‘Promote’ be extended to remote parts: Bibi Gul

KABUL (Pajhwok): First lady Bibi Gul on Sunday said the recently launched US-funded “Promote” programme should not be confined only to urban areas.

She was addressing a celebratory gathering of the programme at the US Embassy in Kabul.

The USAID-funded programme was launched on Saturday by President Ahmadzai at a ceremony attended by high-ranking government officials and foreign diplomats.

According to the US Embassy, with Promote, USAID is supporting young Afghan women and girls by strengthening women’s rights groups, boosting female participation in the economy, and helping women gain business and management skills.

In total, $316 million, including $200 million given to Afghanistan by other donor countries, has been set aside for the five-year programme, making it the largest in the US history for women empowerment.

The programme, benefiting 75000 Afghan women aged between 18 and 30 years, will be implemented in Afghanistan’s five big cities including Kabul, Kandahar, Herat, Mazar-i-Sharif (Balkh) and Jalalabad (Nangarhar).

First Lady Bibi Gul hoped the programme would be extended to remote areas, where women complained such programmes were not implemented there under the pretext of insecurity. She hoped the concerns of women in remote parts would be addressed.

At the launching ceremony on Saturday, a number women associated with civil society and women’s rights groups, also said the programme should not be confined to urban stations only.

One of the participants, Hasina Safi, said there were hidden potential lying undiscovered in remote parts.

She said much of the work aimed at empowering women had been carried out in urban areas during the past 13 years.

President Ahmadzai’s deputy spokesperson Adila Raz, who attended today’s event at the US Embassy, stressed continuation of such programmes in which universities should also be included.

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