Teenage girls attend an event to pray for peace to commemorate International Women's Day on March 8, 2009 in Kandahar City, one of the most volatile parts of Afghanistan. In a region where women seldom leave home for any reason, a public gathering like this one of hundreds of women is unusual and attests to their strong wish to advocate for peace.Paula Lerner
- The Welfare Association for the Development of Afghanistan is a Kabul-based indigenous, nonprofit, nongovernmental organization that envisions a peaceful, drug free, democratic, developed and prosperous Afghanistan. With one office in Kandahar, their mission is to advance the spread of democratic principles, development, social justice, human rights and freedom in Afghanistan as well as to strengthen communities and local governance by promoting effective community and institutional development practices and drug-control initiatives.
- The Afghan School Project is a Canada-based grassroots initiative, established by the Canadian International Learning Foundation, a registered charity, to provide financial and administrative support to an educational institution in Kandahar known as the Afghan-Canadian Community Center (ACCC).
- World University Service of Canada is a network of individuals and post-secondary institutions working to foster human development and global understanding through education and training. In Afghanistan, the organization has linked up with CARE Canada on the Vocational Training for Afghan Women Project aimed at helping widows develop the skills they need to enter trades that can help them earn better incomes.
- Mennonite Economic Development Associates is an organization aimed at fostering entrepreneurship and women's economic participation in segregated societies, most notably in Afghanistan and Pakistan where they focus exclusively on development for women. By funding women through the MEDA Trust, they offer them a means to participate in earning a livelihood and contributing to household earnings. Visit their website to see videos and learn more.
- The Afghanistan Challenge is a partnership between CARE Canada, Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA), Rotary International, World University Service of Canada (WUSC) and the Government of Canada -- organizations that are challenging Canadians who want to get personally involved in helping rebuild Afghanistan.
- The Afghan Association of Ontario was established in 1982 and incorporated in 1984 as a non-profit charity organization, providing settlement, integration and adaptation services to the Afghan community. The organization assists newcomers from different backgrounds to better integrate, adapt and enable them to fully participate into the Canadian society.
- The Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan , was founded by female intellectuals in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 1977, as an independent political/social organization of Afghan women fighting for human rights and for social justice in Afghanistan. Today they're still fighting for women's rights and "an independent, free, democratic and secular Afghanistan."
- Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan is a volunteer not-for-profit federally registered charity founded in 1996 with more than 10 chapters across Canada. Goals of the organization are to advance education and educational opportunities for Afghan women and their families, and to educate and increase the understanding of Canadians about human rights in Afghanistan. One hundred percent of funds donated go to women-centred projects in Afghanistan.
- The Afghan Women's Organization is a multi-service settlement agency with a mandate to assist Afghan women and their families in all aspects of adaptation and integration into Canadian society, through a wide range of culturally and linguistically-sensitive settlement services and programs.
- Dyana Afghan Women's Fund is a Canadian-registered charity mandated to sponsor basic education and skills-training classes for women in Afghanistan who were denied the opportunity for education during years of conflict and under the rule of the Taliban. Members of the Fund and associates in Afghanistan monitor the programs to ensure they are being run effectively and in accordance with local and international law. Creating Hope International is a Michigan-registered non-profit group mandated to provide education and health assistance to the people in the world with the greatest needs. Since 1996, CHI has partnered with the Afghan Institute of Learning to provide training and assistance with administration, finance, program strategy, fundraising and budgeting to what is now one of the largest Afghan women-led non-government organizations in the country, serving 350,000 women and children annually.
- Founded by the activist Rangina Hamidi in 2003, Kandahar Treasure is an embroidery collective that has grown from a staff of 25 to more than 400 female artisans with knowledge of khamak, an embroidery technique that has become "a trademark of Kandahar." Originally a non-profit project linked to Afghans for a Civil Society, the outfit has made the transition into an independent, for-profit business, marking an important milestone in the creation of economic opportunity and independence for Afghan women.
- The Business Council for Peace ( Bpeace) is a not-for-profit coalition of business professionals who volunteer to help women entrepreneurs in Afghanistan expand their businesses, create employment and build a more peaceful future for their communities. Bpeace makes a three-year investment in each entrepreneur - a mix of pro-bono consulting, training, mentoring, out-of-country apprenticeships and business-site visits, employee technical training, equipment, marketing, networking opportunities and access to capital and markets. Bpeace believes more jobs mean less violence.
- Afghans for Civil Society was founded in 1998 by Baltimore businessman Qayum Karzai and other Afghans working with the international community. With a mandate to foster the development of a strong civil society, the group supports projects related to women's rights, independent media, literary and education, public policy development and has grown into one of the most reputable aid organizations in the country.
- UNIFEM is the women's development fund at the United Nations that provides financial and technical assistance to innovative programs and strategies that promote women's human rights, political participation and economic security worldwide. UNIFEM established its presence in Afghanistan in early 2002 after the collapse of the Taliban and has since been in close consultation with Afghan women and the government of Afghanistan in order to understand how best to meet the needs of women in the context of their country's history and culture.
- Arghand Cooperative was founded in May, 2005, by Sarah Chayes , formerly an international correspondent for National Public Radio who stayed behind in Afghanistan to help rebuild the country. Its purpose is to contribute to the economic development of southern Afghanistan by producing high quality, all natural skin care products from the legendary fruits of the Kandahar region - thus also competing with the opium industry by expanding the market for legal crops. Arghand guarantees the livelihoods of its members who participate equally in all aspects of production and management regardless of gender, ethnicity or tribal affiliation.
- The Roqia Center for Women's Rights, Studies and Education in Afghanistan is an officially registered Afghan civil society organization connected to Nasrine Gross, a Kabul-based academic and women's activist. The centre aims to assist the cause of women as an integral part of the country's democratization and reconstruction. To maximize the centre's effectiveness in areas such as fundraising, Nasrine also created Kabultec, a U.S.-based non-profit organization, as a partner to the Roqia Center. All contributions to Kabultec in the US are tax-deductible, and are used for Roqia Center projects in Kabul.