Transition Towards Economic Empowerment and Integration of Refugee Women

This projects is aimed at economic empowerment and integration of Afghan refugee housewives who come from a culture where they were confined to housework and are therefore unable to use their skills to participate in the Australian job market. The existing business development programs for refugees fail to address the needs of these women. They need a transition. This project will use a viable community based catering startup to provide a hands-on learning opportunity for Afghan women to transition into the Australian job market. The project will start from a rapid market research and community survey before initiating the startup.

This project addresses the needs of domestically confined women and will tap into their abilities like cooking and catering. The project is expected to harness existing community strengths, resources and knowledge by enhancing socioeconomic motivation and capacity of Afghan women, increasing income of low-skill women, and decreasing their frustration and confinement - particularly considering their vulnerability in light of the recent debates over SRSS cuts and high rates of women unemployment. The primary participants will be Afghan/Hazara women but this model can be later rolled out to cover women of similar characteristics from other communities.