USAID MUSHARIKAT Monthly Report (October FY2020)

The project was awarded on September 2, 2015, with a budget of $29.5 million. The objectives of the project include building constituencies among national, provincial, and local activists and civil society organizations focused on promoting women's equality and empowerment, strengthening more effective advocacy for women's equality and empowerment, increasing awareness of and support for women's rights in all 34 provinces in Afghanistan, and increasing the effectiveness of civil society and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in the development and implementation of gender policies, laws, and regulations. To achieve these aims, the project works with civil society organizations and activists across all 34 provinces to prioritize and select the most critical issues that limit women's ability to exercise their rights and fully participate in Afghan society. The project employs an inclusive, transparent, and competitive process through which civil society organizations and activists are brought together to form coalitions, each designed to tackle a priority concern as determined by Afghan women. Led by Afghan women leaders, these coalitions engage with a wide set of stakeholders to help advance collective advocacy campaigns designed to strengthen women, families, communities, and the country. The project employs a Coalitions for Change (C4C) approach to strengthen women-focused civil society organizations and activists' ability to effectively advocate for women's rights and empowerment in Afghanistan. The keystone of this approach is the formation of inclusive, broad-based coalitions through transparent and competitive processes, each of which focuses on a single issue. The Musharikat Coalitions serve as the primary driver in the achievement of project objectives, and the project functions as a mentor, advisor, facilitator, and funder to the coalitions and grantee civil society organizations. In August 2020, the project was awarded a one-year time extension to September 1, 2021. During the month of October, the project continued its efforts to empower women and promote gender equality across Afghanistan while adapting to the increase in reported COVID-19 cases, stalled intra-Afghan peace negotiations in Doha, and an escalation in violence and attacks by insurgents across the country. The project carried out more than 148 activities supporting all four objectives, and the full report provides more details about these and all other activities carried out by Musharikat. The COVID-19 global pandemic has seriously impacted not only the activities of Musharikat but all other functions of life in Kabul and the whole of Afghanistan. In order to protect its staff and their communities from infection, Musharikat continues to implement measures to prevent the spread of the virus, including restrictions on movement and public gatherings. Despite these challenges, the project remains committed to its objectives and continues to work towards empowering women and promoting gender equality in Afghanistan. The project's activities in October included supporting coalitions and civil society organizations in their efforts to promote women's rights and empowerment, conducting advocacy campaigns, and engaging with stakeholders to advance collective advocacy efforts. The project also continued to provide technical advice and resources to coalitions and grantee civil society organizations, and established constructive working relationships with Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan partners on policy and legislative matters. In the South Region, the project supported the Women in the Peace Process (WIP) Coalition in its efforts to promote women's participation in the peace process and community-level peace building activities. The project also supported the Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Coalition in its efforts to prevent and respond to gender-based violence in the region. The project's activities in October were carried out in a challenging environment, with an escalation in violence and attacks by insurgents across the country. Despite these challenges, the project remained committed to its objectives and continued to work towards empowering women and promoting gender equality in Afghanistan. The project's key challenges in October included the COVID-19 pandemic, stalled intra-Afghan peace negotiations in Doha, and an escalation in violence and attacks by insurgents across the country. The project also faced challenges in implementing its activities in the South and West Regions, due to security concerns and restrictions on movement and public gatherings. In the upcoming month of November, the project plans to continue its efforts to empower women and promote gender equality across Afghanistan. The project will carry out more than 150 activities supporting all four objectives, and will continue to work with coalitions and civil society organizations to promote women's rights and empowerment. The project will also continue to engage with stakeholders to advance collective advocacy efforts and establish constructive working relationships with Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan partners on policy and legislative matters.