Hundreds of Afghan women come together and raise their voices for peace

Hundreds of women gathered on Wednesday in the heart of southern Afghanistan to raise their voices in prayers for peace, The Christian Science Monitor reported.

According to the article: “The idea of women doing anything aside from tending to home and family is fairly shocking in provinces like Kandahar and Helmand, where the ultra-fundamentalist Taliban control most of the countryside. Yet the assembling of an estimated 1,000 women in six southern provinces is a compelling development, women's rights experts say.

In this region, working through the conventions of Islam is perhaps the only acceptable avenue for women to make themselves heard. At the meetings, the women recited the Koran and shared stories of how the war has torn their families apart.”

Dr. Massouda Jala, former head of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs in Kabul said in a phone interview that giving women a taste of a broader life is the only way to begin to empower them. “If the women leaders are sitting at home, it will not happen,” she said.

“For the traditional society, it is something new to see women active,” Jalal said. “They need to get used to it and have their mentality changed.”

For the full article, click here.