Afghan air force hosts International Women’s Day conference

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN

03.06.2016

Story by Capt. Edith Sakura 

438th Air Expeditionary Wing

KABUL, Afghanistan – The Afghan air force hosted an International Women’s Day conference March 6 at the Kabul Air Wing.

Approximately 200 AAF and Train, Advise, Assist Command-Air (TAAC-Air) military men and women attended the event to include guest speakers from the AAF commander to a young Afghan girl reading poetry.

One of the speakers was TAAC-Air’s Capt. Carri Salas, deployed to Afghanistan from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, who said one woman’s success was every woman’s success, because one woman’s hard work and suffering, made the next woman’s ability to progress further successful.

“I begin in the year 1848, the year the first devoted U.S. women’s rights gathering took place,” she said. “Seventy-two years later women gained the right to vote. During those 72 years, women were paving the difficult path for the next generation of women. See, they stood up and stood together for women’s rights. They were determined and strong, especially when they untied for a common goal.”

Salas, a Wilmington, Illinois-native, said her grandmother’s generation took that movement and went even further, and continued to fight for women’s right in politics and gained positions in government.

“I owe my ability to be in the military and to serve in combat to these women, women just like you,” Salas said to the women in the audience.

“You are paving the way for the next generation, for your sisters, your nieces, your daughters, and your grandchildren.”

Another woman speaker was AAF Major Aziza who thanked the AAF commander for honoring women at the day’s event.

“We are here today to help prevent violence against women, and we hold this day to talk about women’s rights," Aziza said through an interpreter. “[Women’s] rights should be given to them, and we have witnessed safety of women in this country, which remains significantly threatened.”

The three-hour event ended with the award of various certificates of recognition and each woman participant received a new scarf.

• Date Taken: 03.06.2016
• Date Posted: 03.08.2016 00:56
• Story ID: 191494
• Location: KABUL, AF
• Hometown: WILMINGTON, IL, US