Panjshayr women strengthen communication skills

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN

02.12.2011

Courtesy Story

ISAF Joint Command

KABUL, Afghanistan – In a small classroom in the Director of Women’s Affairs office, more than 20 women gathered, mostly teachers, for a two-day communications workshop held in Bazarak District, Panjshayr province, beginning Feb. 8.

Mahtab Farid, public diplomacy officer for the U.S. State Department, came to Panjshayr, as she does with many provinces the Regional Command East supports to build capacity for Afghan women.

Farid knows the Afghan culture well. She not only has worked in Afghanistan for nearly a year now, but she was also born in Iran.

“Iran and Afghanistan are neighbors, and they share religious and social cultures,” she said. “Also, in Iran we speak Farsi which is very similar to Dari, just a different accent.”

Farid began the class with a lesson on introductions. Farid, who is fluent in Farsi, introduced herself, Panjshayr Provincial Reconstruction Team and Task Force Red Bulls public affairs service members who assisted in the workshop.

To learn more about the attendees, Farid had the women pair up and introduce each other to the rest of the group, an exercise requiring them to use their interviewing and public-speaking skills.

“The conversation exercise really helped us out,” said Naziya Rizai, the principle for Sangona High School in Panjshayr, through an interpreter. “The best activities are those that have practical application.”

“This session was rough on them. It is hard for them to speak in public,” Farid said. “It is important for them to learn good public speaking skills, so that when they need to present themselves in front of important people, they can do well and get the jobs, or grants, or accepted into schools.”

Other classes for the workshop included photography and writing skills. By day two of the workshop, the women completed their first assignment: a written proposal on a goal they are working for in their life, whether that was a job request, school attendance, or grant proposals.

“This was a learning opportunity,” explained Rizai. “I could use the skills taught to write and speak … the class resolved some of the written issues the women had.”

Farid said she was very proud of the women for working so hard on the assignments.

After lunch the second day of the workshop, the women were presented certificates of training. To show community support for the class, Panjshir Deputy Gov. Abdul Rahman Kabiri gave a speech and thanked Farid and the others for teaching the course. He said he appreciated the respect displayed for their culture by ensuring that the class was for women, by women.

• Date Taken: 02.12.2011
• Date Posted: 02.12.2011 11:44
• Story ID: 65327
• Location: KABUL, AF