KANDAHAR - Senior government officials in Afghanistan’s southern Kandahar province highlighted the need to have more women in politics, good governance and decision-making, at a United Nations-organized event last week.

“Women should have their rights which are enshrined in the Constitution of Afghanistan. The Government should make policies to enhance women’s role in political, social, development and other arenas,” said the Kandahar Governor, Dr Toryali Wesa, at the opening of the two-day training workshop for 45 women on 26 August.

The workshop was organized jointly by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the participants spoke in the context of Kandahar.

The participants at the workshop strongly supported women’s empowerment so that they can play active role in politics and other fields of life, and enhance their capacity to cope with challenges that they are facing or may face in the future.

Despite progress in various sectors of life in Kandahar, women continue to suffer from violence, intimidation, lack of opportunities and other social and cultural barriers. Their presence can hardly be seen in government departments and their participation in ongoing voter registration process is also very low.

“We do not have separate female voter registration centres and those centres, which have separate sections for women, are manned by male staff, making it difficult for women to go for registration,” said the Kandahar provincial head of the Department of Women’s Affairs, Rukia Asakzai.

“I personally think that Government has not done enough to improve the condition of women in Kandahar,” she added.

Echoing the views of Asakzai, a female member of the Provincial Council, Maryam Durrani, said the Ulema (transl.: ‘religious scholars’) should play their part while educating people about women’s rights.

“Moreover, the government should focus on empowering women in politics, good-governance and decision making processes,” said Ms. Durrani.