KABUL - Afghan women are critical for peacebuilding and sustainable development, said community leaders during events held in Bamyan and Nangarhar as part of a series of nationwide gatherings for the UN’s Global Open Days initiative.

Open Days events are designed to raise awareness about the role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflict and to stress the importance of women’s participation in maintaining and promoting peace. Open Days were launched in 2010 on the tenth anniversary of UN Security Council resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.

This year, UNAMA-backed events have taken place in Bamyan, Nangarhar, Mazar, Jawzjaz and Gardez provinces. Four additional events are scheduled through mid-October.

In Bamyan city, some 300 university students, civil society members and police officers gathered to listen to and interact with a panel consisting of the head of the Provincial Council, a civil society activist and university professors.

“Women offer a vital perspective in the analysis of conflict to increase the inclusiveness, transparency and sustainability of peace processes,” said Taeba Khawari, Head of Bamyan’s Provincial Council, in a speech at the event.

Offering similar comments, Bamyan University’s Deputy Dean, Said Amin Joya, said women are not part of the conflict in Afghanistan and this can therefore make them the most effective agents for its resolution.

In Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar, panelists reflected similar perspectives in a discussion broadcast on national radio and television to an audience estimated at more than three million people.

The head of UNAMA’s regional office, Heran Song, spoke at the Jalalabad event, outlining the importance of Global Open Days in their promotion of the role of women in peace and development in Afghanistan.

UNAMA is mandated to support Afghan institutions and civil society groups to enhance the contributions of women in Afghanistan’s political and security transitions, including in the peacebuilding agenda.