PROVIDING A WORLD OF VOLUNTEERS TO AFGHAN WOMEN LEADERS 

Mentor Program Update: The Mentor Program is currently seeking women judges, prosecutors, and law professors to mentor their Afghan counterparts, helping them develop mastery in international law, women’s rights law, comparative criminal law, and understanding of complex English legal texts. We are also always looking for experienced, certified ESL instructors. 

The Mentor Program helps build the capacity of Afghan women leaders by offering live, long-distance, one-on-one mentoring relationships with certified ESL/EFL instructors and international professionals in their fields. The mentor and mentee meet weekly via Skype’s free computer-to-computer phone and instant messaging service. 

Our mentors have supported the careers of dozens of Afghan women professionals. One example is an Afghan woman senator who sought assistance understanding the legal and political terminology of pertinent international treaties and aid for her legislative efforts to increase the country’s penalty for rape. We have paired mentors with Afghan women attorneys who represent women in family law cases and with human rights/women’s rights attorneys who trained thousands of Afghan women on voting rights and educated judges and police officers on domestic violence laws. Other examples include US professors who mentored Afghan assistant law professors and lecturers, an English professor with experience translating medical textbooks who mentored an Afghan doctor in English medical terminology, and an American woman scientist who mentored a young Afghan dental student with biology classes.

Many mentees have, with their mentors’ help, increased their field expertise and English fluency sufficiently to obtain scholarships for international post graduate education in their fields. Over a handful now hold LLMs and some are pursuing PhDs. Others have been elected to high positions, obtained government posts, or been promoted to leadership roles in international organizations. Our mentees have worked for prominent organizations including the UN, Oxfam, IDLO, USAID, the Max Planck Foundation, major universities, and the country’s judicial system. 

To apply for the Mentor Program, please email the Mentor Volunteer Application  as an attachment along with your resume to Gayle at gaylez@aiwr.org.