Promoting the Recruitment and Retention of Women Humanitarian Workers in Afghanistan

Author: Gender in Humanitarian Action (GiHA) working group in Afghanistan

Women humanitarian workers play a critical role in ensuring women’s access to humanitarian assistance. In the con­text of many restrictions on women’s lives, women aid workers are indeed best placed to work around the barriers facing women and girls who look to access humanitarian assistance. In Afghanistan however, many challenges have been impeding the participation of women humanitarian workers in the response. In order to map challenges and to find practical solutions to ensure women’s participation in the humanitarian re­sponse, and in line with humanitarian and UN commitments to gender equality and women’s participation, the Gender in Humanitarian Action (GiHA) working group in Afghanistan, co-chaired by UN Women and the International Rescue Committee (IRC), commissioned a study looking at Promoting the Recruitment and Retention of Women Humani­tarian Workers in Afghanistan. The study aims to identify specific barriers faced by Afghan women in their work for humanitarian aid agencies. It also aims to share best practices and recommendations for reversing these barriers, and for enabling more women to participate in humanitarian action. This will be vital for ensuring access by women, chil­dren, and marginalized groups to life-saving assistance.