Efforts geared up to find public jobs for Kandahar women

KANDAHAR (Pajhwok): Efforts at increasing women’s presence in government offices have been increased in southern Kandahar province where the number of women workers stands at around two percent.

Insecurity, negative traditions, bad social treatments and lack of needed conditions in offices are obstacles to women’s work in offices.

However, efforts for furthering women’s participation in government offices in Kandahar have been increased.

Shafiqa, a woman from Kandahar, told Pajhwok Afghan News that there was still no proper working environment for women in Kandahar offices despite the passage of many years.

“Security is the first thing that should be addressed and negative traditions are also an obstacle to women’s education and working in government offices”, she said.

She added that she studied school and higher education by bearing many difficulties and now she was interested to work, but conditions required for women were not available.

“Even educated men are not interested to allow their women to work outside and get education”, she said.

Spozhmai, another resident of Kandahar city, said her family allowed her to work as a teacher only, not other jobs in government.

She said women were allowed to work only in health and education sectors because there were no proper environment for women in other offices of the government to work.

“Kandahar suffered very bad times in the last few years, this situation forced people to even stop their girls from going to school, forget about sending them to work in offices alone,” she said.

Besides security, problems and bad traditions, she said low salary in government offices was another reason eroding women’s interest.

However, Kandahar Women Affairs Department and donor organs have launched joint efforts to increase women workers in government offices in the province.

Kandahar women affairs director Roqia Achakzai said they had increased efforts at improving women’s livelihood in the province more than any time before.

She said the Women’s Affairs Department and supportive organs were working together to improve women’s condition in economic, social and rights areas.

She added that eight organizations were working on women’s rights in Kandahar in which 484 women were employed.

Achakzai said 55 women were working in government organs but the number was very low and efforts were on to increase women workers employment in government offices.

In the military sector, 103 women work and six of them are officers, 35 of them are corporals and 62 others are soldiers, she added.

 

About women’s presence in the education sector, Achakzai said that a total of 19 schools and two seminaries existed only for girls where 15 women principles and 750 women teachers were educating 65,738 girls.

About women workers in the health sector, she said that 22 female doctors, 70 nurses and 104 midwives were on job in the province.

The provincial administration was trying to increase facilities for women and a consultative board for women has already been created in this regard, she said.

“This would help women get jobs and women with low economy would be helped to be hired in big and small businesses”, she added.

The central government has also recently tried to provide proper working environment to women in Kandahar and increase their presence in offices.

A day earlier, a delegation of the Independent Directorate of Local Governance (IDLG) visited Kandahar and met with the governor, women and women’s consultative board members.

Kandahar governor’s spokesman, Bahir Ahmadi, told Pajhwok that the IDLG delegation on Wednesday visited Kandahar and met with officials concerned.

The delegation wanted to implement programs to reduce violence against women, identify women’s problems and find solutions to them as well as encourage them to work in government offices, he said.

Asadullah Koyash, a member of the delegation, said that women employment in government offices should be increased as the gender had a 30 percent share in offices according to the Constitution.

Kandahar Governor  Hayatullah Hayat said that working environment for women in the province was safe and fair.

The local administration has always paid attention to women’s employment, public awareness, industry, providing them with business facilities and consultations as well as vocational training, he said.

He said there was a five percent discount for women during tests for jobs and they were also provided transport facilities after employment.

Besides other areas, women can apply for jobs in Ahmad Shah Baba Airport, Women Affairs Department and the Attorney Office for their employment, Hayat said.

mds/ma

 

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