Qatar Fund Aims to Empower Women in Conflict Zone

The Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD), in collaboration with other strategic partners, has launched a new global initiative to support the empowerment of women and girls in conflict-affected areas through humanitarian and developmental aid.

The Women in Conflict Zones (WICZ) programme aims to improve the lives of thousands of women and girls by providing them with access to social and economic services. Its projects include programs that offer educational opportunities and vocational training to Afghan girls.

“We live in a world where women continue to experience high levels of violence, poverty and exclusion, particularly in conflict settings and fragile contexts,” Lolwah Alkhater, Qatar’s assistant foreign minister, said on Friday at the launch of WCIZ on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly’s 77th session in New York.

Alkhater emphasised how war and violence disproportionately affect women, making them even more vulnerable and impoverished.

“Women in fragile environments are often left behind,” she said, noting how “between 1990 and 2017, most of the mediation efforts had zero women participation, despite the fact that they are the most affected”.

WCIZ will be led by QFFD and will collaborate with the UN Development Programme (UNDP) on six areas: crisis response, education, healthcare, economic opportunity, technology, and peacebuilding.

According to the organisers, it aims to provide women and girls with high-quality education and development skills as well as support efforts for their protection so that they can assume the role of change agents by taking part in peacekeeping and mediation at all levels.

SOURCE: Aljazeera