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Funded by the U.S. Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations, the International Center for Afghan Women’s Economic Development (ICAWED) was inaugurated on the American University of Afghanistan (AUAF) campus in Kabul on Saturday.
The center will provide a networking platform for Afghan businesswomen, female entrepreneurs and associations to coordinate and share ideas on the development of Afghanistan’s economy.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony was attended by AUAF President, US Ambassador Tina Kaindanow, ICAWED officials, students and businesswomen.
“I am proud to represent the people of the United States in saying that we will remain steadfast in our support of Afghan women for many years to come. Afghanistan’s future will depend on whether women are able to live up to their full potential in every sector of Afghan society,” said Kaindanow.
Worth USD 5mn, the 54,000 square-foot center marks a remarkable achievement for a country long affected by gender inequality. It is the only such place for women in Afghanistan to meet with academic, business, and government leaders.
(AUAF-Press Release)This new center is a wonderful development for AUAF and Afghanistan. The 5,000-square-meter center will be the first facility of its kind in Afghanistan to lead and coordinate both international and Afghan public and private sector efforts to advance the role of women in the economic stabilization of Afghanistan. AUAF is the ideal institution to operate the center because of its recognized commitment to rebuilding Afghanistan and enhancing its stability by training the country’s next generation of leaders.
The center will bring together and house the services provided by the US/Afghan Women’s Council, various nongovernmental organizations committed to women’s issues in Afghanistan, the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Initiative, and the university’s professional development programs devoted to women’s empowerment. These different organizations and services are currently located at scattered sites that make it difficult to achieve a coordinated impact on behalf of women in Afghanistan’s economy. They also are functioning without the support services that a central location can provide—administrative support, IT access, office and meeting space, and access to information and professional expertise. Thus the building will be much more than just a structure; it will be an academic platform to support the development and growth of women’s businesses. These businesses will have the capacity not just to energize the economy for women, but to change the economic reality of families in Afghanistan by increasing women’s income.
In particular, the center will support women’s training and development in two critical areas:
(1) Information and communication technology; a field that internationally attracts many women
(2) Indigenous industries in Afghanistan and the supply chain development and logistics needed to bring these industries to scale and to market, both within the country and internationally.
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