KABUL (SW): A number of civil society activists said on Wednesday that women’s presence in the police structure of the country was only a symbolic one.
According to some reports by the Ministry of Interior, nearly 2700 female police personnel exist in Afghanistan out of whom 300 women work as clerks.
The activists said that the reports suggest that the number of police women are lower compared to the 15 million population of women in the country.
The declaration of civil society institutions placed emphasis on supporting women police officers, peace and security and women’s presence at key positions in the government.
The declaration also says that appointing women in the high ranking positions in the Ministry of Interior, will decrease their symbolic roles in the Ministry and give them more authority.
The prevailing tradition in Afghanistan has always challenged women’s presence in the society.
The resent findings carried out by the Asian Foundation in Afghanistan, suggested that only 41.4 percent of Afghans are satisfied with women working in the police and army.
Haroon Noor, Head of Human Rights Research at the Ministry of Interior, however said that women’s situation in the police was not concerning and a lot has been done to build their capacities.
He said that Ministry of Interior considers specific positions for police women and works to build their capacities.
He added that a holistic approach was needed to support women and encourage them to join police force.
Afghanistan has signed the strategy of United Nations Security Council regarding women empowerment in the security sector based on which the governments are not allowed to ignore women’s role and interests in peace talks process.
According to the Ministry of Interior’s strategy, the number of women in the police ranks should increase by 5000 by the end of 2016.
ENDS
