1. Organization Background

Organization for Research and Skills Training for Women (ORSTW) is a non-for-profit, nonpolitical and Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) established on 21/11/2011 as a women rights organization by a group of educated Afghan women. ORSTW is registered with Afghanistan’s Ministry of Economy and working for the welfare and empowerment of Afghan women in Afghanistan.

ORSTW started its functioning in Afghanistan on 21/11/2011 and currently working in Kabul, Kunar, Nooristan, Laghman, Nangarhar and Khost provinces conducting social research, peace building and  providing Skills trainings and practices, livelihood opportunities through business development skills trainings and micro-credit provision, educational activities, preventive health education, professional/management, capacity building programs, advocating and lobbying for and/or on behalf of the  Afghan women and sensitizing the masses towards admitting and accepting the role and contribution of their female counterparts.

2. Vision

A society free of discrimination, violence and corruption where every inhabitant lives a promoted and peaceful life.

3. Mission

To find out the social problems through a wide variety of researches, address the solutions, and eliminate all kinds of violence and discrimination to pave the way for a healthy society, and peaceful life and to improve the products, and vocational skills of the people.

4. Values

The following principles are valuable, trustworthy, and applicable to the organization, in addition, the organization suggest others to apply them:

Respect to human dignity

Honesty

Faithfulness

Hatred to all kinds of discrimination

Enthusiasm to peaceful life

Professionalism

Respect to organized laws and policies and Afghanistan

Transparency and accountability

Priority to youths and women

Assigning right people for duties coordination

5. Policy introduction and ORSTW commitments

The development of the Gender Policy has come a long way. The process started in early June 2020 by technical support of ACBAR. This policy will produce guidelines and instructions for the ORSTW employees and others who are involved in the operation and activities directly in order to ensure gender equality, gender equity and ending for all types of discriminations and violence and injustice in all projects implementation and this policy is applicable and compulsory for all employees inside and outside the organization.

ORSTW is committed to promote equal opportunity for men and women inside and outside the organization including their participation, inclusion in decision making process, capacity building and any other activities in different levels and reducing gender inequality and Create Equal access and opportunities for both men and women at all organizational levels and will put a disciplinary measures for those who breach this policy. Hence all employees are responsible to implement this policy and encourage others to not breach the provision of this policy.

6. Policy objective

The main purpose of gender policy is to response to the problems and will take reasonable action within and outside the organization to empower gender equality and gender equity in lights of Afghanistan laws and international conventions and also

1)     Ensure gender equality and women’s empowerment within the ORSTW at all levels.

2)     Empower women and promote women’s rights as human rights.

3)     Advocate for the promotion of a gender responsive environment and practices as well as the enforcement of human rights, gender equality and women’s empowerment commitments made at international, continental, regional and Member States levels.

4)     Initiate and accelerate gender mainstreaming in institutions, legal frameworks, policies, Programmes, strategic frameworks and plans, human resources (HR) and performance management systems, resource allocation, and decision-making processes at all levels.

5)     Promote the development of guidelines and enforcement of standards against sexual and gender-based violence and gender insensitive language.

6)     Develop a Gender Management System (GMS) within the ORSTW and promote its adoption.

7)     Build a common understanding around gender through induction and training.

8)     To establish a clear vision and make commitments to guide the process of gender mainstreaming and women empowerment to influence policies, procedures and practices which will accelerate the achievement of gender equality, gender justice, nondiscrimination and fundamental human rights.

7. Definitions

Gender Social and cultural differences between men and women, boys and girls offer them a value, unequal opportunities and chances in life. The inequality rests also on masculine and feminine characteristics as well as aptitudes and perspectives concerning the comportment of women and men in society. However, these characteristics are variable and according to a well-defined timetable.

Also Gender refers to the social attributes and opportunities associated with being male and female and the relationships between women and men and girls and boys, as well as the relations between women and those between men. These attributes, opportunities and relationships are socially constructed and are learned through socialization processes. They are context/ time-specific and changeable. Gender determines what is expected, allowed and valued in a women or a man in a given context. In most societies there are differences and inequalities between women and men in responsibilities assigned, activities undertaken, access to and control over resources, as well as decision-making opportunities. Gender is part of the broader socio-cultural context. Other important criteria for socio-cultural analysis include class, race, poverty level, ethnic group and age.

