Women need support most when caught in the midst of conflict. To reach women in their most critical moments, Women for Women International works with partners who can respond to conflict and make an immediate impact.
Women survivors of war face threats on multiple fronts: poverty, gender discrimination, and violence.
By 2030, The World Bank forecasts that 50 percent of those living in poverty will be in fragile and conflict-affected states, up from 17 percent currently. What is required in these contexts is sustainable investment in women to help them rebuild societies from the ground up. This is where Women for Women International excels.
Working in countries caught at the intersection of war, poverty, and gender discrimination positions us to support women survivors. But the number of conflicts rises faster than we can implement a full program.
Conflict response, usually launched through partnerships with local organizations, is a fundamental part of our DNA. With partners, we can support women more swiftly. In the Balkans, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Nigeria, South Sudan, and Afghanistan partnerships led us to establish our programs. In 2017, after two years of partnerships, we opened our country office in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, to support women impacted by conflict in Iraq and Syria, including Yezidi women persecuted by ISIS. In Bauchi State, Nigeria, we started up new activities to serve women displaced by conflict—many fleeing Boko Haram’s violence.
The Conflict Response Fund allows us to be agile and flexible and innovative with our delivery. In times of volatility and crisis, entering immediately with all components of our integrated program is not possible. With this Fund, we can quickly initiate activities with a local partner to respond to urgent, unmet needs of women survivors of war. Our local partners are experts in their communities. From them, we learn how to best support people most affected by conflict.
Our work is far from over. Together with your help, we stand poised to engage and start supporting women survivors of war in new conflict-affected countries that urgently need our help.
Currently, we are operating in Myanmar, in partnership with the Center for Social Integrity.
Following the 2017 forced displacement and genocide, the Rohingya continue to face conflict, displacement, discrimination, and grave human rights abuses. Women and girls are especially at risk.
Through our newly established partnership with the Center for Social Integrity, a locally registered NGO, the project targets support to Rohingya women and adolescent girls to improve their basic literacy, numeracy, and life skills and to build their capacity to become more meaningfully engaged within their communities. Learn More >>
The resurgence of violence in Syria left even more women and girls displaced and disempowered by conflict, health crises, and lack of resources — and vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.
In partnership with Women Now for Development, we are investing in women and girls' opportunities and independence.
Through vocational and professional training, women will learn marketable skills — and can receive grants to start a business, earn an income, and support their families.
Online courses further women and girls’ education to teach them literacy and numeracy so they can access and protect their basic human rights.
The civil war in Yemen left millions of its people displaced - and 76 percent of them are women and children.
We partnered with local organization Yemen Women's Union to raise awareness of gender-based violence and provide psychosocial support for women who have experienced GBV.
Within the community, Yemen Women's Union formed protection committees and held awareness sessions that educated the community about gender-based violence and highlighted support programs for survivors.
The violent, genocidal actions of Myanmar’s military have forced over 700,000 Rohingya people across the border of Bangladesh into makeshift communities, made up of mostly women and children. According to UN women, almost every Rohingya refugee woman and girl has either survived or witnessed violence, much of it gender-based violence.
With local NGO Research, Training, and Management International, we invested in the women and girls who will be the future of the Rohingya community by providing them with training in useful skills that allow them to start small businesses or find paid work.
"Community mobilization meetings" with Rohingya youth demonstrated why investing in women and girls' job skills helps rebuild Rohingya communities. Local leaders hosted events to address social norms and traditional practices that limit women and girls’ participation in society and show they can be drivers of change.
