Issue 15, July 2011
In May 2011, the Sustainable Land Management Institute (SLMI) moved to its newly built office building on the new campus of Bamyan University. Established last year in Bamyan province with support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), SLMI was registered with the Ministry of Economy as a nongovernmental organization (NGO) in January 2011.
SLMI’s goal is to improve the livelihoods of rural people in Afghanistan by improving water management (fewer floods, more water for irrigation and drinking). SLMI is aimed at enhancing Afghan professional capacity to undertake sustainable and more effective management of land and water resources.
In an environment of conflict it becomes even more important for people to take full advantage of available natural resources to be resilient to conflict- induced stress and reduce threats from the same resources (flooding, drought, polluted water).
The main objectives of phase one of the project are to: 1) enhance knowledge about watershed and natural resources management; 2) build up local capacity to manage natural resources; 3) document and disseminate local experiences; and 4) improve watershed management in two districts.
SLMI was able to conduct two training courses on “Documentation and Sharing of Sustainable Land Management Practices” using World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies (WOCAT) tools and methods in April and September 2010, with support of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF), Bamyan University (BU) and Helvetas. In April 2011, forestry and rangeland training for technicians and professionals was provided with AKF support. The topics of the training included how soil is formed; water cycle; consequences of rainwater on soil surface; and how wind causes erosion, erodes soil surface and damages the land. Below are the planned training events for 2011:
• four training courses and exposure visits for farmers;
• two training courses and exposure visits for technical staff; • one training course and exposure visit for managers; and • two WOCAT training courses.
Beneficiaries of SLMI include sustainable land management and natural resource management practitioners, farmers, managers, decision makers and graduate students. SDC has provided SLMI with a budget of 2.6 million Swiss francs for the period of January 2009 to December 2014. Some of SLMI’s partners include the Ministry of Agriculture, Bamyan University, the Office of the Governor of Bamyan, the Aga Khan Development Network, Solidarité, Christian Relief Services and local communities.
The first meeting of the Board of Directors, chaired by the Governor of Bamyan, Habiba Surabi, took place at the beginning of June in Kabul.
SLMI’s first General Assembly meeting was held on the 29th of March 2011 at the House of Science, Bamyan University, and brought together all SLMI partners. The main agenda of the meeting was to discuss the strategy that had already been drafted and opening new branches of SLMI in different agro-ecological zones of Afghanistan, etc.
Page 2 TAHUD SWISS Issue 15, July 2011
As I entered the classroom of the driving course, I could see women talking excitedly about their hands-on driving lessons. On the walls there are traffic signs and right in front of the classroom there is another room equipped with automobile spare parts, equipment and machinery. I asked one of the women in the classroom what her motive was for attending the driving course and she said: “The situation has changed in Kabul compared to a couple of years ago. I have to learn to drive so I can drive on my own and travel wherever I need to without bothering my husband or son”.
The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), through its implementing partner, Afghan Women’s Network (AWN), has offered driving courses for women in Kabul. The goal is to increase the number of women drivers in Afghan society and, as a result, make it part of the norm.
Because of the low number of women drivers, they are often seen as an anomaly, an exception to the rule, and most male drivers do a double take when they see a woman behind the wheel. Current society does not accept and respect women drivers and does not hold them in high regard. Having more women drivers will not only increase women’s independence and freedom of movement, but also increase the number of women driver role models in the public eye.
Shakila Naderi, one of the course’s female trainers, said: “Male drivers are now behaving better toward women
The Afghan National Army and Police Forces are meant to take over responsibility for security from international forces in 2014. By then, the country should have 170’000 police officers, both male and female. The integration of female police goes back to an SDC initiative that focused on gender-related issues within the framework of the Afghan security reform. So far, 1241 police women have been recruited. The government’s goal is to increase this number to 5000 policewomen by 2014. This is a difficult undertaking in a challenging context, although
SDC offers driving course for women in Kabul
Security for all: Women in the Afghan Police Forces
drivers than in the past, but it still needs to be improved”. Women’s driving is a very common and normal activity in most societies, including Muslim countries, except Saudi Arabia, where women are not allowed to drive. However, Afghanistan is a male-dominated society and has cultural barriers that are different from those of other Muslim societies.
The project has recruited 50 women interested in developing their driving skills by attending a three-month course with 36 practice sessions. The course includes both classroom work and technical use of the automobile. Each session consists of one hour of training per day throughout the course. The participants are also provided with a driving manual and instructions on how to drive, as well as traffic rules.
About us:
The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) is Switzerland’s international cooperation agency within the Swiss Foreign Ministry. The Government of Switzerland established the Swiss Cooperation Office Afghanistan in 2002 with a view of supporting the processes of political stabilization and reconstruction of the war torn country. Today, the Swiss Cooperation Office Afghanistan is running and supervising a broad development and humanitarian program.
For further information, please contact:
Mohammad Shaker Sayar, Communication Officer
Telephone: 0093 (0) 700295387 / 0093 (0) 799 239 538 Email:mohammad.shaker@sdc.net
Website: www.sdc.org.af
Address: Swiss Cooperation Office Kabul Street 13, Lane 3 right, House 486, Wazir Akbar Khan, Kabul.
indispensable if Afghanistan wishes to establish a police force that offers equal access to and quality of security services to both men and women.
For further information, please visit our website www.sdc.org.af, to read the latest issue of SDC’s Asia Brief. The Asia Briefing Paper Series aims to inform development practitioners and the broader public about new innovations, results and impacts of Swiss development cooperation in Asia.