8. Gender Equality

Gender equality means absence of all types of discriminations based on gender in the allocation of resources, benefits and access to services. Also gender equality is refers to equal rights, responsibilities and opportunities for women and men.

According to the UN definition, gender equality refers to the equal rights, responsibilities and opportunities of women and men and girls and boys. Equality does not mean that women and men will become the same but that women’s and men’s rights, responsibilities and opportunities will not depend on whether they are born male or female. Gender equality implies that the interests, needs and priorities of both women and men are taken into consideration, recognizing the diversity of different groups of women and men. Gender equality is not a women’s issue but should concern and fully engage men as well as women. Equality between women and men is seen both as a human rights issue and as a precondition for, and indicator of, sustainable people-centered development.

9. Gender Equity

Gender equity means the just and fair distribution of benefits, rewards and opportunities between women, men, girls and boys.

10. Gender Balance within Organization

Gender-Based Violence is 'any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women. This includes threats of violence, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private.

ORSTWstrives to ensure the rights of men and women in equitable balance at all levels within the organization such as in the employees recruitments, salaries transfers, compensation and promotion /capacity building and others opportunities without gender discrimination. The organization’s policy is equitable and responsive to the needs to balance work, family, civic life and the different gender roles of staffs on

·        Economic crisis

·        Fertility to decline

·        Increasing educational levels

·        Family instability

·        Development project

The biggest reason for change in gender roles is economic crisis. Worldwide, with economic crisis, real incomes have eroded. In many households these means those men's salaries are no longer adequate for supporting families. The women then increase the number of hours the work in income producing activities and they enter the wage labor force. The same thing is happening in female-headed households, only more. Therefore, due to economic crisis, women are entering areas of work that are not traditionally-female. Women's contributions have become even more essential to the well-being of rural families.

Other reasons for change in gender roles are fertility declines and increasing educational levels. These change the aspirations and opportunities of both women and men and increased migration, often due to the search for waged labor, and other factors lead to family instability. Thus many women become heads of households, and are forced to adopt nontraditional roles. It is estimated that 1 in 5 households worldwide are now female-headed.

11. Complaint response mechanism

ORSTWs’ complaints mechanism on gender issue(s) are consider basic value and human rights and gender consideration in all aspects of constitutions and accepted rules. ORSTW’s considered steps for complaints managements regarding gender issues as under:

-        Collecting complaints from targeted audiences through social media and direct phone call.

-        A team compromised -3-4 members’ analysis the complaints regarding gender issue.

-        A team leader develops a brief report and share with top management (Director, Deputy Director & Program manager).

-        In the light of evidence and reports top management take decision to avoid gender injustice and to avoid GBV.

12. Gender mainstreaming

Gender Mainstreaming is a globally accepted strategy for promoting gender equality. Mainstreaming is not an end in itself but a strategy, an approach, a means to achieve the goal of gender equality. Mainstreaming involves ensuring that gender perspectives and attention to the goal of gender equality are central to all activities - policy development, research, advocacy/ dialogue, legislation, resource allocation, and planning, implementation and monitoring of programmes and projects.

ORSTW will measures its all activities related to gender mainstreaming and advocate with government to bring equality (As cross cutting issues).

13. Gender awareness

Gender awareness is an awareness of the differences in roles and relations between women and men. It recognizes that the life experiences, expectations, and needs of women and men are different.

Gender awareness is the recognition that development actors are women and men, and those women and men are advantaged and constrained in different ways with implications for women and men having differing needs, interest s and priorities. Rethinking the assumptions and practice of gender blind policies through gender analysis and learning about gender differences have resulted in what is referred to as gender aware policies.

ORSTW will developgender awareness material and tools to build capacities of men and women and be treated equally, to meet their demands, encourage families to let their children both boys and girls to go to school (As cross cutting issues).

14. Women empowerment

Women empowerment refers to making women powerful to make them capable of deciding for themselves. Women have suffered a lot through the years at the hands of men. In earlier centuries, they were treated as almost non-existent. As if all the rights belonged to men even something as basic as voting. As the times evolved, women realized their power. There on began the revolution for women empowerment.

Investing in gender equality and women’s empowerment can unlock human potential on a transformational scale. For societies to thrive, women and girls, men and boys must have equal access to education, healthcare, and technology. They must have equal control of resources, lands, and markets. And they must have equal rights and opportunities as peace-builders and leaders.

