Speech Notes for the Minister of Women’s Affairs Her Excellency Hasan Bano Ghazanfar Presented at the Opening Ceremony of the held October 21-25, 2007 Kabul, Afghanistan
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Remarks of Her Excellency, Hosan Bano Ghazanfar, Minister of Women’s Affairs, at the Opening Ceremony of the International Islamic Police Women’s Conference In the name God, the merciful, the compassionate Honorable audience, guests, ladies and gentlemen: With the permission of His Excellency the Minister of Interior Affairs, representatives of participant countries in the conference, colleagues from ministries and organizations: I would like to welcome you all to this splendid conference. I hope that it will help to support police women and to assure social justice in our country. It is the first time in the history of Afghanistan that we have come together in a conference such as this to coordinate efforts with the international community, and especially Islamic countries, for the active participation of Afghan women in security, justice and legal affairs. It is clear that the police duty is to fight corruption and all forms of injustice. The holy war (Jihad) contributes to this fight to which Almighty God invites all Muslims. Therefore we have come together in today’s international conference to help our sisters practise Allah’s order better and to support and confirm their role in social justice. If one reads the history of women’s life carefully, one will know that the role of women in preventing injustice and assuring social rights is set out for the first time in the sacred religion of Islam and there are clear examples of it in the history of Islam. Therefore, Islamic countries should use all their means to clarify their proud history by empowering and supporting women in assuring social justice through their participation in policing, and eliminate those beliefs that deny women’s role in political, social, and economic affairs and relations in Islamic countries. Dear audience! I am aware that there are notable difficulties and challenges in empowering women and enlarging their role in political and economic affairs, and especially in the National Police. Discarded and prejudicial beliefs which have no basis except in tradition still exist in Afghan society to counter the new spirit of society, continue prejudice against women and to add to their many difficulties. In the social life of this country, a lot of effort is needed to eradicate and change prejudicial beliefs. This can be done with the help and cooperation of women. In my belief no creative efforts have been made by the international community to help in this matter. I believe also that other Islamic countries could show initiative in this matter to assist Afghan women. The other point that I think is shared among us is that women’s concerns should not be studied separately from those of men, because half of the population of the country is female. If we don’t get women involved in making national decisions, society is deprived of their point of view. Professional training of police women is not only for the women themselves, but also to defend the rights of men and defend the common good and social injustice. Supporting police women, in fact, is a useful step towards removing problems such as terrorism, cultivation and production of narcotics, and the prevention of crimes which threaten all societies around the globe. Taking action to overcome these problems is the responsibility of every just person all over the world. Dear audience! We have had women in the Afghan national police in the past. Now the Ministry of Women’s Affairs proposes the Afghan government and international community continue to support the role of women in the police, both in terms of quantity and quality. We would like training and professional opportunities to be provided for police women together with work equipment. My message to my sisters in my country is to clarify the role of women in policing and the security sector, and to support your sisters who courageously and successfully test the participation of women in providing security. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our sisters and guests who have come from other Islamic countries to Afghanistan, and would also like to ask them to share their vital and important experiences with their Afghan sisters and make efforts to strengthen the relation between Afghan women and women in their countries. It would like to thank the Minister of Interior Affairs for taking the initiative to arrange the conference and appreciate his courage in arranging it at a time when the security and safety of our people are under threat from the enemies of peace and stability. I am optimistic for the success of the conference and see the presence of such a distinguished audience as a sign of its importance and the continuation of its influence into the future.
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