PAKTIKA - Inspiring women and girls to play a more active role in society was the aim of UNAMA and civil society-supported seminars held in south-western Afghanistan last month.  

More than 200 people attended the one-day seminars held in Sharana, Paktika province and Khost, in the neighbouring province, during which they heard from inspirational women speakers under the theme ‘If I did, you can do it too’.

Participants included women rights activists, representatives of civil society organizations, women’s councils and local media, along with government officials and university students and teachers.

The events highlighted the importance of women’s participation in social life, the roles women can play in helping to shape society and how this contributes positively to national unity and peace. Also discussed was the universal applicability of human rights concepts and the role of the UN to support the people and government of Afghanistan.

In Sharana, speaker Bakht Bibi related her own story of empowerment. Ms. Bibi said that her son had been killed and his spouse wounded, leaving their children without a breadwinner. Taking charge of the situation, Ms. Bibi decided to get a job so that she could earn an income and look after the family.

In the Khost seminar, another inspirational speaker, Wazira Sadat, said the struggle for women’s rights involves a step-by-step, evolutionary process.

“My standing on the stage today is the outcome of my struggle over 18 years,” said Ms. Sadat, who related how she had moved into poultry farming as a way to increase her family income and pay for her children’s school fees.

Another speaker, Razia, said that her brother had opposed her receiving an education, but fortunately her father was more positive, telling her that women have a vital role in shaping society.

Razia said that life represents a struggle and that it is necessary to strive to receive your rights, which are guaranteed by the Afghan Constitution and other laws.   

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.