Excerpts from the Speech of Dr. Husn Banu Ghazanfar
Harmony – Evolution towards Perfection, the purpose of the conference is to offer views on woman’s role in creating coordination in a world full of violence. For sure, such conference will not only commence an academic debate on woman’s issues but will also present practical ways for woman empowerment and both potentially and particularly open spaces for improving the social life condition. Males and females, both have not only equal responsibilities but also like duties which could be defined differently in different contexts, in various societies and cultures.
One of the major roles that could emerge for someone in a society is the social leadership role. They are all empowered and strong who take on the leadership role and lead others towards growth and development, and in this particular instance there should not be any difference between a man and woman to take on this very important social responsibility.
I believe coordination among women and all those who believe in equality between men and women is very important. Today’s world is full of confrontation and violence at different levels and elimination of all these is the responsibility of everyone. On the other hand, women as half the population of a society could play a vital role in influencing the situation. However this could be achieved by creating more coordination not only by women themselves but also from those who believe in women’s equal participation and rights.
Afghanistan is a country which has undergone three decades of war. Afghani women have had many bad experiences, but with better coordination among themselves during the past twelve years and with the support of government policies they have proved their place in society and have crossed the bar in development. Today, the Afghan women co-exist in valued decision-making platforms. The Afghan women have received a number of international awards for transparency, peace and woman empowerment, and are consistently working towards peace and harmony. The statistics from twelve years ago when the Afghan women didn’t enjoy even basic rights is in no way comparable to today’s figure of 25% on services commission, , 40% of them in local councils, a decrease in child and mother mortality rate, and 40% of young girls attending schools and more than 7 SME companies led by women. All these show the progress that the Afghan women have made during the last twelve years.
Today the Afghan women with support from international partners, despite challenges, for example tradition, poverty and illiteracy, play their role in creating coordination in global, regional and local relations. We hope the international communities will continue their assistance so my country and our women could reach the level of self-sufficiency to develop socially, politically and economically.
