USAID Promote: Women in Government FY 2016, Quarter III Report

and Afghan Governments to empower 75,000 women between the ages of 18 and 30 and help ensure they are included among a new generation of Afghan political, business, and civil society leaders. The program aims to empower women to become leaders alongside their male counterparts, and ensure they have the skills, experience, knowledge, and networks to succeed. The program has three objectives: facilitate women's entry into decision-making roles in government service, encourage a hospitable environment for female staff in government, and increase local stakeholder support for women in government. Through the advancement of these objectives, the program aims to achieve several results, including at least 3,000 female university graduates and secondary school graduates completing one-year government internships and transitioning to full-time employment, and 70 percent of program participants employed by the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA) within 24 months of finishing their internship. During the third quarter of FY2016, the project team continued to build its relationship with the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) to host the internship program. The project team also met with the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled (MoLSAMD) to discuss the terms of the draft Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and their role in the internship program. MoLSAMD proposed making available two large training centers with the capacity to accommodate 360 trainees. The project management team will further identify the level of support under the signed MoU with MoLSAMD to the Women's Civil Service Association (WCSA) of the Independent Administrative Reform and Civil Service Commission (IARCSC), and the Career Development Centers (CDCs) of MoLSAMD. WCSA will be transferred to MoLSAMD in the near future as a result of the President's current civil service reforms. The focus of the CDC is career development for female GIRoA officials, and WCSA focuses on advocating for the advancement of women in the civil service to senior level positions. The project team also met with the Afghanistan Institute of Rural Development (AIRD) to discuss the training institute's capacity to host the internship program. AIRD trains central and provincial employees on various topics, including Do No Harm, Peace Building, Rule of Law, Networking, Leadership and Decentralization, Monitoring and Evaluation, Strategic Planning, Nutrition and Food, Hygiene, Immunization, and Results-based Management. The project's relationship building efforts aim to increase the number of women in the Afghan Civil Service and ensure they are represented at the highest levels of policy and decision-making in Afghan society and government. The project's objectives and results are aligned with the U.S. and Afghan Governments' commitment to empowering women and promoting gender equality in Afghanistan.