The Youth Information and Contact Center – A window of hope for girls in Jalalabad

12 Aug 2009

The Youth Information and Contact Center – A window of hope for girls in Jalalabad

12 August 2009 - “I am a poet. For long time I have suffered from violence and injustice in our society but I couldn’t express myself, until one day I took pen and paper.

 

The YICC [Youth Information and Contac Center] gives me finally an opportunity to learn English and how to use a computer, additional ways to express myself. It will help me to become someone, one day;” tells Nilab 16 years old, her lean face full of passion.

In Afghanistan 68 percent of the population is below the age of 25 years. Youth literacy rates are low and only half of the boys and one in five girls know how to read and write. Secondary school enrolment rates are respectively 23 and seven percent. One out of 100 youngsters reaches higher education. The situation of girls and young women is of particular concern. Numerous girls are forced to marry as young as 14 years old. Many are confronted with early pregnancy sexual abuse and domestic violence. As opportunities for vocational training and employment are limited, many young people get disillusioned; take up dangerous jobs or drugs. In every society youth have to make decisions, some of which will shape the rest of their lives. Afghan youngsters grow up in an especially complex environment, being confronted them every day with conflicting values. Violence and deaths have become an integral part of the Afghan society – and still there is so much hope, so many possibilities for a new start.

To empower young people between 12 and 25 to make informed decisions and actively participate in the decision-making process of their community UNICEF, in collaboration with the Afghan Ministry of Culture and Youth Affairs, has established since 2007 “Youth Information and Contact Centers” [YICC] in six provinces, Bamyan, Herat, Kabul, Kandahar, Nangarhar and Balkh; enabling young people to develop their skills and solve problems – their own and the ones of their peers.

The YICC were inspired by the Afghan NGO Social Volunteer Foundation [SVF] which in turn is part of the Child Protection Action Networks [CPAN], set-up by UNICEF and the Government of Afghanistan to protect children in the war-torn communities of Afghanistan. Today 27 CPAN exist all across Afghanistan, connecting governmental and non-governmental organizations, protecting and promoting child rights in the country. The first Youth Information and Contac Center was inaugurated two years ago in Jalalabad.
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Every Tuesday, Nilab and a dozen of other girls meet in Jalabad’s YICC to discuss issues of concern to them, problems that they faced during the week. Two years ago, when the center opened its doors, the girls where not allowed to attend the sessions, their families forbade it. To increase the parents’ confidence in the centers’ reliability UNICEF and its partners recruited female animators and provided a car to transport the girls from their homes to the YICC, circumventing herewith the problem that women usually face when traveling alone. Today several hundred girls attend trainings and discussions. Yet all the challenges are not overcome.

“My whole family is literate, but my parents engaged me to an illiterate man. Every time I want to come here I have to beg like child for him to accompany me. I am not interested in marriage, but want to publish my book of poems. I need to be in contact with other people but they won’t let me leave the house,” explains Nilab. Eyes wide-open, she speaks with urgency. “Only because my aunt is accompanying me I can be here today.”

“The girls have woken up. Discussions like the ones that we have now every week, about marriage, relationships, professional perspectives or else would not have been possible two years ago. Daoud, the Director of the YICC tells proudly. We do not say we have responded to all their problems but, little by little, the situation is improving. Last year was better than the year before, and this year is better than last year. We progress slowly, keeping pace with the sensitivities of our society. When the girls face problems at home, for example when they are forbidden from going to school, their group is lobbying with the parents – and usually they are successful. Only sometimes the animators are intervening to support them. This progress was possible because we are a strong team: The Ministry of Youth for the Government, UNICEF for the United Nations and the Youth Federation for the Civil Society.
Together we will go ahead!”