National Action Plan for the Women of Afghanistan - The Secretary ...

arriers to opportunities and give preferential access to women in trainings, exchange programs,
hiring and promotion.
Moreover, we acknowledge that the development of human capital does not start or end with
trainings or capacity building interventions. We will pursue the development of women‘s human
capital throughout their life cycle and in all spheres of life. The government will build
partnerships to create and expand innovative and sustainable opportunities for women in which
their knowledge and skills can flourish and be optimized.
Through NAPWA, we will equalize access to health, education, training, and employment and
improve the infrastructures and capacities that support the delivery of services for women in these
areas. We will also address issues of safety and security for women in both domestic and public
spaces and provide support to the performance of their reproductive duties. Strategies to obtain
family members‘ support for the development of women‘s human capital will also be vigorously
pursued.
4.3 Promotion of women’s leadership
We acknowledge that the low status of women in Afghan society largely stems from unequal
gender relations, with power tilted heavily in men‘s favour. Inability to decide for themselves
and influence decision making robs women of self-confidence, weakens their self-image, and
subjects them to practices that stunt the development of their full potential as human beings. The
promotion of women‘s leadership in Afghanistan is bound to encounter resistance from those
who are unaccustomed to women‘s exercise of leadership and power. The poor quality of
women‘s human capital, coupled with insecurity, restrictions to mobility, multiple burdens and
weak support systems are also going to be a great challenge to the implementation of this
strategy.
The Government of Afghanistan is aware of these problems and remains committed to promoting
women‘s leadership in both public and private sectors. It recognizes that women‘s leadership is
both a means and an end in itself. The Afghan government is also mindful that promoting
women‘s leadership constitutes one of the prerequisites for building a governance system that is
responsive to interests and wellbeing of the citizenry, recognizing that such a governance system
cannot be built if half of the population is excluded from taking part in it.
We will therefore vigorously work for the attainment of the Afghanistan Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) target of thirty percent representation of women in elected and
appointed bodies at all levels of government by 2020. Thirty percent is deemed the minimum
acceptable level of women‘s representation, recognized as a ―critical mass‖ that may be capable
of changing the status quo in a given context. This is based on a United Nations Economic and
Social Council endorsed ―target of having 30 percent of women in positions at decision making
levels by 1995‖ 23 . Considering that women‘s leadership is a necessary input to the promotion of
women‘s advancement, we will fast track the attainment of thirty percent representation of
women in the civil service, preferably within the next ten years. This will be done by adopting
and implementing an affirmative action policy by the Civil Service Commission (CSC) within the
framework of the Priority Reform and Restructuring (PRR) program of government. It will be
23 Aide Memoire for Expert Group Meeting ―Equal participation of men and women in decision-making
processes,‖ United Nations, 22 September 2005
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