PRT/HELMAND HELMAND WOMEN PROVINCIAL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 000595 SIPDIS SENSITIVE STATE FOR SA/FO (AMB MQUINN),SA/A, S/CR, SA/PAB, S/CT, EUR/RPM STATE PASS TO USAID FOR AID/ANE, AID/DCHA/DG NSC FOR AHARRIMAN, KAMEND OSD FOR BREZINSKI CENTCOM FOR CG CFC-A, CG CJTF-76, POLAD REL NATO/AUST/NZ/ISAF E.O. 12958 N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER SNAR AF SUBJECT: PRT/HELMAND HELMAND WOMEN PROVINCIAL COUNCIL MEMBERS SPEAK OUT 1.(SBU) SUMMARY: Helmands four women Provincial Council members are taking on a substantial role. e. Helmands recently installed Governor Daoud meets with the Council regularly; the women members views are considered. The Council, women included, meets daily with citizens. The women members are hearing many complaints about the lack of rights and opportunities for women, and corruption. They are serving as a conduit for womens issues, bringing them to the attention of the Governor. Citizens are also concerned about opium cultivation, but the general views are, if there will be eradication, it needs to be done fairly and farmers need compensation. PRT officials told the Council members that the Governors eradication plan is taking this into account. END SUMMARY. 2.(SBU) The four women Provincial Council members, Raazia Baluch, Shirina Barakzai, Reza Gul, and Salima Sharifi, met with PRTOFF and PRT Commander on February 1. As a whole, the women members are well educated. All have finished at least 12 years of school. By contrast, only about five male members are educated. ed. 3.(SBU) IN THE MIX: The four Council members are relatively satisfied with their role since the Council organized in November. Overall, their views as a group or individuals are considered. They participate fully in the weekly meeting with Governor Daoud and they noted that the Governor solicits their opinions on a number of issues. 4.(SBU) WOMENS RIGHTS A LONG WAY TO GO: Reza Gul spoke about the lack of opportunities and rights for women. Women desperately need more educational and health services. In many cases, women are unable to utilize the services that are available because their families do not allow them to leave the house. Reza said that, as Helmand develops, she hoped this situation would improve, but Afghanistan took many steps backward during the 25 years of war; the situation for women may improve, but it will be a long and slow process. 5.(SBU) CORRUPTION, CORRUPTION, CORRUPTION: While not specifically a gender issue, the complaint that that the Council is hearing the most is public sector corruption. According the women members, people have no faith that the provincial government is interested in helping them or bringing services to them. People are convinced that officials main concern is personal enrichment. The Council has discussed this with the Governor. He has asked all the Council members to visit some provincial offices and report back to him with their impressions on how well the offices are functioning, with an emphasis on looking out for obvious corruption. 6.(SBU) Concerning corruption, Reza cited an example to illustrate the women members engagement. A woman came to the Council to complain about being unable to reclaim her land near Gereshk, despite having all her documents in order. Reza brought the issue to the attention to the Governor, who ordered the district chief to ensure that the woman received her land. However, corruption again played a negative role. According to Reza, the district ct chief is involved in the land issue; the Governor has said that he will follow up to reach closure on this case. Shirina added that this demonstrated perfectly why ordinary citizens had no faith in their local officials. 7.(SBU) OPIUM POPPY ERADICATION, BUT NOT WITHOUT COMPENSATION: The women members said that opium is not one of the top subjects among the constituents who come to see them, although they personally believe that Helmands poppy should be eradicated. The women stipulated, however, that the eradication be done fairly and the poor farmers receive compensation. They recounted how the last eradication effort was rife with corruption, with police taking money meant for farmers and extorting more from other farmers to avoid eradication. The PRT commander explained that the Governor has a plan that takes these issues into account, including components to implement cash for work and/or food for work programs to prevent impoverishing the countryside. . 8.(SBU) COMMENT: The women members of the Helmand Provincial Council appear to be holding their own. They are engaged with local citizens, with a natural focus on womens issues. That the Governor is considering their opinions is encouraging; using them to investigate provincial offices could provide valuable information. At the very least, it gives the women members an opportunity to become engaged in governance. END COMMENT. 9.(U) Dushanbe minimize considered. NEUMANN