KANDAHAR - Spotlighting women’s important role in politics and the Afghan peace process, the southern regional office of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) launched a radio series in Kandahar.

Broadcast on Kandahar’s Hewad Radio, the programmes, which ran in April, reached an estimated audience of 360,000, with panellists from civil society, government, provincial councils and universities discussing women’s role in politics and peace.

In one of the programmes, a panellist from the Kandahar Provincial Council, Mohammad Omar Sathay, said that women are not playing as prominent a role as they should be in the peace process and noted that there is a strong need to change the status quo. The panellists focused their discussions on how women can provide guidance to their family members, relatives and communities about avoiding subversive activities and living life peacefully.

Other panellists underlined the importance of education for girls as educated women can more effectively defend their rights and involve themselves in political activities. The programmes, conducted as part of UNAMA’s advocacy work, are consistent with the framework of the 2009 Elimination of Violence Against Women (EVAW) legislation and the Afghan People’s Dialogue for Peace initiative.

UNAMA is mandated to support the Afghan Government and relevant international and local non-governmental organizations to assist in the full implementation of the fundamental freedoms and human rights provisions of the Afghan Constitution and international treaties to which Afghanistan is a State party, in particular those regarding the full enjoyment by women of their human rights.