Courtesy Photo | Dr. Bibi Hawa, Paktika Director of Women’s Affairs, hands gifts to the women...... read more read more
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PAKTIKA PROVINCE, Afghanistan – More than 70 women from Paktika Province gathered at the Sharana Hospital, March 8, to celebrate International Women’s Day at an event sponsored by Paktika Director of Women’s Affairs, Dr. Bibi Hawa.
Many women traveled the more than 30 miles of rough terrain between Orgun and Sharan districts to attend Paktika Women’s Day in Sharana, the province’s capital city.
“The director has to have that talent to get people to come,” Hawa said. “The women were very happy to come and felt safe gathering for this event.”
Hawa decorated the conference room with colorful lights and banners featuring photos of Paktika’s women, poetry and inspirational words describing women: Women are mothers, the kindest creatures on the Earth.
Women of all ages, wearing the traditional Muslim burqa, filled the room with bright colors and chatter as they waited for the event to begin.
While male participation may not be expected at a Women’s Day event, the provincial governor, subgovernor and chairman of the provincial council were the first to speak, sharing words of encouragement with the women.
Although Paktika Gov. Moheebullah Samim was in Kabul and unable to attend the event in person, he phoned in through the public address system to voice his support for women’s rights. While in Kabul, Samim signed a petition against violence on women.
Hawa and Deanna Sahibzai, a provincial council member, also spoke to the women.
“I give respect to women,” Sahibzai said. “A woman is not less than a man.”
Following the speeches, the men were dismissed and the DoWA handed dresses, scarves, hairbrushes and other essentials to the women. Once each woman received her gifts, lunch was served.
When asked what she liked best about the event, Nijin, a 20-year-old Afghan woman currently enrolled in the midwifery school, said she liked that female members of coalition forces were there to support them.
“This is better than last year because a lot of people didn’t come,” Nijin explained. “I like everything this year, the whole celebration!”
U.S. Navy Lt. j.g. Tamora Holland, female engagement team leader for Paktika Provincial Reconstruction Team, who calls Pittsburgh home, said she was impressed with the male leadership of Paktika for speaking at the event.
“They were very passionate,” Holland said. “A lot of women don’t realize their leadership supports their rights.”
It has been five months since Hawa took the position as DoWA on Paktika’s provincial government. She has been working hand in hand with Paktika PRT’s FET to get women’s affairs up and running.
The previous DoWA was kidnapped by Taliban who threatened to take her life if she continued her work with women’s affairs in Paktika.
As people finished eating and conversations died down, many women congratulated Hawa on a successful Paktika Women’s Day.
U.S. Army Maj. Arnym Pedraza, Paktika PRT FET member from Cagua, Puerto Rico, told the DoWA, “The first time we met you, we said we would support you 100 percent. This is part of it.”
“Women’s affairs is a sweet challenge,” Pedraza added. “You must stand for human rights as women.”
Paktika’s female literacy rate is currently no more than two percent, and most women are not allowed to leave the home. One female who attended Paktika Women’s Day said she wanted to speak out against the domestic abuse many women are still suffering in Paktika.
Hawa hopes to improve the lives of Paktika’s women through programs like Quran and tailoring classes, as well as improving education for women throughout the various districts of Paktika.
| Date Taken: | 03.08.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 03.08.2011 14:05 |
| Story ID: | 66692 |
| Location: | PAKTIKA PROVINCE, AF |
| Web Views: | 161 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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