148:
educated and often professional urban elite women, provided an image of modernity and progress to the outside world. The Polish reporter
Andrzej Binkowski, who visited Kabul in the 1950s, did note the great contrast between the WWA president, who were a modern woman in Western fashion, and the majority of women in Kabul, who in the 1950s still lived in purdah, only left the house dressed in burka and never spoke to a nonrelated male except through a door. In 1957, Afghanistan sent their representatives to the
136:. In connection to the dress reform of 1959 was also a project connected to the women's courses given by the WWA. After having observed that the veil had become optional, a group of foreign women, notably the American Jeanne Beecher, organized sewing classes at the Women's Welfare Association's School for Girls in Kabul, after having acquired assistance from
147:
The WWA acted as the mouthpiece of the government's women's policy inside
Afghanistan, but it also played an important role in Afghan foreign policy. It was a part of policy to attract foreign financial aid by presenting a modern image of Afghanistan to the world, and the WWA, consisting as it did of
70:
The WWA was established during a period of reform in women's rights: women were allowed to study at the Kabul
University in 1950, and from that point onward, educated middle class and upper-class women started to be employed at state institutions such as banks, libraries and the air line in the major
124:
The object of the WWA was to work for the elevation of women's status in society. They promoted women's emancipation from gender segregation by encouraging unveiling, but mainly by promoting women's work, literacy, family planning, and vocational classes. They encouraged women's participation in
163:
Branches of the WWA were founded in Herat, Kandahar and Mazar-i-Sharif. Eventually, it had branch offices in ten cities, and eight thousand members. However, despite their work in establishing local offices and their attempts to engage rural women, the WWA never managed to spread outside of the
87:('The Women's Society') (DMT) in the city of Kabul in 1946 by a Frenchwoman married to an Afghan, Madame Asin, but it was soon taken over by the Ministry of Finance, who from 1947 onward provided it with most of its founding. It was administered by the Ministry of Education until 1950.
125:
society by organizing charity functions, and women's education and professional work by organizing schools for girls and classes in various subjects for adult women at the offices of the WWA around the country.
140:
Pattern
Service, with the intention of teaching Afghan women to learn to manufacture Western fashion. The sewing classes, which was attended by Afghan upper-class women who had until then lived in
144:, was followed by a fashion show at the United States Information Center auditorium, and after this, the upper-class women of Kabul started to wear Western fashion in the streets of Kabul.
117:
The WWA worked for women's reforms in collaboration with the government's modernization process, and basically acted as the government's organ for women's rights. The director of the WWA,
90:
Among its founding members were Zaynab Inayat Siraj and Bibi Jan, women of the royal family, and the wives of public and government officials were inducted as its staff and members. Queen
34:('The Women's Society') (DMT). It became independent of the government in 1975 and was renamed the "(Afghan) Women's Institute" or WI. From 1953, it published its own publication,
173:
234:, UNESCO Principal Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (Thailand). Regional Unit for the Social and Human Sciences in Asia and the Pacific (1991) BKSS/91/277.1000
300:
157:
22:('Women's Welfare Association', or WWA), also known as the 'Women's Society' and from 1975 called (Afghan) Women's Institute (WI), was a women's organization in
128:
The WWA supported the voluntary abolition of the veil, which was realized in August 1959, on the second day of the festival of Jeshyn, when Queen
Humaira and
290:
305:
121:, participated in the work on the new Constitution of 1964, which introduced women's suffrage, and was elected as one of the first women of parliament.
315:
94:
acted as its first
Honorary president and official patron, while the acting president was Zaynab Inayat Siraj or Zeynab Enayet Saraj, cousin of king
310:
193:
295:
260:
320:
218:
59:
had promoted women's rights in the reform program in the 1920s, as well as establishing the first women's organisation (
98:, who had lived in exile in Iran and thus had experience of the ongoing modernization of that country under the Shah.
67:, however, the government saw a need to reform Afghan society, and women's emancipation was a part of that policy.
