The Arab Institute for Women

Projects

Qudwa: Basic Living Skills Program

Qudwa, “role model” in Arabic, was developed in 1985. It is a non-formal integrated educational kit in Arabic, geared towards illiterate and semi-literate women in the Arab world, available in both hard copy and digitized form. Its users are social workers affiliated to non-governmental organizations, governmental institutions and international organizations involved in community development programs.

What is unique about Qudwa?

Objectives

Content

The program was fully updated in 2017-18 by experts in the field, to include new themes and up-to-date information. The themes Qudwa covers are:

  1. Human Rights & Gender Equality
  2. Health, Hygiene & Habits
  3. Humans & their Environment
  4. Nutrition
  5. Sexual & Reproductive Health & Rights
  6. Child Development
  7. Civic Education & Community Building
  8. Livelihoods & Socio-Economic Empowerment
  9. Chronic Diseases
  10. Gender-Based Laws
  11. People with Special Needs
  12. Gender-Based Violence Prevention & Response
  13. Supporting Vulnerable Groups
  14. Women’s Political Participation

It also includes:

Over the years, more than 60,000 women in Lebanon have benefited from the program and more than 10,000 women and men have been trained on its use and implementation. The program has been used continuously by several non-governmental organizations and it has been adopted by the Ministry of Social Affairs (MoSA) in all its centers in the different regions of Lebanon. Qudwa has also expanded to the Arab world (Egypt, Sudan, Jordan, Palestine, Kuwait, and Yemen).