WAW EXPO 2019

This site works best in Google Chrome.Former WAW client, Amal, who works as a security guard at a WAW facility in Afghanistan. Photo by Nadezda Tavodova Tezgor, 2018.

Thank you for joining us to #CelebrateCourage with WAW!

With events like EXPO 2019: #CelebrateCourage, Women for Afghan Women (WAW) celebrates the courage it takes for survivors to step forward, seek help, and speak out. We celebrate the courage of our staff as they serve with courage despite threats from the Taliban, Islamic State, and other extremist groups in Afghanistan. We celebrate the courage of our loyal friends and supporters like you who continue to stand with us. You make our courage possible.

While EXPO 2019 has now passed, we encourage you to continue to donate above, or visit our organizational website to learn more about how you can still join us to support the rights of Afghan women and families!

EXPO 2019 presented live, interactive exhibits about WAW's work and an engaging panel discussion on Afghan women and peacebuilding, and the myriad challenges facing women's rights in the U.S. and Afghanistan. Our Silent Auction featured products made by WAW clients and other rare and exciting items.

WAW EXPO 2019 also celebrated a new beginning with WAW's recently appointed Executive Director, Najia Nasim, who spoke through a rousing video message, to our broad base of supporters, friends, and partners in the U.S. for the first time in her new role. Najia presented her vision for WAW's future under her leadership, built upon her tireless work in the past five years to expand and strengthen our operations in Afghanistan.

Here are the exhibits that WAW featured at Expo 2019, in order to #CelebrateCourage with you, our clients, and staff:

1. Afghan Program Experience, featuring our programs in Afghanistan
2. New York Community Center, featuring our programs in NY
3. Meet Our Heroes, featuring stories from our clients and staff
4. Stories from WAW, featuring stories on the impact of our life-saving work
5. Peacebuilding, Law, and Advocacy, featuring our advocacy, law, and peacebuilding work in Afghanistan and in the U.S.
6. Notes from the Heart, to send notes of support to our clients and staff!
7. Photo Opportunity, a photo booth to show your support of WAW and the Expo!

WAW Expo 2019: #CelebrateCourage Honors the People's Peace Movement of Afghanistan!

While peace talks between the United States (U.S.) and Taliban continue, and the intra-Afghan dialogue remains in flux, Afghan women's rights and the critical work that Women for Afghan Women (WAW) does every day are in serious jeopardy. At this critical juncture for Afghanistan, WAW proudly honored the work and achievements of the People's Peace Movement (PPM) of Afghanistan at Expo 2019.

Pictured above, the PPM is an intergenerational group of thousands of Afghan community members who walked--many barefoot--from Helmand to Kabul, calling for an end to war. The PPM's courageous march from Helmand to Kabul and Balkh last spring brought attention to the unyielding violence in Afghanistan and gave rise to the Eid ceasefire.

PPM shares who they are and why they come together, in their own words:

"We are men and women ages ranging from 17 to 65. We are youth-led. We are students, farmers, athletes, musicians, teachers, husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, sons, daughters-ordinary people of Afghanistan who want peace. We are the People's Peace Movement of Afghanistan. We have walked across the country-from Helmand to Kabul and on to Balkh-with one message only: We want a ceasefire. We want peace. We are proud to be a part of ALL IN Peace, and invite peacemakers around the world to join us."

-- People's Peace Movement of Afghanistan

The PPM is also a proud endorser of #AllinPeace, a global peace movement for Afghanistan, sponsored by Women for Afghan Women, the People's Peace Movement of Afghanistan, 9/11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, and Common Defense, to procure an immediate ceasefire and create a peaceful, stable Afghanistan that promotes and protects human rights.

Thank you for joining us to honor and celebrate PPM's courage at EXPO 2019!

WAW proudly featured the following panelists and moderator at the "Afghan Women and Peacebuilding" panel discussion at Expo 2019!

This high-level panel discussed the path forward to achieving peace in Afghanistan and the integral role women can and must play in it.

Panelist: Madina Qasimi is the Embassy Charge d'Affairs and Minister Counselor/Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of Afghanistan in Washington, DC. Ms. Qasimi began her diplomatic service with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in 2008, wherein she has held a number of different leadership positions. Prior to her governmental work, Ms. Qasimi worked in the non-governmental organizations for 15 years-establishing a girls' school in the Ghazni Province of Afghanistan in 1991, and working to keep it open during the Taliban regime. This important effort allowed a number of young women to complete their education and go on to university studies. In light of her leadership as a human and women's rights activist, Ms. Qasimi served as Senior Coordinator of Afghanistan's National Consultative Peace Jirga in Kabul in June 2010.

Panelist: Kim Barker is an investigations team reporter at The New York Times, having worked with the online nonprofit ProPublica, the Chicago Tribune, The Seattle Times, The Spokesman-Review, The Times in northwest Indiana, and as the Edward R. Murrow press fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, where she focused on Pakistan, Afghanistan, and United States policy. Her book, The Taliban Shuffle: Strange Days in Afghanistan and Pakistan later became the basis for the movie Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, starring Tina Fey. She has won investigative-reporting awards from organizations such as Investigative Reporters and Editors, the Society of Professional Journalists, and Best of the West.

"Afghan Women and Peacebuilding" Panel Participant Details, continued.

