Afghanistan Projects

Bringing Hope Into Women’s Prisons


Imagine the gripping loneliness of living life locked in a prison with no visitors, disowned by your family.

The pain is great for the nearly 150 women and young people in three prisons in Afghanistan where Global Partners’ Community Health and Education workers visit.

“Many of those who are in the prisons are lonely,” said one CHE worker. “I have had many ask me to stay longer. They love to have someone to listen to them and to talk with.”

And to compound their struggles, many of the prisoners were already impoverished and illiterate before they landed in jail.

Last year, Global Partners’ CHE workers taught reading, writing (in Dari), and basic math skills with the young people and gave them health lessons, as well as provided them with hygiene kits — soap, shampoo and other items. The young girls often ask to play the math games they were taught the week before, enforcing skills that will help them once released.

“There are also a number of women and girls who are pregnant or have had new babies while being in the prison,” the worker said. “We have been able to distribute blankets to all the children in the women’s prison. There were a number of new babies born last year, so we were able to at least give them a clean, warm blanket.”

CHE workers taught the mothers what to expect and how to care for themselves and their babies, as well as prepared them for things that might happen during the pregnancy or birth. It’s a vital need, because the death rate for babies is high, and Afghanistan has the highest maternal mortality rate in the world. We hope to help change that statistic, and believe that bringing hope into women’s prisons is a small but important part of this task.

Facts About Afghanistan

  • Area: 652,230 sq. km.
  • Borders: China, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan
  • Arable Land: 12.13%
  • Natural Hazards: Earthquakes, droughts, flooding
  • Population: 29,835,392 (July 2011 est.)
  • Urban Population: 23% of total population (2010)
  • Infant Mortality Rate: 149.2 deaths / 1,000 live births (#2 in world)
  • Life Expectancy at Birth: 45.02 years
  • Literacy (age 15+ can read and write): 28.1% (Male: 43.1%; Female: 12.6%)
  • GDP - per capita (PPP): $900 USD (2010 est.)

More About Afghanistan:

The population of Afghanistan is about thirty million. Pashtuns are the predominant ethnic group in Afghanistan, comprising forty-two percent of the population. Other ethnic groups include the Tajiks (twenty-seven percent), Hazaras (nine percent), Uzbeks (nine percent) and other minority groups such as the Aimak, Turkmen and Baluch. Dari is the official language of the government. However, many other languages are spoken in Afghanistan, including Pashtu, Hazaragi, Uzbek, and Turkmen. Religiously, Afghanistan is over ninety-nine percent Muslim, with an estimated eighty percent Sunni Muslims and an estimated nineteen percent Shiite Muslims.

Read a brief history of Afghanistan

Today, Global Partners works alongside the United Nations and many other international NGOs to provide essential development and support. Afghanistan's infrastructure, such as roads, electricity, and water sanitation, is in poor condition. Medical care is lacking, especially in rural areas. This results in a national life expectancy of only forty-five years, the second highest infant mortality rate in the world, and the highest rate of maternal mortality. Furthermore, the educational system is struggling to recover after decades of war; less than thirty percent of men are literate and only about thirteen percent of women. Cultivation of poppies also remains a significant concern, as Afghanistan is the world's largest producer of opium. Although there has been a great deal of reconstruction in the past ten years, much, much more is needed in order to alleviate poverty, provide adequate health care, create economic opportunities, and educate the next generation.