U.S. Army Sgt. Tiffany Dalagelis struggles with the strong-blowing wind as she places her Afghan headscarf on properly. The green threads and shining silver sparkles wave freely in the air as she wraps the thin cloth around her head, tucking in the loose edges along the way.
Three other female U.S. service members bear their head scarves in the same manner, displaying vibrant colors of blue, purple, and black in addition to Dalagelis’ green. The dynamic combination of bright scarves and U.S. military uniforms highlights the respect of coalition forces for the rich culture of Afghanistan and America’s commitment to capacity building in the country. With all head scarves properly wrapped, the four women, along with their female interpreter, Nasrin, are escorted to a building where they assisted in conducting an all women’s shura with nearly 60 local women from the Shib Koh district in Farah Province, Afghanistan, July 10.
Three other female U.S. service members bear their head scarves in the same manner, displaying vibrant colors of blue, purple, and black in addition to Dalagelis’ green. The dynamic combination of bright scarves and U.S. military uniforms highlights the respect of coalition forces for the rich culture of Afghanistan and America’s commitment to capacity building in the country. With all head scarves properly wrapped, the four women, along with their female interpreter, Nasrin, are escorted to a building where they assisted in conducting an all women’s shura with nearly 60 local women from the Shib Koh district in Farah Province, Afghanistan, July 10.
The four women are representatives from the six-member strong Female Engagement Team (FET) of Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) Farah. The mission of the PRT Farah FET is to assist the provincial government to build capacity and opportunity for Afghan women by hosting and attending women’s shuras and coordinating with GIRoA officials to help orchestrate solutions to issues and challenges posed by Afghan women. The members of the team themselves exemplify the diversity and uniqueness the FET represents; three U.S. Navy Petty Officers, a U.S. Army Sergeant, a U.S. Air Force Second Lieutenant, and a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) field officer compose the team.
“We epitomize diversity, we vary ethnically, occupationally and in lifestyles, so I think our differences make it easy for women to relate to at least one of us,” said U.S. Air Force 2nd Lt. Christine A. Darius of Virginia Beach, Virginia, FET Officer-in-Charge.
The prospect of the event occurred when Marsha Michel of Elizabeth, N.J., USAID field officer and FET coordinator, received a ground-breaking request from Abdul Haidari, The Shib Koh district sub governor: he wanted to gather the women in his district to conduct a female-only shura to address issues and concerns that may be present among women living in the district.
“This is the first time that the PRT has come to our district to meet with just the women. We hope that this meeting will be the start of something new,” said Haidari.
The request by an official of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA) demonstrates meaningful progress toward the improvement of women’s rights by not only facilitating opportunity for women to speak freely amongst themselves, but to specifically have their voices heard by their government with the goal of resolving problems which have challenged the progression of women’s rights for decades in the country.
“It is a monumental step towards progression to have the Sub governor of Shib Koh ask our FET to participate in an all women’s shura. As an active official in GIRoA, he is truly trying to enable his community to flourish holistically, and he understands the importance of addressing women’s issues and concerns,” said Darius.
Immediately following the commencement of the shura, a flurry of voices expressing individual issues erupted within the room. Personal tribulations were expressed in great numbers to the FET, reflecting the need for women’s empowerment in the country and the shura’s opportunity to facilitate a proper safe place for open discussion. Gradually, the women’s discussion changed, focusing less on individual needs and more on broader community issues. Zahra, a local teenager, was a major contributor to relaying the issues and concerns of the district. Standing in the presence of her fellow women, Zahra read a list of issues that she created herself on behalf of the district’s female population. Principal issues such as the ability to obtain higher education and employment (specifically for widows or single mothers) were voiced, and were corroborated with testimony from other women.
“Initially, explaining that our intent was to evaluate the communities concerns rather than individual needs was a challenge. But eventually they understood it, and our next shura will be focused on the solutions they come up with that address the women’s issues,” said Dalagelis, FET member from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The turnout of local women was extraordinary; to make it from one side of the interior building to the other, one had to carefully weave through a crowd of women, highlighting the importance of the event to the women of Shib Koh. Promoting the shura through word of mouth, the news spread throughout the district quickly and the turnout was such that women had to sit on each other’s laps to make room for the entire group. The crowd was much larger than initially expected and some women had to peak their heads through open windows of the building to participate in the event.
The issues and concerns addressed at the shura will be forwarded to Haidari, who has the ability to enable specific changes requested from the women based on his authority as sub governor. Issues with solutions that are unable to be resolved at the district level will be directed to the provincial level if necessary.
In addition to the all women’s shura, PRT Farah also assessed an all girls school which is currently under development by the Education Quality Improvement Program (EQUIP) in the village of Farib, located in Shib Koh. The project, which receives funding through the World Bank, will provide a legitimate schoolhouse for girls living in the area to receive proper education.
The Farah FET plans on assisting GIRoA to conduct similar shuras in neighbouring districts, hoping the success of the shura in Shib Koh will spread to the rest of the province. By promoting community action and resolution of issues, the necessity of the FET’s influence and presence will eventually diminish. The goal of the FET is to empower women to address their issues directly with their GIRoA officials. The hindrance of women’s rights in the country has long been overlooked, but FET’s work could prove to be an important link which will help connect women to their government.
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