UPDATE FROM OUR BACK TO LIFE CENTERS IN AFGHANISTAN

The ongoing oppression of women and girls in Afghanistan by the Taliban demands urgent support for local civil society. With our BACK TO LIFE centers, which we run in cooperation with an Afghan partner organization in Kabul, we offer girls, women and their children a safe shelter from sexualized violence and forced marriage.

In the three facilities, the women and their children receive comprehensive support, including food, healthcare, vocational training as well as sports and creative free-time activities such as sewing and tailoring. In addition, the women, who come from different provinces of Afghanistan, receive legal support and advice.

We were able to achieve a lot in 2024: We secured 94 medical treatments, enabled 160 women to take part in mental health and self-care workshops and offered psychotherapy sessions to 188 women. In the area of legal advice, 84 cases were processed. These included legal support in court, particularly in the areas of family law, rights within marriage as well as cases of “domestic flight”, “moral corruption”, “illegitimate relationships”, “false accusations” and divorce. These were successfully resolved through intervention and mediation by the relevant authorities and courts.

Despite the progress made, we continue to face growing challenges. One of the greatest difficulties is to emphasize the necessity of such centers under Taliban rule. The implementation of projects that focus on supporting women stands in contrast to the Taliban’s record of violating human and women’s rights. In this context, it is becoming increasingly difficult to provide the necessary support and protect women’s rights. This is why it is so important that we can continue our work successfully. Many thanks to the Federal Foreign Office for supporting our work in and around Afghanistan.

To safeguard our project participants we have concealed their identities.