The Center of Arab Women for Training and Research (CAWTAR) was established in 1993 in Tunisia  as Independent Regional Institution promoting gender equality in the Arab World through Research, Training, Networking and Advocacy.
 It was as a direct response to a long-felt need in the Arab region for a specialized center to promote the participation of Arab women in the development process.

CAWTAR’s Mission:

To generate knowledge and enhance the capacity of Arab institutions to use this knowledge in ways that enable Arab women to become fully empowered and to exercise their rights to share in the development of their communities. 
 
CAWTAR’s Objectives:

Women’s Rights
Women’s empowerment

To achieve these objectives, CAWTAR promotes the capacity of Arab governance systems to support women’s rights and of Arab economic systems to fully integrate women and improve their status.
The Center undertakes its multi-faceted objectives through five main programs:

 Research
 Training
 Networking and Partnerships
 The Media and Communication
 Documentation and Databases