60:
149:
71:
cities. There was a need for the government to support these changes by use of a specific organization.
129:
132:
appeared in the royal box at the military parade unveiled, alongside the Prime
Minister's wife,
244:
137:
64:
106:
95:
52:
284:
275:
118:
91:
63:), but after their deposition in 1929, their reforms had been abolished. After the
133:
102:
56:
23:
141:
245:
Games without Rules: The Often-Interrupted
History of Afghanistan
219:
Humanitarian
Invasion: Global Development in Cold War Afghanistan
153:
160:'s Fifth World Congress of Women (June 24–29, 1963) in Moscow.
79:
The organization was originally established under the name
261:
Empire of the Air: Aviation and the
American Ascendancy
194:
Kabul Carnival: Gender Politics in Postwar Afghanistan
276:https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000091693
174:Democratic Women's Organisation of Afghanistan
152:. A delegation from the WWA was sent to the
8:
158:Women's International Democratic Federation
26:, founded in 1946. It was also known as
184:
301:Feminist organisations in Afghanistan
7:
254:
252:
212:
210:
208:
206:
204:
202:
101:Among its many notable members were
291:1940s establishments in Afghanistan
14:
306:Organizations established in 1946
1:
316:Women's rights in Afghanistan
311:Social history of Afghanistan
164:circle of urban elite women.
232:Status of women: Afghanistan
20:Muassasa-i Khayriyya-i Zanan
16:Afghani women's organization
337:
61:Anjuman-i Himayat-i-Niswan
150:Asian Women's Conference
230:Rahimi, Wali Mohammad:
296:Feminism and history
243:Tamim Ansary (2012)
156:in 1962, and to the
81:Da Mirmanech Tulaneh
28:Da Mirmanech Tulaneh
321:1946 in Afghanistan
258:Jenifer Van Vleck:
85:Da Mermeno Tolana
32:Da Mermeno Tolana
328:
264:
256:
247:
241:
235:
228:
222:
214:
197:
189:
65:Second World War
336:
335:
331:
330:
329:
327:
326:
325:
281:
280:
272:
267:
257:
250:
242:
238:
229:
225:
215:
200:
191:Julie Billaud:
190:
186:
182:
170:
130:Princess Bilqis
115:
77:
49:
44:
17:
12:
11:
5:
334:
332:
324:
323:
318:
313:
308:
303:
298:
293:
283:
282:
279:
278:
271:
270:External links
268:
266:
265:
248:
236:
223:
216:Timothy Nunan
198:
183:
181:
178:
177:
176:
169:
166:
114:
111:
107:Nafeesa Shayeq
96:Amanullah Khan
76:
73:
53:Amanullah Khan
48:
45:
43:
40:
15:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
333:
322:
319:
317:
314:
312:
309:
307:
304:
302:
299:
297:
294:
292:
289:
288:
286:
277:
274:
273:
269:
263:
262:
255:
253:
249:
246:
240:
237:
233:
227:
224:
221:
220:
213:
211:
209:
207:
205:
203:
199:
196:
195:
188:
185:
179:
175:
172:
171:
167:
165:
161:
159:
155:
151:
145:
143:
139:
135:
131:
126:
122:
120:
119:Kubra Noorzai
112:
110:
108:
104:
99:
97:
93:
92:Humaira Begum
88:
86:
82:
75:Establishment
74:
72:
68:
66:
62:
58:
54:
46:
41:
39:
37:
33:
29:
25:
21:
259:
239:
231:
226:
217:
192:
187:
162:
146:
134:Zamina Begum
127:
123:
116:
103:Halima Rafat
100:
89:
84:
80:
78:
69:
57:Soraya Tarzi
50:
35:
31:
27:
19:
18:
24:Afghanistan
285:Categories
180:References
55:and Queen
47:Background
168:See also
113:Activity
42:History
142:purdah
36:Mirman
138:Vogue
51:King
154:USSR
105:and
83:or
30:or
287::
251:^
201:^
109:.
38:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.