Chairperson of Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission Simar Samar on Thursday strongly criticized the Afghan government for its reluctance to increase the number of women in what she described as major programs at a national level.

She pointed out that there was not a single woman appointed to the National Security Council (NSC). 

She said the lack of women employed in security institutions was a core reason for the deteriorating security in Afghanistan. 

Speaking at a gathering to mark International Women’s Day, Samar said that without respecting human rights and improving the lives of women, it will not be an easy task to move Afghanistan towards an era of sustainable development. 

She stated that the Afghan government needs to address the plight of women particularly in remote regions to help the people forge peace. 

“There is no woman’s presence in national security in Afghanistan. Because until now they do not believe that a woman can contribute towards bringing peace to the country. Therefore, we need to change this trend, if we do not change this, then we will make everything male-oriented, our language speaks the language of men, … and our development projects are male projects,” said Samar.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s First Lady Rula Ghani said that over the past seventeen years, a new generation of women has emerged in Afghanistan

“Many networks of women and girls are growing, the women have realized that they need to cooperate with each other,” said Rula Ghani.

In addition British ambassador to Afghanistan Nicholas Kay said his country strongly supports the efforts being made to improve conditions of the women. 

“The need in Afghanistan for women to participate in the peace process and for any peace agreement with the Taliban to respect fully women’s rights and the United Kingdom absolutely supports this, second to education,” said Kay.

“Yet more than a billion women in the world lack legal protection against domestic sexual violence, the global gender pay gap is 20 percent rising to 40 percent in rural areas and unpaid work done by many women goes unrecognized. Where laws exist, they are often ignored,” said Renaud Dettale, from the UNHCR. 

International Women's Day is celebrated on March 8 every year. It commemorates the movement for women's rights.