The Work They Do
Why women in conflict
When war and insecurity take hold, women bear the heaviest burden of violence, poverty and inequality.
Of the 82.4million people currently displaced from their homes – almost one in every 100 human beings on earth – 80% are women and children.
Gender norms restrict women’s access to education and economic resources, exclude them from decision-making, and expose them to many forms of violence and abuse.
Women are the targets of systematic rape and sexual violence, which is used as a weapon to terrorise and destroy communities.
Despite these stark disadvantages, women are instrumental in caring and providing for their families at times of crisis, often stepping outside traditional domestic roles in order to survive.
Many become sole breadwinners after the loss of husbands and male relatives, and are struggling against the odds to both care and provide for their families.
Women for Women International targets the most marginalised women who live in extreme poverty, are directly affected by violence and conflict, and endure myriad forms of social and economic disadvantage.
More than half of the women in our programmes are illiterate. All earn less than $1.25 a day. Many are widows, refugees, or survivors of rape and abuse.
Programme
THEIR STRONGER WOMEN, STRONGER NATIONS PROGRAMME EQUIPS WOMEN TO EARN MONEY, REGAIN THEIR CONFIDENCE AND ACTIVELY PARTICIPATE IN THEIR COMMUNITIES
When a woman joins the programme, she comes together with 24 other women, forming a tight support group that helps to break the isolation caused by war and insecurity.
She learns a marketable job skill - such as tailoring, bread-making or poultry-keeping, as well as business training to turn her chosen skill into a stable income so she can support herself and her family. She can begin to save her money, too, and receives support to establish cooperatives, associations, or village savings and loan associations (VSLAs) so she and other women in her community can make the most of their earnings.
She also learns practical knowledge about her health, including reproductive health, stress management and the importance of good hygiene and nutrition so she can protect herself and her family from preventable disease. We make sure she is connected to local healthcare providers.
She also learns about her rights on key issues like voting, access to land, divorce, custody of her children and domestic abuse. Once she learns her rights she is empowered and equipped to stand up for them and can share her knowledge with others in her community.
