ECSL

Scholarship Opportunity for Afghan Women:
The University of New Haven announced today the establishment of the Afghan Women’s Scholars program.

This program, made possible by a generous seven-figure gift from Henrik Nielsen, will provide scholarship and financial assistance to 10 undergraduate and four graduate Afghan women enrolled in any of the University’s five academic colleges/schools. The program support will span the four-year tenure for undergraduate students and the two-year tenure for graduate students.

Transformational Donation to Support Female Students from Afghanistan - University of New Haven The University of New Haven announced today the establishment of the Afghan Women’s Scholars program, to provide scholarship and financial assistance to 10 undergraduate and four graduate Afghan women enrolled in any of the University’s five academic colleges/schools.

On December 26-27, approximately 35 Emerging Civil Society Leaders (ECSLs), including 12 women, participated in a workshop on electoral management covering issues such as observation, inclusion of people with disabilities, youth and women, and the role of media in raising awareness and preventing post elections conflict. The training was organized by the USAID-funded Afghan Civic Engagement Program. Independent Elections Commissioner Dr. Rafiullah Baidar visited the group and discussed the conduct and lessons of the October 2018 parliamentary elections and emphasized the role of youth in holding credible elections in the future. ECSL Suliman Qayoumi said, “I found the training on this hot topic of the up-coming election very useful. We as youth have to know more about our role and responsibilities in order to have a transparent and successful election in Afghanistan.” Afghanistan’s presidential election is scheduled for July 2019.

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“Peace is not a project with milestones but a process with national integrity and inclusiveness. For this reason, women’s role should be visible. As a woman, I am not ready to go back to the period of 1995 – 2001 if my rights are violated,” said Ms. Elham Kohistani to an audience of 300 Kardan University students during the “From Battleground to Peace Garden” debate on December 31, 2018 in Kabul.

The debate series is being organized by Network at different Afghan universities to reflect the viewpoints of youth, especially university students, about the ongoing peace process with the Taliban. Ms. Kohistani, who is a member of the ( ), raised concerns about the legitimacy of Afghan government in the peace talks and values and achievements that Afghanistan has gained over the last 17 years such as human rights, freedom of speech, women’s rights and other freedoms enshrined in the Afghan constitution. “On behalf of youth, we demand to have a meaningful role in the peace process as youth make up 60 percent of the population. We should have a say in the future of our country,” said Ms. Kohistani.

The form a network of 136 male and female youth from across the country that is supported by ’s . Ms. Kohistani graduated from the one-year ECSL training program in 2017 and like many of her colleagues, has gone on to achieve leadership roles in Afghan society.

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“I conducted my electoral campaign based on Afghan values and Islam – no big gatherings but instead by meeting with family elders and asking for their prayers. My message is based on education, health and economics, the development vision of former Afghan president Daoud Khan. Through this type of campaign and this message, I convinced people that democracy, if homegrown, is not against their values. In the process, people of all backgrounds, including youth, elders and women became multipliers of my message,” said 31-year-old Mr. Kamin, who was elected to Parliament representing Kandahar province based on the preliminary results announced by the Independent Elections Commission.

The (ECSLs) is a youth network of #136 Afghans (including ) that is supported by ’s , a six-year .

Mr. Gul Ahmad Kamin is one of six who ran in the parliamentary elections in October 2018.

Afghanistan’s Kuchi nomads are some of the most marginalized and vulnerable people in the country due to limited access to services, economic opportunities and security. Ms. Farzana Elham Kochai, a 26-year-old Kuchi of the Khishki subtribe, intends to change this now that she has been elected to Parliament, based on a preliminary result announced by the Independent Elections Commission. Ms. Kochai is one of six Emerging Civil Society Leaders (ECSLs) who participated in the parliamentary elections on October 20, 2018. “I would like to thank Counterpart’s ECSL program and for providing opportunities for us to build our capacities and to finally reach our dreams and goals,” said Ms. Kochai. There are currently 136 Afghans, including 54 women in the ECSL network.

On 26-28 February 2019, Counterpart International under the Afghan Civic Engagement Program (ACEP) organized a 3 days event on Election and On-going Peace Process topics for 65 individuals (25 women, 40 men) representatives from Emerging Civil Society Leaders and other Afghan Youth groups in Kabul. The program was aimed to build the capacity of the participants on the last election challenges, observations, Lessons learned, importance of the election, Electoral Cycle, role of women, media, civil society, disabilities in the election, campaign management and the role of youth and civil society on the on-going Peace process in Afghanistan.