Shuhada Organization conducts human rights awareness courses for women in the provinces of Bamyan, Ghazni, Ghor, Daikundi, Maidan, Wardak, and Kabul. Among other issues, these courses focus on access to justice, reproductive rights, and political rights. Beginning in 1995, Shuhada Organization formed Legal Consultation & Guidance Units – to inform and aid women in accessing the justice system. In 2005, nearly 1000 women central Afghanistan attended courses on their reproductive rights. In 2007, approximately 2,230 women were trained about their rights as women – specifically with respect to domestic violence, forced marriage, and right to employment.

The following is a testimony from a participant in Shuhada’s human rights courses:

I am Reza Gul daughter of Muhammad Essa. I live in the Khartizak village of Jaghori district. I could not attend school because of insecurity, the traditional perception against girls’ education and the distance of school from my home. Even women were not convinced of the need and importance of education. As a consequence, my father encouraged me to stop attending school. Lacking any support, I gave-up schooling and instead occupied myself with housework. When I was a kid, I wished I could become a teacher. My inspiration was my teacher, but this dream never became a reality. Now I am 17 years old and cannot believe that I can read and write so well. It was a great opportunity that Shuhada Organization provided me with literacy classes. Before joining the literacy classes, there was a wrong perception amongst community’s elders that Shuhada Organization advocates for woman rights which would encourage the community’s women to not obey their husbands. But now, I ignore such perceptions. Now I have completed the four-month literacy class where I learned how to write words and how to make sentences out of these words. Besides that, I like mathematic and can write up to 270. Now I know how to keep my house and its surroundings clean because all diseases are caused by living in an unhealthy environment. I do wash my hands and always ask my kids and husband to wash their hands with soap when they use the toilet. I learned that women and men have equal rights where none of them should be preferred over another in social movements. I hope that the project could be extended to allow more women to learn to fully write and read.