Panelist: Christopher Kolenda is the Founder of the Strategic Leaders Academy, which helps nonprofits and small businesses maximize their impact by developing their Leadership, Culture, and Strategy. He recently served as the Senior Advisor on Afghanistan and Pakistan to Under Secretary of Defense Michèle Flournoy, and three 4* Generals in Afghanistan. He was decorated with the Department of Defense's highest civilian award for his work on strategy. Kolenda graduated from the U.S. Military Academy and went on to serve in the U.S. Army with great distinction, to include leading large, complex organizations in the U.S., Europe, and in combat in Afghanistan.

Panel Moderator: Jenny Nordberg is a NY-based foreign correspondent and a columnist for Swedish national newspaper Svenska Dagbladet. Ms. Nordberg is the only researcher in the world who has explored the practice of bacha posh in a systematic and comprehensive manner. She is also the founder and editor of BachaPosh.com and wrote The Underground Girls of Kabul, the only original non-fiction work on the practice of bacha posh.

A very special guest, Elham Fanoos, honored WAW with a 2019 Expo performance!

Elham Fanoos is the leading Afghan pianist of his generation. His life's work is to embody a positive face of Afghanistan's future and to provide hope to musicians and artists living under threats to their creative expression all around the world. In addition to being a talented musician and composer, Elham is a committed WAW supporter and peace advocate who has honored us with several solo recitals in the past.

Elham's music inspires us to #CelebrateCourage every day; we were deeply honored by his EXPO 2019 performance! Elham has performed extensively: as a soloist at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC and Carnegie Hall in New York City in 2013; at the Library of Congress for the 2017 Anne Frank Awards Ceremony; and for members of the diplomatic corps of Australia, China, Germany, Italy, and Korea. He has performed for former Afghan President Hamid Karzai and international dignitaries in Kabul and at the Afghan Embassy in Washington, DC through the Embassy Series: Uniting People Through Music Diplomacy.

The 21-year-old Kabul native currently attends Hunter College in New York City on a full music scholarship. Prior to his arrival at Hunter College in 2015, Elham trained at the Afghanistan National Institute of Music (ANIM), studying piano performance, composition, and music theory, as well as a full range of academic subjects. ANIM, founded by Polar Prize winner Dr. Ahmad Sarmast, is the first post-Taliban music school in the country and a place where young women and men can study Eastern and Western musical traditions together.

While Elham was studying at ANIM, the Taliban was still sought power, and increasingly threatened the school as its prominence grew. In 2014, Dr. Sarmast was seriously wounded when a suicide bombing targeted a student performance, leading to the brief closure of the school. Since then, Elham has been an ambassador for peace, progress, and music in Afghanistan.

Since then, Elham has been an ambassador for peace, progress, and music in Afghanistan - illustrating the power of music to bring people together, and to inspire harmony and courage. Thank you, Elham, for your beautiful music!

WAW Clients in Afghanistan. Photo By Leslie Knott.

PROGRAM

6:00 pm
Cocktails, Hors d'oeuvres, Interactive Exhibits,
Live Music, Silent Auction Marketplace

6:30 pm
Food Buffet

7:15 pm
Welcome & Remarks by Her Excellency, The First Lady of Afghanistan Rula Ghani,
WAW's Executive Director Najia Nasim, WAW's Co-Founder Sunita Viswanath,
and WAW's founding Board Member Masuda Sultan

7:45pm
Panel Discussion: Women and Peace in Afghanistan

9:00 pm
Award Presentation to the People's Peace Movement of Afghanistan and Thank You

9:15-10:00 pm
Cocktails, Dessert, Interactive Exhibits,
Live Music, Silent Auction Pick-Up

Attire: Festive/Business Casual

ABOUT

WOMEN FOR AFGHAN WOMEN (WAW) is a grassroots, civil society organization with a mission dedicated to securing and protecting the rights of disenfranchised Afghan women and girls in Afghanistan and New York-particularly their rights to develop their individual potential, self-determination, and representation in all areas of life: political, social, cultural, and economic.

We advocate for women's rights and challenge the norms that underpin gender-based violence to influence attitudes and bring about change.

Today, WAW is the largest Afghan women's and children's rights organization in the world. We have over 800 full-time staff, 32 facilities, and programs in 14 provinces throughout Afghanistan. In addition, WAW's work in the United States (U.S.) includes our New York Community Center and Washington, DC Advocacy Office, with plans to expand into Northern Virginia and other Afghan diaspora communities.

In 2018, WAW in the U.S. and Afghanistan:

• Provided services to nearly 7,000 women, children, and their families (up from 5,000 in 2017);
• Trained more than 31,000 individuals on women's rights (up from 26,000 in 2017); and
• Provided nearly 111,000 internally displaced persons and refugee returnees with protection and monitoring services.

Since its founding in 2001, WAW has achieved the following:

• Provided services to nearly 38,000 women, children, and their families;
• Trained more than 362,000 individuals on women's rights; and
• Provided nearly 723,000 conflict-induced internally displaced persons and refugee returnees with protection and monitoring services.

YOUR SUPPORT over the years has inspired all of us at WAW to have courage every day and to take heart at what we can do together to protect women's and children's rights!

If you prefer to send us a check, please make it payable to:

"Women for Afghan Women"
158-24 73rd Ave
Fresh Meadows, NY 11366