Woman elected as Bamyan council head

BAMYAN CITY (Pajhwok): For the first time in Afghanistan, a female was Sunday elected to head the provincial council in central Bamyan province.

Tabiba Khawary, a former civil society activist, secured five votes from the nine-member body in a ballot held at the provincial Independent Election Commission.

Tabiba, who contested the election as an independent candidate, told Pajhwok Afghan News the time had come to believe in women’s capabilities without being biased toward the gender.

She said women should not be given a symbolic role in society and instead given equal rights.

She said out of nine members on the council, only two were women.

Sayed Ali, who secured nine votes, became Tabiba’s deputy, while Mohammad Amir Mahmoudi was elected as the council’s secretary.

Tabiba was born in Ande village of Yakawlang district and she is now 31.

She has studied history in Bamyan University and has been active campaigning for women’s rights. Khawary had been a schoolteacher for four years.

Habiba Saroby was the first female governor of Bamyan province for seven years before resigning to contest the April 5 presidential elections as a vice-presidential candidate.

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