(Left to right) 1st Lt. Emily Chilson and Army Sgt. Peggy Hart greet an Afghan woman April 25, 2011, in Urgun, Afghanistan, during the first women's shura. Lieutenant Chilson and Sergeant Hart are female engagement team members. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Stacia Zachary)
Navy Lt. j.g. Tamora Holland is greeted by a community development facilitator April 25, 2011, in Urgun, Afghanistan, during the first women's shura. Lieutenant Holland is the Paktika Provincial Reconstruction Team medical officer and female engagement team leader. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Stacia Zachary)
Army Spc. Courtney Wade talks with a young Afghan child April 25, 2011, in Urgun, Afghanistan, during the first women's shura. Specialist Wade is a combat medic assigned to the 176th Engineer Brigade. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Stacia Zachary)
First Lt. Emily Chilson interacts with the girls April 25, 2011, in Urgun, Afghanistan, during the first women's shura. Lieutenant Chilson is the Paktika Provincial Reconstruction Team public affairs officer and female engagement team member. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Stacia Zachary)
by Tech. Sgt. Stacia Zachary
Air Forces Central Combat Camera Team
4/29/2011 - URGUN, Afghanistan (AFNS) -- An all-female delegation of women from Paktika province convened here April 25 for the first time since the Taliban's grip was lifted and the country was liberated.
Female Afghan representatives, including the director of women's affairs for Paktika, were in attendance.
Their presence symbolized a commitment to bring women into the fold of both the government and current affairs in the region, officials said.
"It is my responsibility to reach out and help the women and to let them know they have rights," said Dr. Bibi Hawa, the Paktika director of women's affairs.
The Paktika Provincial Reconstruction Team's female engagement team aided in making the meeting possible. On hand, the PRT security forces posted personnel around the hospital so the women could gather without risk of retaliation of Taliban sympathizers.
"Security for this engagement was the number one priority for us," said Army Maj. Arnym Pedraza, the PRT Paktika operations officer and FET member. "My part today was to make sure the women were safe so that they could be at peace and had no insecurities while talking to the DOWA."
Shuras are a traditional meeting where people from the local area can discuss topics important to their livelihood. They encourage a free flow of communication between the government and the local Afghans, similar to a town council meeting that would be held in communities in the U.S.
The focus of the women's shura is to bring attention to the burgeoning participation of women in the Afghan government, she said. The meeting brought to light what challenges the women of this region are facing and gave them a chance to voice their concerns.
"This shura is very important to reaching out to the women of East Paktika," Dr. Hawa said. "Without these shuras, we wouldn't be able to get this message out that we need them to step up and take part in helping improve the conditions for the women here."
For the first time in nearly a decade, the province has become stable enough to begin allowing women more involvement in everyday operations so they can do more than just small side jobs such as sewing. The government is openly inviting the women here to become more involved.
"They get to have a say in their future really," said 1st Lt. Emily Chilson, the PRT Paktika public affairs officer and FET member. "This is a starting point for these women in a relationship-building process with their government. They have rights, and it's about getting to a point where those rights are actually enforced and they can get an education so they can provide services, such as medical care."
While there have been steps taken to increase the security of the local area, there is still a high risk to people who are encouraging forward thought, Dr. Hawa said.
"Everyone thinks we are here to 'free their women,' so security is at the front of everyone's mind," Dr. Hawa said. "We need to make this meeting as safe as possible because it will encourage the women to continue helping us reach other women in this region."
The aim of this shura is to take that new freedom one step further and begin strengthening women's role in the community and government, she said.
"I have been fortunate enough to receive education, and I have a lot of freedoms that many women here do not have," said Deanna Sahibzai, the Paktika provincial councilwoman for the Urgun district. "It's important that the women see me and see that they can have the same rights I have. They need to see it is possible."
The women of Paktika province have a lot of challenges to overcome, including the lack of education and the fear instilled in them from the Taliban's reign, Ms. Sahibzai said. The Taliban abducted the first DOWA for this province, and it is a great personal risk to Dr. Hawa and the women here to continue moving forward with this cause.
"The women here are very conservative, and they are completely in the dark," Dr. Hawa said. "They have been raised to believe they are second-class citizens and have no rights."
By engaging with the local female representatives, the provincial officials hope to create a sustainable effort to increase women's involvement here.
"It is our hope that by educating the women at this shura, we will be able to send that message out with these women to reach the others too far away or too scared to come," the councilwoman said.
The shuras allow selected female attendees to bring forth matters of consequence for the local region, she explained.
The women raised more concerns than just increasing the role of females in the provincial government. The women also brought to light concerns about extending education to include creating a high school, equality for women's programs and improved health care for women.
"We are concerned that there will not be equality among the different programs that are being supported by the government," a female attendee said. "In the past, we were made promises, but nothing ever came of these promises."
This particular shura held an even greater significance for the coalition forces involved, Major Pedraza said. The military created FETs as a means of respecting the cultural practice of the segregation of women and men. Afghan women must have a male family member present whenever other males are around, creating the need for gender-specific liaison teams.
"FET is a group of women who engage with the local population," Navy Lt. j.g. Tamora Holland, the PRT Paktika medical officer and FET lead. "We are trying to find out what they need, the interests that they have and the programs that they would like to see started here.
"When we first got here, there was no representation for the women here and now we (have that)," she said. "They don't think they have any rights whatsoever, and I think that by the time we leave here, they will realize just how many they do have and how Paktika can't get any better without their involvement."
The impact of this shura extends beyond this being the first of its kind in the province, Major Pedraza said. This is also the first all-female mission here.
Although the security detail is composed solely of men, all active participants in the shura are women.
This not only respects the Afghan culture, but also gives the women in attendance the ability to speak to the government officials with unguarded frankness, Dr. Hawa said.
"It's important that the doors are closed to the men so their presence does not restrict the women here from speaking their minds," she said. "By having this shura for only the women, the women will be able to speak openly on what they need."
The shura confirmed the province's solidified progression to take a more self-sufficient stance with more than 400 women in attendance, Lieutenant Chilson said.
"If the women band together and continue efforts like an official women's shura where they can voice their concerns and goals, they will succeed in changing their future and their children's future for the better," she said.
