DEPARTING WOMEN'S AFFAIRS MINISTER GHAZANFAR SUGGESTS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 000509 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KJUS KWMN AF SUBJECT: DEPARTING WOMEN'S AFFAIRS MINISTER GHAZANFAR SUGGESTS PRIORITIES FOR HER SUCCESSOR ¶1. SUMMARY: Departing Women's Affairs Minister Hussan Ban Ghazanfar told Coordinating Director for Development and Economic Affairs Ambassador E. Anthony Wayne on January 5 that her successor's priorities as Minister should include: building inter-ministerial coordination on women's issues (including the establishment of women's/gender affairs offices in each GIRoA ministry); obtaining the resources to expand Ministry of Women's Affairs (MOWA) programs from the current ten to all 34 Afghan provinces; expanding vocational training and literacy programs for women; and encouraging women's political participation, including the appointment of more Q said, thepanding issue and a specialllon saQnational day, Belgium and the EU will evaluate the situation. If violence occurs, they will certainly react appropriately, he said. GUTMAN . KABUL 00000509 002 OF 002 frustrating that rather than recognize her accomplishments, Parliament had voted her down due based on the ethnic composition of the proposed cabinet. She urged the U.S. to continue supporting the Ministry. ¶8. Ambassador Wayne noted that the day's event would mark an expansion of U.S. support for MOWA, specifically for the Legal Rights Division. INL's Justice Sector Support Program would hand over office and training equipment (valued at $40,000 USD) to help the office run more efficiently, as well as recognize the efforts of an Afghan (national) Legal Consultant who the INL/JSSP program had placed at the Legal Rights Division two months earlier. Ghazanfar expressed appreciation for the support for the Legal Rights Division; she had looked at the equipment being provided and it was all sorely needed. ¶9. Immediately following this meeting, Minister Ghazanfar and Ambassador Wayne presided over a handover ceremony for the equipment being provided to the Legal Rights Division. Ghazanfar expressed her thanks for the United States' continued support for the Ministry. She praised the efforts of INL/JSSP mentor Gullalai Karimi, noting that mentors made a huge difference at the Ministry and the Ministry would welcome even more. The equipment being provided to the Legal Rights Division (all arrayed behind Ghazanfar and Wayne) were "not just boxes" but important tools that would help bring real change to the women of Afghanistan. Ambassador Wayne commended the hard work of the 14 employees of the Ministry's Legal Rights Division, which for many women was their first point of contact with the Ministry. The $40,000 worth of equipment donated included computers to keep records, video cameras for training, office furniture, and other supplies and equipment like printers, a copy machine, and paper. This followed seven million that the U.S. had already given MOWA, and reflected that we continued to support the Ministry and look for ways to help it perform its vital mission. ¶10. The handover event was subsequently reported on several Afghan television and radio news programs. EIKENBERRY