Adequate women’s participation in Tokyo meet sought

The Afghan Women Network (AWN) approached the government on Monday to ensure the inclusion of an adequate number of women in the Tokyo conference which is due to take place in Japan in July.

The Tokyo Conference will revolve around international assistance for Afghanistan’s infrastructure development projects in the next 10 years, which will be years of evolution in Afghanistan.

AWN activists expressed deep concerns at the inadequate role of women in matters of national interest at a two-day workshop called “From Bonn to Tokyo-Afghan Women beyond 2014”. The participants called for international commitment both to the development of infra projects in Afghanistan and the capacity of Afghan women.

AWN activists said the workshop was aimed at giving a chance to women to openly discuss their problems and give opinion on their participation in the Tokyo meeting.

AWN Director Samira Hamidi said the Tokyo conference would be a decisive moment for Afghanistan, asking the government to ensure women’s ample participation in the event. She asked the government to give women at least 30 to 40 percent share in government delegations.

The Tokyo summit will discuss economic requirements of Afghanistan over next decade.