ASTANA (TCA) — Kazakhstan is planning to hold an international conference “Women empowerment in Afghanistan” in autumn 2018 in Astana, Kazakhstan’s Special Envoy for Afghanistan, Ambassador at Large Stanislav Vassilenko said at the UN Security Council meeting on Afghanistan late last week, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry said.
Vassilenko stated that political and economic challenges, as well as security threats faced by Afghanistan, require ongoing support from the regional countries, the international community, and, notably, the Security Council, and highlighted that women and youth occupy a central position in the conflict prevention pattern.
Vassilenko also said: “[Kazakhstan] has suggested to continue the education program for Afghan citizens with co-financing from the European Union and other partners. Within the framework of our $50 million educational program, about 1,000 Afghan citizens will study in Kazakh universities between 2010 and 2021.” Currently, the European Union has been allocating funds for the first stage of the joint project, which will be implemented together with UN Women and is aimed at training Afghan girls in the universities of Kazakhstan.
Vassilenko pointed out that during the UN Security Council’s mission to Afghanistan in January, meetings were held with all the key representatives of the Afghan government and socio-political communities of the country, including women’s organizations led by First Lady Rula Ghani.
Given the importance of women in conflict resolution, the Kazakh representative concluded his speech with the Kazakh proverb: “Woman rocks the cradle with one hand and rules the world with the other.”
