Cablegate: Departing Women's Affairs Minister Ghazanfar Suggests

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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 000509

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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

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