I will come out triumphant.
The Bridging Worlds Program will broaden my vision to
make my organization's initiatives sustainable and presentable
over the coming years. I will also be able to assist documentation
in the most modern manner which will positively add to
the initiatives to support the organization's work. Training
in management will also help my managing and administering
the office affairs in a more systematic manner by applying
new data base techniques and developing other resource
material on the areas of concern for the organization."
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Ayesha Muzaffar, ROZAN
Pakistan |
Ayesha's Organization |
Rozan was created by both men and women in 1998 to address
issues related to emotional health, gender, and violence
against women and children. Their mission is "to enhance
the self-esteem of all people, especially women and children,
in order to work towards a society which is aware, confident
and accepting of itself and others." They work with the
community by providing training and counseling services.
Rozan works for women of all socio-economic classes facing
mental and emotional health problems with a special focus
on victims of violence. The organization currently has
four programs including "Aangan," which works on the emotional
health of children with a focus on child sexual abuse;
"Zeest," which works on the emotional health of women,
in particular violence against women; "Pehchaan," a gender
resource center; and "Rabta," a police training project
which works with police on issues related to violence
against women and children. Rozan presently has 29 staff
members, forty volunteers, and over sixty members who
work on various programs enhancing women's lives. |
Ayesha's Story |
"My name is Ayesha Muzaffar. I was born November 1, 1968
in Peshawar, Pakistan. My father was a naval officer and
my mother is a housewife. I have three brothers and one
sister, and I am the fourth child.
I earned my bachelors degree from Islamabad College for
Girls and I received my masters in clinical psychology
from the University of Peshawar, Pakistan, in 1993.
On December 23, 2001, I married my husband Mujeeb who
is a marketing executive in Compaq Computers Company in
Islamabad. On September 9, 2002, my daughter Rameen was
born. The first sight of her was the happiest moment of
my life. She is now 9 months old and is the heart of the
family.
After completing my masters degree, I taught English in
a school in Peshawar for three years. In August of 1999,
I joined Rozan as a Psychologist, working from 9 am to
5 pm. After the birth of my daughter my life has become
quite hectic, since my responsibilities have doubled.
I am trying my best to manage the responsibilities of
motherhood and work, while maintaining efficiency. I take
Rameen to the office daily. She is the youngest trainer
of our office!
A few of my hobbies are cooking, baking, and listening
to music during my leisure time (which I seldom get).
I also love traveling, a passion which my father instilled
in me. I have traveled to many places since childhood,
including various parts of northern Pakistan, as well
as England and Nepal.
Through participating in the Bridging Worlds program,
I hope to acquire the skills and knowledge regarding setting
up, running and promoting efficient resource centers on
human right issues, especially violence against women
and children. In addition, I look forward to being exposed
to organizations in the US that run programs which incorporate
awareness raising, training, advocacy and support (counseling)
facilities on the issues of violence. I hope to bring
this experience back to my organization in an effort to
enhance our efficiency." |
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