About Us

Canadians in Support of Afghan Women or C.S.A.W. is a volunteer Canadian solidarity group of women committed to making women's rights and protection under the law a priority in Afghanistan. To this end, CSAW raises awareness in Canada regarding gender discrimination in Afghanistan by supporting the empowerment of Afghan women and children through their education, employment and skill development.
CSAW is an affiliate of the national group, Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan. The National Office of Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan is located in Calgary, Alberta and member and affiliate groups are located in Victoria, Vancouver, Okanagan, Edmonton, Grande Prairie, Manitoba, Peterborough, Kingston, Ottawa and Atlantic Canada.

How We Began

In 1998, CSAW was started by a group of concerned women at the Halton Rape Crisis Centre as a response to an article written by Sally Armstrong in Homemaker's magazine about violations of Afghan women's human rights in Afghanistan under the Taliban regime.

In response, this group drafted and presented a petition that was presented to the Canadian government explaining the necessity for the Canadian government to be involved in addressing human rights issues in Afghanistan.

Under this regime, women lost the freedom to education, employment, and basic health care. Physical freedom was curtailed and wearing of the burqa became obligatory.

The title of the petition, Canadians in Support of Afghan Women was later chosen as the name of this organization.

CSAW then became an outreach program supported by the Halton Rape Crisis Centre, now SAVIS of Halton. The initial mandate of the group was to raise awareness in Canada of human rights violations against women and children in Afghanistan and to empower and provide practical assistance to Afghan women and children living in refugee camps in Pakistan.

There was an inquiry for a copy of Sally Armstrong's article from Homemakers magazine. Veiled Threat from 1997 is the only document available of that article.

Also included here are the first two information Bulletins that CW4WAfghan did. Lifting the Veil of Silence (1999) and Beyond Poverty and Oppression (2001) give some good background/history of the issues and our organization's early beginnings for those interested in the history.
Remember these earlier bulletins must be read in context of the shocking realities of the then little known Taliban capturing Kabul with no international awareness of this whatsoever. Also note the shocking impact of that old burqa on the western world as a symbol of oppression. We have learned a lot over the decade.

History of the Situation in Afghanistan

For more than a quarter of a century in war, Afghan women have endured extreme oppression and denial of their basic human rights. Until recently, the Taliban rulers imposed rules most severe on women and children such as;

Extremely limited freedom of movement. Women could not leave their homes without a male relative and had to wear a burqa when going out of their house.

No access to basic health care. Male doctors were forbidden from caring for female patients.

No or limited access to education, security or employment.

The government of Afghanistan has reopened some schools for girls.

In some urban areas, women can walk freely in public without the accompaniment of a male relative, but the Taliban and their supporters are resurgent, and many warlords continue to use the policies of the Taliban.

Girls' schools have been firebombed and were forced to close. Many women still fear for there safety.

War has resulted in the widespread destruction of homes, crops and families. Poverty and harsh weather continue.

An entire generation of women is uneducated.

Destitute war widows have no way of feeding and providing for their families.