Afghan Women's Entrepreneurship & Health Roundtable
Remarks by Ambassador Said T. Jawad
Embassy of Afghanistan
03/07/2005
Your Excellency Dr. Masouda Jalal
Under Secretary Paula Dobriansky
Honorable Dr. Nadera Hayat Burhani
Honorable Suriya Paykan
Secretary Hoffman
Ladies and gentlemen,
Welcome to the Embassy of Afghanistan. We are
honored to have you all here with us today.
Thank you for taking time out of your very busy
schedules to come and participate in the Afghan Women’s
Entrepreneurship & Health Roundtable.
For many Afghans, one of the most painful memories
from the dark days of war and violence in Afghanistan was when
a pregnant woman was developing complications, and needed medical
attention. They would put her on a donkey or horse for a week
long trip over the mountains to Pakistan. In most cases she
would die on the way and be buried away from her home and village
in an unmarked grave. Today we have peace and stability in Afghanistan,
as well as heath care facilities.
Afghan women have made significant progress in
securing their rights in Afghanistan. The new constitution of
Afghanistan provides for equal rights and full participation
of women in all spheres of life. 27% of the seats of our future
parliament will be allocated to women. President Karzai is very
committed to further enhance women’s rights in Afghanistan.
We are grateful for the assistance provided to
us by the United States to help bring about these improvements.
We are fortunate to have some of the true pioneers of the enhancement
of women’s rights movement in Afghanistan here with us
today.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We are still facing serious challenges in the
area of health care and economic opportunities for women.
The Embassy of Afghanistan has organized this
round table to address some of the issues related economic opportunities
and women’s health care and to develop a plan of action
for tackling these issues.
We will have two sessions: one on women’s
entrepreneurship and one on women’s health.
Our first speaker is Minster of Women’s
Affairs, Dr. Massuda Jalal.
Dr. Masouda Jalal is a prominent Afghan politician
and women’s rights activist. She was appointed Minster
of Women’s Affairs for Afghanistan in December of 2004.
She has been engaged to promote women’s rights and secure
economic opportunities for women since 1993.
Minister Jalal is has been very active in the
process of building state and civil society in Afghanistan.
She ran for the presidency of Afghanistan in the Emergency Loya
Jiraga of 2002, and was again a presidential candidate in Afghanistan’s
first national election in 2004. Dr. Massouda Jalal is a pediatrician,
with extensive experience of working for many international
organizations; including WFP and UNHCR as a health advisor.
Dr. Jalal also has taught at the Kabul University School of
Medicine.
Your Excellency….
