TERMS OF REFERENCE

Journey of WAFAA

Background

CARE International has been operational in Afghanistan since 1961. CARE started its work in the country by providing health services and professional training for Ministry of Public Health staff. Currently CARE implements two programs for Afghanistan – Resilience Enhancement Program and Women and Girls Empowerment Programs. With staff capacity of nearly 504 national and three international staff, CARE implements its programs in Balkh, Ghazni, Kabul, Kapisa, Khost, Paktya, and Parwan provinces. CARE’s mission is to bring positive changes in the lives of poor, marginalized and vulnerable people in Afghanistan.

Strengthening WAFFA Project

CARE has been helping women, and their families meet their most basic needs since 1994 through its Humanitarian Assistance for Women of Afghanistan (HAWA) Program. Since then CARE has evolved to foster women's empowerment through livelihoods support, health services, and literacy classes, organization of widows' associations, research, documentation and advocacy. The recently added women's association (women’s Associations For Advocacy in Afghanistan - WAFAA) component is to contribute to Afghanistan’s Human Development by reinforcing local capacities for strengthening women’s rights and empowerment within the framework of Afghanistan’s national legislation and UN Security Council Resolution 1325. The core of the program is to improve the socio-economic position of women and other marginalized women through advocacy at both local and national level, in order to bring positive changes in policies and cultural practices that negatively affect women’s position and limit access to basic services in Afghanistan. The WAFAA program has had considerable success in building the confidence and capacities of the impact groups in strengthening solidarity, conflict resolution capabilities, women’s rights awareness, and influencing power holder’s especially male religious and community leaders in their communities to resolve conflicts in ways that are just for women. The last two years has seen WAFAA members at the community level increasingly becoming part of government and nongovernmental important structures with their case resolution work (resolving disputes and conflicts of women on GBV, divorce, land entitlement, inheritance etc) increasing in load and in community acceptance as well as in raising awareness of women's rights.

Total number of WAFAA beneficiaries: 10720 Women

Project Goal: To strengthen the WAFAA to effectively monitor, report on and participate in decision making processes around Women Peace & Security concerns at policy level.

Expected outcome of the project:

  1. The Widows Association for Advocacy in Afghanistan (WAFAA) has a well-functioning association in Kabul
  2. The Widows Association for Advocacy in Afghanistan (WAFAA) is participating in decision-making processes regarding the implementation of the Afghan government’s National Action Plan (NAP) on UNSCR 1325.
  3. The Widows Association for Advocacy in Afghanistan (WAFAA) members have expanded their income opportunities, strengthened their economic independence and continue to participate in women rights advocacy activities.

Overall goal of the assessment

Main goal of this assessment is to reflect the key changes occurred in life of WAFAA members and to outline the phasesstarting from need assessment of women up-to formation of a Widows Association for Advocacy in Afghanistan.

Specific Objectives of the assessment

  1. To delineate the different stages journeyed by WAFAA members and to represent life condition of women before and after they became member of WAFAA
  2. To find outwhat else are required for WAFAA to become an independent entity

The primary users of this assessment will be the CARE Afghanistan project team and CARE Norway

Key Questions to be answered by this assessment

  • Whydid women become member of WAFAA and where did they come from?
  • What steps were taken by women in becoming WAFAA members, what challenges did they face and how werethey addressed?
  • What was economic condition of women before and what changesces has occurred in their economic status after they became members of WAFAA, and why?
  • What was social relation of women within their household and community before and what changesces has occurred in their relation after they became members of WAFAA, and why?
  • What was role of women in making decision at household level before and what changes has occurred in process of making decisions after they become member of WAFAA?
  • What destination WAFAA members are aiming at and how confident they are to travel this journey?
  • What progress has WAFAA made towards becoming an independent organisation, who has provided support to them and why?
  • What other support does WAFAA need to become a sustainable and independent organisation?

Scope and approach

This assessment should be completed within 40 to 45 days inAugust and September 2017. All key documents of the project such as project proposal, project reports, Phase-one review report, WAFAA Operation Manual, WAFAA database, M&E system and other relevant documents should be reviewed. A detailed study design, including data collection tools, should be developed to capture information which is not covered by secondary information necessary for answering the specific objectives of the assessment. Data should be collected through key informant interviews with project staff and key national level partners and stakeholders,semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire survey with WAFAA members and focus groups discussions with other stakeholderssuch as family and community members.

Key deliverables

  • A detail proposalfor conducting the WAFAA Journey
  • First draft report of WAFAA Journey
  • Workshop on preliminary findings from WAFAA Journey
  • Final Report of WAFAA Journey

Submission Guideline

Interested candidates are requested to submit their proposals clearly defining their work approach and a proposed costing for the work to CARE Afghanistan Procurement Department Head - email address . The proposal submission deadline is August 19, 2017 till 4:

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