Voices of rural women yet to be heard: Nazari

MAZAR-I-SHARIF (Pajhwok): Women’s Affairs Minister Dilbar Nazari on Wednesday said though good achievements had been made regarding women’s rights and empowerment over the past 14 years, yet a lot needed to be done to improve the situation of rural women.

Nazari, who arrived in the capital of northe Balkh province, inaugurated a family advisory centre and asked women to share all their problems with the centre.

“Despite the work done during the past 14 years to improve the situation of women, the voices of women living rural areas are yet to be heard,” the minister said.

She said women in rural areas continued to face problems in areas of health, education and economy. A large number of females remained deprived of education due to security threats and cultural restrictions, she added.

The minister said their focus during 2016 would be on rural areas in order to help rural women realize their rights and achieve them.

She said effective measures would be carried out through village councils to bring about positive changes in lives of rural women during the ongoing year.

Nazari asked women to approach the family advisory centre regarding their problems.

Balkh women’s affairs director Shehla Hadid said such centres were crucial to improving lives of women who needed consultations.

She said the centre was established in Mazar-i-Sharif with financial support of Holland and Finland.

She said women could get free advices on matters relating to religion, rights and family issues.

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