KABUL, 25 June 2014 – The Afghan Shelter Network (ASN) along with the Ministry of Women’s Affairs (MoWA), with support from the International Development Law Organization (IDLO), will launch the “Women’s Protection Centers Guidelines” for the Afghanistan Shelters Network, on the 25th of June 2014.
The WPC Guidelines are the result of a joint effort of the Women’s Protection Centers in Afghanistan that are members of the Afghan Shelter Network (ASN), coordinated by IDLO working under the Supporting the National Justice Sector in Afghanistan (NJSS) program. The Guidelines, developed in close coordination with MoWA, are aligned to the Shelter Regulations (legal procedures) established through the Shelters Commission and the Ministry of National Women’s Affairs. They aim to assist the women’s protection centers to operate efficiently and improve the quality of services provided to shelter clients. In addition, the WPC Guidelines entail standardized measures and procedures to improve cooperation between Women’s Protection Centers and the Ministry of Women’s Affairs.
According to MoWA, “Women’s Protection Centers, also known as shelters for abused women, are not merely places to house the women. Rather, the beneficiaries, during their temporary stay in these centers and while following up with the legal processes against the perpetrators, can take several educational courses, including learning to read and write, learning a trade, familiarizing themselves with religious and Islamic studies, learning about women’s and children’s rights within the family, all of which certainly have major impacts on their future.”
The launch will be attended by Voice of Women Organization, Cooperation Center for Afghanistan, Women for Afghan Women, Humanitarian Assistance for Women and Children of Afghanistan, and Afghan Women’s Skills Development Center who are managing protection centers and are members of the Afghan Shelters Network. Representatives from civil society, international agencies, IDLO and the US State Department Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) of the US Embassy will also participate.
The publication of the “Women’s Protection Centers Guidelines” was funded by INL and and supported and coordinated by IDLO.
For further information contact: Mary Lou Schramm, IDLO NJSS Chief of Party mschramm@idlo.int