The Bayat Foundation considers female empowerment in Afghanistan as one of its most important missions. Historically, Afghan women have had few rights and they continue to struggle to gain equal footing with men. To support this work, the foundation has issued a number of Empowering Women Grants that fund organizations that work to improve gender equality in the country.
In 2010, the Bayat Foundation gave a $10,000 Empowering Women Grant to Women for Women International in support of a program that provides job skills training to vulnerable women. These women also received small business support as they sought to increase their earning potential. Since the end of the war, women in Afghanistan have faced a number of socio-economic hurdles that have largely prevented them from climbing out of poverty and achieving self-sufficiency. Single mothers, refugees, victims of human trafficking, and widows are among the most vulnerable women, and the Bayat Foundation’s grant allowed Women for Women International to help them develop poultry businesses and gain access to microcredit financing to fund other ventures.
Another $10,000 grant from the Bayat Foundation went to the Business Council for Peace in support of the Mazar Fast Runner Initiative, a program that supports female business owners in Afghanistan who create jobs for others. The grant provides women in Mazar-i-Sharif with training in the skills they need to expand their businesses and create more employment opportunities for other people in the community. This training included consulting and one-on-one coaching.
A third Empowering Women Grant offered $10,000 to the Justice for All Organization, which provides free legal advice and representation to women who have been charged with a crime or who are currently imprisoned. Women often have little knowledge of their constitutional rights in Afghanistan and rarely have the money necessary to hire a lawyer. This grant ensures that women can receive the representation and guidance they need to exercise their legal rights. Ultimately, the Justice for All Organization hopes to prepare women for successful careers in Afghanistan’s legal and political arenas.