Afghan Women’s Association of Scotland
About Us
Afghan Women’s Association of Scotland is a new organisation that is looking to improve the lives of Afghan women, working across Glasgow.
At AWAS, we are dedicated to empowering Afghan women by providing opportunities that support their personal, social, and economic growth.
Like many minority women, Afghan women often face vulnerability and isolation, both in their home country and abroad. They encounter significant challenges in their day-to-day lives, including limited access to services, low literacy levels, and language barriers. Many in Glasgow are unaware of their rights or how to assert them. The lack of support networks can make their transition even more difficult, as they worry about their families’ education and well-being.
We are here to change that.
Afghan Women’s Association of Scotland
What is AWAS?
Helping Women to Build a Future
Afghan Women’s Association of Scotland is a community-support enterprise, established to create opportunities that support women in achieving their personal, social, and economic potential.
Our Vision
Women with Agency
We envision a future where women are empowered, educated, and valued. To achieve this, we seek to partner with local communities and women-led organisations across Glasgow.
Our Mission
Empowering Women
We aim to empower women and girls, along with their communities, by providing access to quality education and resources. Our goal is to help them lead fulfilling lives in Scotland.
Support
Restoring Self-Confidence
We seek to provide holistic support to our service users, helping them to manage all aspects of life in Scotland. We want to be able to support them as they work hard to integrate into life in their new communities.
Empowerment
Women Achieving their Potential
We want our support to be long-term and durable, as we help women to build positive and healthy connections and develop sustainable communities.
Education
Connecting with Cultures
Education takes a central role in our vision and our mission, as we seek to provide women and girls with the skills, information, and knowledge they need to thrive in Scotland.
The People behind the scene
Our Trustees
A collection of likeminded volunteers who work to make sure that Afghan women in Scotland have access to support.
Emma Symonds
Chairperson
Emma has worked in the charity sector in the UK and internationally for 12 years.
She worked in Afghanistan between 2016 and 2019 in girls’ education and is a passionate advocate for Afghan women and girls. She currently works in disability inclusive development and humanitarian action.
Nahedeh Eqdam
Secretary
Nahedeh is originally from Iran though grew up in Sweden and studied in the UK.
She has extensive experience in protection, child protection and safeguarding, having spent the last decade working across the middle east and central Asia. She worked in Afghanistan between 2017 – 2019 on a girl’s education program and is passionate about gender equality and civic participation for women and girls in Afghanistan.
She is currently the Director of Safeguarding Support, part of the Global Safeguarding Team at Mercy Corps.
Helen Bailot
Treasurer
Helen has worked with refugees in Scotland since 2002, initially as an advisor and latterly service manager for Scottish Refugee Council.
From 2005-2012, Helen led the Women Immigration and Refugee sub-group of the Glasgow Violence Against Women Partnership, producing good practice guidelines on interpreting for women who have experienced gender-based violence and training on barriers to safety for women seeking asylum who experience domestic abuse.
Helen is now based in the Scottish Highlands, and has undertaken numerous projects as an independent consultant. These include evaluations of Scottish Refugee Council’s Family Keywork & Holistic Integration Services (2016), the Stop Lock Changes Coalition (2019) and the Refugee Transitions Outcomes Fund (2022-24).
As Research Fellow at Queen Margaret University’s Institute for Global Health and Development, Helen has published widely on topics including social connections, integration, the experiences of highly skilled refugee women and the role of the refugee third sector. Helen is now Assistant Service Manager for Guardianship Scotland, coordinating support for unaccompanied children seeking asylum across the North and North-East of Scotland.
Nazeya Sayed
Trustee
Nazeya moved from Afghanistan to Scotland at the age of 13.
Her experiences growing up between two cultures inspired her commitment to supporting Afghan women to overcome barriers and achieve their potential. She is currently in her fourth year studying Economics and Finance and is passionate about creating opportunities for Afghan women to thrive in education and beyond.
Juliette Hacking
Trustee
Jules believes strongly in intersectional equality for women and girls.
Jules has been on the board at AWAS since its founding in 2024, and has a background in digital media and content creation, customer service, and web development and management, as well as completing two degrees in Philosophy and Psychology at the universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow respectively.
At the moment, Jules runs a community-funded domestic assistance enterprise, staffs weddings, and volunteers with a mental health charity.