How to Empower Women?

There are various ways in how one can empower women. The individuals and government must both come together to make it happen. Education for girls must be made compulsory so that women can become illiterate to make a life for themselves.

Women must be given equal opportunities in every field, irrespective of gender. Moreover, they must also be given equal pay. We can empower women by abolishing child marriage. Various programs must be held where they can be taught skills to fend for themselves in case they face financial crisis.

Most importantly, the shame of divorce and abuse must be thrown out of the window. Many women stay in abusive relationships because of the fear of society. Parents must teach their daughters it is okay to come home divorced rather than in a coffin.

ORSTW pledgeto improve the role of women within organization to have access to their rights and being in the heart of higher decision making process and put gender equality at the heart of the national and international agenda, in order to develop poverty eradication, stability and sustainable peace and remove discrimination against women prevents girls and women from living a good life and hampers economic development of women.

15. Gender analysis

Gender analysis refers to the variety of methods used to understand the relationships between men and women, their access to resources, their activities, and the constraints they face relative to each other and also Gender analysis is an essential element of socio-economic analysis.

Quantitative gender analysis is the collection and analysis of sex-disaggregated data with reveals the differential impact of development activities on women and men.

And the effect gender roles and responsibilities have on development efforts qualitative gender analysis is the tracing of historical, political economic, social and cultural forces in order to clarify how and why these differential impacts roles and responsibilities have come about.

ORSTW’s analysis gender in the following stage:

Ø  ORSTW Consider the gender balance in the top level management and to ensure the authority given to female as well as men and implemented gender mainstreaming. Gender balance considered in the Board of Directors, Top level management and decision makers.

Ø  Ensure that gender balances are involved in the planning, designing and implementation of activities and projects.

Ø  -ensure gender balance and equal benefits for all gender terms (male, female, disables, youth, minorities, etc).

Ø  Ensure to paid attention for DO NO HARM rules in the implementing gender analysis.

16. Gender relations

Gender relations define how people should interact with others and how others relate to them, depending on their attributed gender, and they should be analyzed within the cultural context in which they develop. Also develops the relative position of women and men in the division of resources, responsibilities, benefits, rights, power and privilege. When used as an analytical category, gender relations shift the focus away from viewing women in isolated from men.

ORSTW’s consider Gender relations to avoid inequality and injustice in the Organization

-        Priority will be given to educated female staff on merit base.

-        Positions and responsibility will be assigned to female which are suitable for female.

-        Community culture and norms will be considered while position awarded for women.

-        Age will be considered while awarding a position for women, ORSTW proposed aged (20 – 40).

-        Minority and marginalized groups will be given more chances in the Organization.

17. Gender blind

Gender blindness refers to the non recognition of distinctions between sexes, both biological as well as socially constructed distinctions, and the differences in the implications these distinctions have in terms of the needs and interests of women and men. Gender blindness, by not taking conscious account of these distinctions, assumes biases in favor of existing gender relations and thereby tends to exclude women and favor the perpetuation of male privilege.

The following practices have led to gender blindness

Compartmentalizing: refers to the practice of treating social realities of women and men in segregated compartments as though these are isolated from each other and one has no bearing on the other. Compartmentalizing tends to, therefore reinforce stereotyping male female dichotomies (e.g. Technical and social; macro and micro’ etc).

Aggregating: refers to the use of aggregate categories which conceals differentiation and inequality within categories (e.g. household, poor, labor force, etc). This tends to homogenize women and men in these categories as having identical needs and interests.

Externalizing: refers to the tendency to assume gender attributes and gender relations as essential and absolute (i.e. therefore assuming that these cannot be changed). Thereby, biological attributes of women and men may be highlighted in renationalizing the perpetuation of existing distribution of resources, opportunities and rights.

18. Gender Audit

 A gender audit is one aspect of what is referred to as “mainstreaming” analyzing main stream public policy, including legislation, regulations allocations, taxation and social projects from the point of view of their effect on the status of women in a given society. Gender audit analyze the income and expenditures of the government from gender perspective. The basic assumption of gender audit is that public policy impacts differently on men and women.

The purpose of gender audits is to lead to changes in public policy that contribute to an increase in gender equality.

As ORSTW is a women rights focused Organization and is  fully committed to consider gender equality for this purpose that,  ORSTW will conduct gender audit two times in a year (after each 6 months).

