About Us
22 May 2024
About WCRAN
Founded on the belief that silence is complicity
We are researchers, advocates, and human rights defenders committed to documenting the truth and demanding justice for women and children.
Who We Are
The Women and Children Research and Advocacy Network (WCRAN) was established on May 17, 2023 in Canada by passionate individuals who refused to look away from the systematic erasure of rights for women and girls in Afghanistan and conflict zones worldwide.
We combine evidence-based research with frontline advocacy, bringing documented human rights violations to the highest international forums — from the UN Human Rights Council to the European Parliament to national legislatures across 20 countries.
Our work is multilingual and global. We operate at the intersection of research, policy, and direct support — understanding that real change requires all three.
Read Our ReportsTruth-Telling
We document what others ignore. Our research is rigorous, independent, and grounded in first-hand testimony and verified data.
Global Solidarity
We believe the rights of women and children are universal — not contingent on geography, ethnicity, or political context.
Unwavering Advocacy
We engage with governments and international bodies not to advise, but to demand binding, enforceable protections.
Direct Action
We pair systemic advocacy with concrete support: legal aid, counselling, education, and economic programmes for those most at risk.
2023
Founded May 17, 2023 — Canada
WCRAN emerged at a moment when the world risked normalising gender apartheid in Afghanistan. Our founders — researchers, lawyers, and activists from the Afghan diaspora and the global human rights community — chose action over silence. In under two years, our work has reached international courts, national parliaments, and the United Nations.
