KBAUL (SW): The Independent Directorate of Local Government (IDLG) on Tuesday called for the need to empower women and ensure their participation at the decision making levels.
Muneera Yosufzada, spokesman for the IDLG, told a moot in this connection that efforts are underway to lift the capacity and skills of women. She cited the formation of women’s network groups as one successful example of these efforts. She admitted that the representation of women in provincial governments is thin, but the representation of women at the provincial councils has reached 25 per cent.
She urged the women’s networking group to introduce capable women and girls to the higher offices of government. She said outdated cultural norms, insecurity, sexual violence and discrimination are hindering women’s progress in public and private sectors.
Participants of the gathering acknowledged improvement in the share of women in public offices following the formation of the National Unity Government (NUG). Nelofar Rahimi and Shazia Haqjo, two such participants from Balkh and Parwan provinces respectively, stressed much more needs to be done. They also demanded that the women’s networking groups should strive to be much more practical.
The IDLG officials vowed to lift the participation of women in urban development councils to 50 per cent while admitting that women’s presence in local governments is quite low.
ENDS