- An internal meeting will be conducted to evaluate gender issues in quarterly base.

- Gender audit will be conducted by a committee which includesBoard of Directors’ (BODs) members two times a year.

- Gender audit report will be shared to BODs and top level management of Organization to carry out reasonable actions and take best decision regarding gender issue and avoid any obstacle to implement gender policy.

19. Gender lens

A gender lens is a tool which enables on e to view the participation, needs and realties of women alongside the participation, needs and realities of men. A gender lens can be a checklist, a survey, a problem-solving drama or can take on many other forms. The origin of the term gender lens is a comparison with our sight. Just like we need two healthy eyes to see clearly and fully, we need to see the distinctive realities of men and women, boys and girls, to get the full picture needed for sustainable development. Source.

20. Gender discrimination

 Gender discrimination is the inequitable treatment, including unfair treatment or unequal treatment of a person or a group of people based upon gender\. Gender discrimination is a violation of human rights, including the right to equal and fair treatment by governments/NGOs programs, policies and laws.

ORSTW is committed to avoid all types of gender discriminations with and outside the organization to implement programs and projects without these bad phenomena of discrimination.

21. Afghanistan government Law about gender

ORSTW is committed to ensure the rights of men and women in equal bases and implement its policy according to the article 22 of Afghanistan’s Constitution, which mentions that any kind of discrimination and distinction between citizens of Afghanistan shall be forbidden. The citizens of Afghanistan, man and woman, have equal rights and duties before the law.

22. UN- Convention about gender equality

ORSTW remains committed to practically implement this policy in the light of the following UN- Conventions and treaties,

-        A fundamental principle of the United Nations Charter adopted by world leaders in 1945 is "equal rights of men and women", and protecting and promoting women's human rights are the responsibility of all States.

-        The High Commissioner for Human Rights recently pledged to be a Geneva Gender Champion committing to advance gender equality in international fora. The promotion of rights and opportunities for both women and men and the prevention of gender-based discrimination are priorities for the United Nations, which is dedicated to “promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion.

-        The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) adopted by the United Nations in 1948 ensures equal rights and freedom for all regardless of their gender. According to the United Nations, gender equality refers to “the equal rights, responsibilities and opportunities of women and men and girls and boys. Equality does not mean that women and men will become the same but that women’s and men’s rights, responsibilities and opportunities will not depend on whether they are born male or female. Yet millions of women around the world continue to experience discrimination and others.

23. Islamic Values about gender

Allah says (the believing men and believing women are allies of one another). In the 7th century, Muhammad (PBUH) declared that the pursuit of knowledge is obligatory on every Muslim, male and female. This declaration was very clear and was largely implemented by Muslims throughout history and one of the most influential scholars of Islam was Muhammad’s wife, Aisha. After his death, men and women would travel to learn from her because she was considered a great scholar of Islam and men and women are moral equals in God's sight and are expected to fulfill the same duties of worship, prayer, faith, almsgiving, fasting, and pilgrimage to Mecca. Islam generally improved the status of women compared to earlier Arab cultures.

24. Monitoring and evaluation

ORSTW will monitor and evaluate the gender policy to ensue policy implementation.

-        Director, Deputy Director and BODs member(S) are Responsible to have look and oversee the gender policy implementation.

-        In the internal monthly and weekly meetings will be evaluated the gender policy.

-        In the BOD’s meetings which will be held on each quarter, the gender policy will be focused and discussed, evaluate the policy.

-        And ORSTW will implement the policy and will be paid attention to better implement gender policy in the following points.

-        Training the relevant staff within Organization particularly “Gender officer”.

-        Trained the Organization staff s(paid ,unpaid staff ) to consider gender policy rules.

-        Consider all rules and points of gender policy in the designing, planning and implementation of activities and projects.

-         For any issue occurred while implementing gender policy, refer to top management, no action need to taken in field / community level.

25. Circulation of Gender policy

ORSTW will circulate the policy among the employees every six months for refreshing the knowledge about gender and raise awareness of all employees and beneficiaries on how to deal with gender issues and prohibited the violation and discrimination against the women and men inside and outside the organization.

26. Declaration form

Stating that the signee read the policy has understood and retained the concepts and will not violate or bridge the provisions if so s/he will face the consequences.