Two programs carry that commitment forward: one meets women whose safety cannot wait.
The other builds the political and economic power of Afghan women for the long term, in exile and at home.
VITAL VOICES’ SUPPORT PROGRAMS
Crisis Response
When a woman’s safety cannot wait.
Women who once led classrooms, businesses, and clinics now reach us in secret. Crisis Response finds women leading their communities from the shadows and meets each one in the moment. We offer relocation, legal assistance, mental health services, and livelihood support.
This work runs on trusted, longtime referral partners inside Afghanistan; relationships built over years that cannot be rebuilt once they lapse.
Crisis Response offers three main axes of support:
Safety – confidential planning, relocation, and emergency resources.
Legal – representation and refugee advocacy through resettlement.
Care – culturally responsive mental health and livelihood support.
1,236 at-risk women leaders and family members evacuated in 2021 and followed through to permanent resettlement.
18 women human rights defenders supported through direct assistance for safety and relocation, 2025 to 26.
Aghaaz: The Beginning
Rebuilding power in exile and at home.
Aghaaz means “the beginning, or rebirth” in Dari. Where Crisis Response answers the emergency, Aghaaz answers what follows: standing beside the Afghan women who stayed, building the political power of those who fled, and pushing gender apartheid onto the world’s agenda.
Aghaaz was built on three pillars:
Rebuild – English language classes, driving lessons, and small business grants for Afghan women resettled in Canada and the U.S.
Lead – fellowships and job placements, including a Leadership Journey fellowship and remote technology roles for women technologists
Advocate – global coalition-building toward recognition of gender apartheid as a crime against humanity, in partnership with organizations including the Atlantic Council, Women for Peace & Participation, and Women’s Rights First
483 women leaders supported through Aghaaz, 2024 through 25.
WHY CONTINUITY MATTERS
The infrastructure already exists: vetted partners, secure channels, and Afghan women leaders who know exactly where new funding goes. The lifelines that closed in 2025 did not fail, their funding did. Continuing to fund this work means using infrastructure that already exists, rather than rebuilding it from zero.
Support Vital Voices’ Efforts
Your gift funds the urgent work Vital Voices does to support women leaders aroudn the globe, including Afghanistan. Vital Voices is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit; your gift is tax-deductible.
