Background
At the beginning of 2023, we see the constantly deteriorating news about the situation for women in Afghanistan. First they were required to wear a hijab, then they had to be accompanied by a male leaving the house. Girls cannot attend secondary school, and now young women cannot attend university. Women working for NGOs are no longer able to work..
What we do not see in the media is how women continue to demonstrate extraordinary courage and resilience in challenging the Taliban’s harsh rule.
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What the CARINA Network does
We acknowledge that women continue to operate and support each other in spite of the relentless campaign against them by the Taliban, and we support that in a discrete, safe, and humble manner. Through a network that connects Afghan women who were previously employed as humanitarian workers. Our support allows them to continue being who they are, doing what they are trained to do, and to use their knowledge, connections, and compassion to support who they can: in the home, neighbourhoods, or communities whilst under Taliban rule. We are not waiting for the Taliban to be removed from power, instead we find ways to work now.
What is the CARINA Network
The network is humble and flat, and rejects the growth mindset, forming outside the structure of pyramidal hierarchy, which has traditionally been used to prevent women from advancing their careers in Afghanistan.
The network is based on family, which in Afghanistan is the major economic, social and political unit of the society and guarantees security. This is the only effective way to mitigate the risk that women face in Afghanistan when they leave their houses, under the progressively deteriorating situation. Outside of Afghanistan, the network draws on family and deep friendships which ensures trust, commitment, and brings together a diverse set of experience and expertise.
The network builds upon existing relationships. Afghan members are invited to join by ex-colleagues who worked in the humanitarian sector whilst in Afghanistan. This ensures a depth of connection from the outset, and for the representation of the network to non-Afghan members as a risk-transfer.
The network does not seek to demonstrate impact, the network is the impact. Afghan members can reach 1 or 1,000 other girls and women.
We are not a NGO.
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How the CARINA Network works
The network offers three components to selected Afghan women living in Afghanistan who were previously employed in the humanitarian sector:
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regular check-in for personal support, professional guidance, and motivation
Outside of Afghanistan, it is hard to understand how the day-to-day life is for a woman. In Afghanistan, there is no standard nationwide experience of the discrimination: it can depend on where you live and who your family is. The network is as strong as the connections it creates and builds, recognising that women inside and outside of Afghanistan have a lot to share and learn from each other. Networking is done in groups as a constellation, and in one-to-one relationships as individual roots. The strength of these relationships is what makes the CARINA network unique.
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a base salary to be able to carry out their outreach
It is often the case that women who were working in the humanitarian sector were the primary breadwinners in the household. They took on this role at personal cost in a community that holds men as the traditional breadwinners.
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access to professional coaching and/or counselling
Afghan members of the network are recognised as being leaders: they have an idea they believe in, and establish a network that follows them. Coaching from outside Afghanistan will allow members to use this experience as the catalyst for a personal journey which they are already on.
What the CARINA Network
looks like
It depends on what the female member in Afghanistan wants to focus on. This depends on her experience, expertise, risk appetite, family situation, amongst other things. The only requirement is that she supports another woman or a girl and can tell a story about it on a monthly basis. It can be a book club, an online psychological support to peers, childcare, or just being yourself.
How does the CARINA
Network communicate?
Members inside of Afghanistan do not identify themselves outside of the network, and do not have to report on the work that they do. They can share images, movies, text, or anything else that inspires them through a secure channel, which is then posted directly onto social media.
