Helping Support Women For Women International During Covid

Olwyn was delighted to once again support the incredible work of Women for Women International during 2020 - a year like no other. Olwyn donated £5,000 towards our partner’s work with women survivors of war in Afghanistan. The donation was used to help provide hygiene kits to programme participants during the COVID-19 lockdown. Afghanistan is one of the hardest places on the planet to be a woman. Afghan women have limited legal protections under laws that govern marriage, inheritance, custody, divorce and domestic violence, but they are not effectively implemented, particularly in rural areas. The country’s maternal mortality rate is among the highest in the world, and at least 50% of women report experiencing intimate partner violence.

During the lockdown period in Afghanistan the team at Women for Women rapidly determined the need to support their women participants across the whole country programme, through providing them with hygiene kits. Kits were provided in all of the provinces where WfWI work in Afghanistan; Kabul, Parwan, Kapisa, Nangarhar and Panjshir to all active programme particpants to share with their families. Each kit included: hand sanitiser, soap, toilet paper, masks, gloves, and an information leaflet that detailed COVID-19 prevention methods such as proper hand-washing and hygiene techniques. In total, 4,700 kits were distributed to women in Afghanistan.

It was amazing to hear from the team that the women said that receiving the hygiene kits felt like a gesture of love. That they felt It to be tangible, physical evidence that we care about them as humans and want to protect their families’ health and wellbeing. In this way, distributing hygiene kits has really helped to break down the stigma around COVID-19, which is a major challenge and cause of fear in Afghanistan. Women did not want to tell people that members of their family are sick or passed away from the virus, as they are afraid that no one would come to their funeral. By giving out these kits our team were able to help dispel some of these fears that they would be ostracised by their communities due to infection.