Road to empowerment
The Road to Empowerment is a four-tiered project, geared toward both male and female empowerment, and consists of four sub-projects: the Afghan Women’s Council, our consultation service, our anti-violence projects, and gender equality trainings.
To fully adapt to our target group, which is often illiterate and inexperienced, and lack self-confidence, we have developed a multidisciplinary approach to aid them in their integration and meet their immediate needs. To provide this, HWA launched the Road to Empowerment. With four distinct sub-projects, the Road to Empowerment emphasizes gender equality, combatting violence, primary assistance and empowerment, and aims to build up their knowledge of Belgian society, so they may integrate fully.
Through the Road to Empowerment, HWA aims to empower women and men with a migration background from a social and economic point-of-view. Our target group is often quite isolated and needs more than just one thing of us, and as such we tried to group as many services into one project—thus the Road to Empowerment was born.
Our target group is often illiterate and inexperienced in the professional field, and lacks self-confidence. Their background is often troubled, whether they come from a war zone or conflict zone, where no attention is paid to women’s development nor to equal opportunities, or merely a society where none of these values or accepted.
Gender equality remains a hot button subject amongst many migrant communities. The prevailing mentality in their country of origin is often that women should remain at home, rather than work and/or study. All these barriers have a major impact on the lives and mentality of this group. They do not have a voice of their own, cannot stand up for themselves, and often fail to (fully) participate in society. Some of them, however, would prefer to work or study but need help and motivation to take that final step toward independence.
We aim to break down these religious and cultural barriers and the isolation they cause by providing both men and women with interactive gender equality training and workshops. After all, both women and men must undergo this mentality shift to properly be able to integrate. We give the extra push and together we explore the steps to take towards an emancipated existence, and do so through four distinct sub-projects:
- Gender equality trainings
- Consultation service
- Anti-violence service
- Afghan Women’s Council.
Gender equality training
Our gender equality trainings are geared toward both men and women and deal with a wide array of subjects, ranging from general domestic violence and intrafamilial violence to sexual violence and harassment, and healthy relationships. We provide these trainings in the hopes of creating a mentality shift within our target audience, to educate them on the do’s and don’ts in Belgian society, and to build awareness within the communities which need it most, which include the Afghan community.
Consultation service
Arriving in a foreign country where an entirely different language is spoken results more often than not in a large culture shock and isolation. The language barrier leads to difficulty with basic needs not being met.
Our consultation service focuses on newcomers and those from the local Afghan community, and aims to aid them with their pressing needs, which can range from help with their tax filing to advice regarding rental contract disputes. It is our intention to aid our target audience in their language of origin to make communication easier and our service more accessible.
We are more than merely a consultation service—we offer assistance, information, advice, support and referral, thus hoping to become a beacon to those who need us.
Anti-violence service
Domestic and intrafamilial violence plagues society to this day, and not just amongst those with a migrant background. However, properly dealing with this taboo subject matter remains a difficult issue. HWA provides interactive training and workshops, as well as a primary assistance helpline for Afghan women.
Our anti-violence service is two-pronged: internal cases and external cases. Through our helpline, we aid both victims and perpetrators in a healthy and compassionate environment. Concurrently to our internal cases, we also support our many partners with their cases, providing culturally sensitive counsel, and if needed do so in Dari, Pashto and Farsi.
Women’s council
The Women’s Council is a platform for Afghan and Iranian women to empower themselves, support one another, and advocate for their own rights and other women. Comprising women from diverse backgrounds and academic disciplines, the council meets monthly to discuss key topics that foster their personal growth, empowerment, confidence, and capacity development..
Additionally, the council actively expands its members’ knowledge and networks by organizing visits to relevant institutions and organizations. Through these experiences, the women gain deeper insights, develop stronger skills, and become more confident, enabling them to integrate more effectively into Belgian society. This empowerment not only strengthens their own positions but also makes them inspiring role models for female newcomers. By fostering resilience and leadership, the Women’s Council creates a lasting positive impact on the lives of these women and their communities.
The Women’s Council primarily focuses on Afghan women, due to their cultural background and language. It is a group of women who wish to learn and grow together in a trusting environment.
However, even within the group of Afghan women, there are significant differences, depending on where they come from in Afghanistan or how strictly their families adhere to Muslim laws.
We would like to provide some additional context about the situation:
- Most Afghan women lead an isolated life from a young age, taking no active role in society.
- Women who would like to actively participate in our community once they settle here often face barriers due to cultural and language differences. The Women’s Council serves as a valuable stepping stone for them.
- A large portion of Afghan female immigrants lacks a network. Some are completely reliant on themselves. Often, they (initially) do not trust people from other nationalities in their immediate environment due to differences in culture and religion.
- Finally, the Women’s Council is also a platform for women who are not ready to actively participate in society and, for instance, are not yet open to a future involving education or employment. The Women’s Council is the ideal vehicle for them to get acquainted with Belgian values and norms, build a network, and develop themselves.
The Women’s Council meets every month. It organizes activities aimed at self-development and familiarizing participants with society. It is the perfect moment for this group to break free from isolation. Since the majority of the participants are of Afghan origin, they are often granted permission by their husbands to attend.
The Women’s Council focuses on the following key areas: developing a network, motivating active participation in society, building and expanding knowledge and skills, self-empowerment, and self-confidence. In addition to the monthly meetings, we also regularly take the Women’s Council on outings to places they have never visited before, either here or in their home country. These excursions are organized to break down barriers, offer new learning opportunities, and show that these places are also open to them, encouraging them to participate in society.
Finally, there is a very active WhatsApp group, keeping the women in contact with each other. They post daily information about training opportunities, share opinions, and exchange thoughts on current affairs
The project Road to Empowerment is funded by City of Antwerp
