Event Date	6 July, 2021
Event Duration	One Week
Venue	Online
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Kardan University and Musharikat, Women Scholarship Endowment Program are pleased to organize an essay writing competition among the female students of Kardan University, female Musharikat registered coalition members, and Women Scholarship Endowment (WSE) program scholarship holders, to encourage them to offer applicable solutions on women participation in social, political, and peace processes.

The competition aims to:

• Encourage female students to offer an applicable
solution on women participation in social, political, and
peace processes;
• Discuss the role of education in women empowerment
and combating Gender-based Violence (GBV);
• Feature women contribution in the social, economic,
and political fabrics to the society;
• Raise public awareness on women’s contribution to
society;
• Encourage stakeholders to play a more substantial
role in women empowerment, their social participation,
and combating GBV.


About the Organizers

Kardan University

Founded in 2002, Kardan University is the first and leading private university in Afghanistan. Over 4,000 students, 25 percent of whom are women, currently pursue diploma, undergraduate, and graduate programs at Kardan University’s three campuses in Kabul. With an alumni network of 30,000, Kardan University is a household name in Afghanistan renowned for its academic excellence. More than 600 Kardan University graduates have received prestigious graduate scholarships, including Fulbright, Chevening, DAAD, and more. Kardan University has received business program accreditation through the International Accreditation Council for Business Education (IACBE) and the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP). We are also a member of CHEA International Quality Group (CIQG), Asia Pacific Quality Network (APQN), and Global Business School Network (GBSN). To learn more, please visit kardan.edu.af.

Musharikat

Musharikat is USAID Afghanistan’s investment in women’s rights groups and activists. Musharikat—which means “partnership” or “participation” in Dari and Pashto—works to build constituencies, strengthen advocacy, and increase awareness and support for women’s equality and empowerment in all of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces. To learn more, please visit https://www.musharikat.com/.

Women Scholarship Endowment Program (WSE)

WSE is a USAID program that provides scholarships for girls to study the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) field of study. This education will assist in overcoming barriers to employment, raising their income, and developing their leadership roles within their families and communities and in public and private sector organizations.


Criteria for Applicants

Only female Musharikat registered coalition members, Women Scholarship Endowment (WSE) program scholarship holders, and Kardan University’s female students from the graduate and undergraduate programs are eligible to participate in this competition.

Essay Topics

Participants can choose their topic of interest from the following list:

1. Role of Women in Afghanistan’s Peace Process:
Challenges and Practical Recommendations
2. Role of Women in Afghanistan’s Politics: Challenges
and Practical Recommendations
3. Role of Education in Combating Violence against
Women

Essay Writing Criteria

• The essay should be no longer than 1500 words;
• The essay should have an introduction, body, and
conclusion;
• The essay should be specific;
• In case you use external information resources, use
APA referencing style;
• The essay should be original; all submissions are
subject to plagiarism check;
• The essay should be typed and submitted as an
attachment to EssayCompetition@musharikat.com;
• The language of the essay can be English, Dari, or
Pashto;
• The deadline for the submission of essays is July 6,
2021.


Assessment Rubric (Marking out of 20 marks will be done based on the Rubric)


1. Organization of the Essay (3 Points)

• Essay is well-structured and has a compelling and
logical flow of arguments and ideas. The essay is
formatted professionally as per the formatting criteria.
(3 Marks)
• Essay contains a clear structure, there are transitions
between paragraphs and ideas, and the essay is
mostly logically arranged. The formatting is coherently
done as per the formatting criteria. (2.5 Marks)
• There is a detectable overall structure, mostly uses
paragraphs to organize the argument, and the essay is
somewhat formatted as per the formatting criteria. (2
Marks)
• An attempt has been made to structure the essay, but t
he essay could have been structured more logically
and formatted more professionally based on the
defined format. (1 Mark)
• There is no apparent overall structure in the
responses, and no attempt has been made to format
the essay. (0 Mark)


2. Understanding of the topics/Clarity of ideas/Relevance
of examples/Coherence of arguments (14 Points)

• The concept selected is clearly and accurately defined,
explained, and illustrated. All the terms are used
accurately and appropriately, arguments are very
strong, clear and coherent, and supported by facts. (14
Marks)
• Able to explain the selected concept mostly accurately,
includes some relevant examples. The terms are
appropriately used. The arguments could have been
more strong, clear, and well supported by facts. (12
Marks)
• Less understanding of the concept not including clear
examples related to the argument. Lacks details,
attempts to use terms accurately, and arguments are
somehow coherent. (9 Marks)
• Major mistakes evident regarding the selected
concept, missing key elements, uses irrelevant
examples, and does not attempt to use appropriate
terms. Examples are generally ignored, and arguments
are not coherent. (5 Marks)
• Considerable elements of inaccurate material and
irrelevant examples and explanations. Poor
understanding of theory. (2 Marks)

3. Language/Citations (3 Points)

• The writing skills are excellent, with only a minimum of
errors; all citations are accurate and formatted
properly. (3 Marks)
• The writing skill is good. Language use does not
interfere with meaning/ content. Occasional sentence
fragments, misused words, & punctuation errors; most
citations are accurate & formatted. (2.5 Marks)
• The writing skill is satisfactory. The writing contains
some grammatical/language errors. Language
sometimes hinders the transmission of content; only
some citations are accurate and in a proper format. (2
Marks)
• Poor writing skill; paper is obviously not proofread and
features linguistic error in almost every sentence;
language errors interfere with meaning, attempts to
cite using the proper format. (1 Mark)
• Extremely poor use of language, errors present in
every line, errors make it very difficult to understand,
citations not present, or not in the proper format. (0
Mark)


Competition Prize

• The best three essay writers will be recognized with
“The Best Writer Award.”
• The best three essays will be published in Ganjeena-e-
Kardan magazine;
• The best three Essay writers will receive 3000 AFN to
7000 AFN cash prize;
• All contestants will receive certificates of participation
from the organizers.

Participants are encouraged to write their essays in alignment with the provided Rubric. Submission should include the following information of the participant:

• Name and Last Name
• Level of Education
• Contact Number
• Email Address