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Promote, launched in October last year, aims to funnel $416m into supporting womens rights groups in the country and boosting womens role in national decision-making. Photograph: Shah Marai/AFP/Getty Images

A high-profile US aid scheme in Afghanistan, hailed as the largest ever womens empowerment programme, has come under criticism for lack of transparency and for failing to consult the women it is supposed to benefit. In another reproach of international aid efforts, an Amnesty International report released on Tuesday details how womens rights defenders, despite achieving significant gains over the past decade, are being abandoned by the international community.

The US aid scheme Promote, launched in October last year, aims to funnel $416m into programmes to strengthen womens rights groups and boost womens role in the economy and national decision-making. However, it is uncertain whether the 75,000 women expected to engage in the programme will actually receive any tangible benefit, says a US watchdog.

In a recent inquiry letter, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (Sigar), which reports to the US Congress, raises concerns that USAid may not be able to effectively implement, monitor, and assess the impact of Promote.

The watchdog quotes Afghanistans first lady, Rula Ghani, warning against falling into a game of contracting and sub-contracting, generating a lot of paper certificates without real skill behind them.

Her husband, president Ashraf Ghani, has also previously criticised foreign aid delivery to Afghanistan, claiming that the majority of American aid returns to the US through contracting.

Womens activists have raised concerns similar to Sigars. I emphasised again and again that the programmes should be designed based on the needs of the women of Afghanistan, said Hasina Safi, executive director of the Afghan Womens Network.

Safi was appointed to an advisory committee for one of Promotes three contractors, Tetra Tech, Inc, which is responsible for training 25,000 participants in women leadership development. She said Promotes beneficiaries are selected too narrowly. Promote was only designed for literate women, while in Afghanistan there is a big majority of non-educated young women, Safi said. They need to have more confidence in the women of Afghanistan, that they really can design a programme based on their needs.

USAid said the criticism is unfounded. According to a USAid official, civil society actors were consulted, to ask about what the project needs to do, including womens leaders in and outside the capital, as well as the Ministry of Womens Affairs.

The official added that over 300 implementers had submitted 175 questions in a robust discussion, and that a procurement document had been made available online for comment in early 2013. I can very confidently say that the outreach has been significant and taken a lot of time, the official said, stressing that Promote does not replace USAids existing investments in rural education and healthcare.

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Afghanistan: US watchdog criticises aid scheme for women's rights