WAW组织传授生活技能帮助阿富汗妇女在美生活

Group Teaches Life Skills to Help Afghan Women in US WAW组织传授生活技能帮助阿富汗妇女在美生活

Every day, more than 100 women of Afghan ancestry¹ meet at a home in New York City.

The women learn together in rooms that are crowded with chairs and small tables.

They come to learn about the necessities of life in the United States, such as getting a permit to drive a car, or reading and writing in English. They also can get help with something as complex as dealing² with an abusive husband.

The program is a project of a women’s support group called Women for Afghan Women (WAW).

The attendees are a mixture of single, married and divorced women. Some are new arrivals to the U.S., while others have been here for several years. Their advisors³ and teachers are mostly Afghan-Americans who are naturalized U.S. citizens.

WAW was formed in the Queens area of New York before the September 11, 2001 attacks. Its aim is to help Afghan women learn to read and stop violence in their families.

The group receives money from the federal and state governments. WAW expanded its program after the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan. It launched efforts to educate the women and discuss community fears.

An estimated 20,000 Afghan families live in and around New York City. That number comes from Afghan consulate⁵ officials and local Islamic centers.

Traditionally, the Afghan community has been a patriarchal society, leaving women with less control. That can lead to physical abuse, fewer chances for an education, and other issues because of a lack of rights.

Safety first

Manizha Naderi, WAW's director, said, "We're trying to make sure Afghan women are safe. Our goal is for women to have access to education, justice, so they can be normal citizens."

The group also wants to change old customs. Naderi explained that it has not been easy to stop years of gender⁶ inequality.

"We work with the communities — not just women, but with the families — because Afghanistan is a patriarchal society, and women don't want to leave their families. They just want to be safe within their families," Naderi said.

Sitara Momand ended her marriage and came to New York in 2013 with a young daughter.

"I was married to a very violent husband," Momand told VOA.

In Afghanistan, she and her husband lived with her husband’s parents. She experienced violence from both her husband and his parents.

“I left Afghanistan and went to Pakistan to escape the violence. Then I came to America," she said.

Hired by group

Sitara Momand heard about WAW after arriving in New York. She reached out to the group for help. She needed money. WAW gave her a job cleaning their space. Later, Momand found her own place to live.

"WAW helped me get public benefits, helped getting my child in school, and helped me learn to read and write in English," said Momand.

She continues to work at WAW and has a second job in a restaurant. She said she was very happy to be living in America.

Yalda Afif, a program planner at WAW, deals with many women who have been abused by their husbands and their husbands’ parents.

"I have seen terrible abuse, sexual abuse by their partners," Afif told VOA. But these women never told anyone about the abuse.

Then, after being in Queens for a while, the women began to trust WAW. Afif said she “learned more about what was really going on, the root of the problems.”

She added, "We try to make the family understand that they cannot control everything; they have to share with their wives.” If a woman is empowered, and gets a job, for example, she is helping⁷ to remove some of the pressure from the man, Afif explained.

Important basic skills

In addition to helping women get jobs and places to live, WAW places great attention on education.

The group assisted Faozia Noory, a naturalized U.S. citizen who has been in the United States for eight years. It helped her prepare for her citizenship⁸ exam and helped her get a driving permit.

Noory is happily married with four children. "This is home, sweet home, for me,” she said. “I like the feeling of being safe."

WAW also offers the Young Leadership Program where it teaches skills to younger Afghan-Americans. The program is mostly young women, some as young as 15-years-old.

"Some had been forced into marriages they didn't want," said Naderi.

"We teach them empowerment, how to ask for their rights, what their rights are, what the rights of women in Islam are, and what the rights of the family are. And, you know, education is the key to it, to everything,” Naderi said.

She noted⁹ that, since the girls’ leadership program began in 2005, not one girl in the community has been forced to marry.

What about Afghanistan?

WAW has expanded its programs to Afghanistan. It has child support centers in 13 Afghan provinces and provides legal support to abused women through its center in Kabul.

Because it tries to promote acceptance of women in the labor¹⁰ force, the organization has struck a nerve in the male-dominated society.

"We've been targeted by the Taliban," Naderi said. "In 2014, two of the WAW staff were kidnapped by the Taliban.” She said the Taliban released the women in 2015 because of help from local Afghan communities. “Change can be very difficult," she said.

Words in This Story

spouse¹¹ - n. someone who is married : a husband or wife

divorced - adj. a word describing someone whose marriage has legally ended

consulate - n. the building where a consul⁴ lives and works

patriarchal - adj. cultures or societies that are controlled by men

province - n. any one of the large parts that some countries are divided into

access - v. a way of being able to use or get something

benefit - n. a good or helpful result or effect

strike a nerve - expression. to offend or anger someone by discussing a certain subject

1 ancestry   

n.祖先，家世

参考例句：

• Their ancestry settled the land in 1856.他们的祖辈1856年在这块土地上定居下来。
• He is an American of French ancestry.他是法国血统的美国人。

2 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

3 advisors   

n.顾问，劝告者( advisor的名词复数 )；（指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• The governors felt that they were being strung along by their advisors. 地方长官感到他们一直在受顾问们的愚弄。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• We will consult together with advisors about her education. 我们将一起和专家商议她的教育事宜。 来自互联网

4 consul   

n.领事；执政官

参考例句：

• A consul's duty is to help his own nationals.领事的职责是帮助自己的同胞。
• He'll hold the post of consul general for the United States at Shanghai.他将就任美国驻上海总领事(的职务)。

5 consulate   

n.领事馆

参考例句：

• The Spanish consulate is the large white building opposite the bank.西班牙领事馆是银行对面的那栋高大的白色建筑物。
• The American consulate was a magnificent edifice in the centre of Bordeaux.美国领事馆是位于波尔多市中心的一座宏伟的大厦。

6 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

7 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

8 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

9 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

10 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

11 spouse   

n.配偶(指夫或妻)

参考例句：

• Her spouse will come to see her on Sunday.她的丈夫星期天要来看她。
• What is the best way to keep your spouse happy in the marriage?在婚姻中保持配偶幸福的最好方法是什么？