Defence women in Afghanistan celebrate International Women’s Day
Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel deployed to the Middle East have marked International Women’s Day by acknowledging the important contribution of the 213 ADF women deployed on operations in Afghanistan.
Captain Sarah Vesey talks to Afghan children during a Provincial Reconstruction Team visit to the Women’s Hospital in Tarin Kot, Afghanistan.
Mid caption: Captain Sarah Vesey of the Joint Task Force Headquarters regularly attends activities and development project sites in Uruzgan and is encouraged by the increasing number of females taking an active role in the community. There is a female doctor at the Tarin Kot hospital and programs are in place to train community members in basic first aid and midwifery in particular. Photo By SGT Neil Ruskin
Australia’s mission in Afghanistan is to help build the capacity of the Afghan authorities in Uruzgan province to the point where they can take over the security and development lead there. An important part of this mission is successful engagement with the local population, which is being facilitated in large part by the International Security Assistance Force’s (ISAF) establishment of Female Engagement Teams (FETs).
The FETs support
FETs also work in close conjunction with the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Uruzgan, a multi-national effort led by Australia, which has a female development assistance program. Within this program there are specific female engagement projects relating to women’s education and healthcare. The PRT also works with the Director of Women’s Affairs in the Provincial Government.
Together the FETs and the PRT work to improve the living conditions and access to basic services for rural Afghan women and their families in Uruzgan who represent one of the most isolated and disadvantaged population groups in Afghanistan.
Corporal Jenny Sapwell of Mentoring Task Force 2 has participated in a FET patrol where she and a female interpreter went to the village of Sorkh Lez to meet with and talk to the local female population.
“Pleasantly there were no problems entering the qualas (compound) and speaking to the women. It was great to engage with them as it is rare to see females out of their homes, let alone being able to speak to them,” Corporal Sapwell said.
Corporal Jenny Sapwell of Mentoring Task Force 2, and an interpreter, chat with local Afghan women during a Female Engagement Team (FET) mission in Sorkh Lez, Uruzgan Province.
Mid Caption: Corporal Jenny Sapwell is based in Tarin Kot with Mentoring Task Force 2. Corporal Sapwell has participated in a FET patrol where she and a female interpreter went to the village of Sorkh Lez in the north of Uruzgan to meet with and talk to the local female population. Photo By CPL Christopher Dickson 1st Joint Public Affairs Unit. Photo By CPL Christopher Dickson
Captain Sarah Vesey of the Joint Task Force Headquarters regularly attends activities and development project sites in Uruzgan and is encouraged by the increasing numbers of females taking an active role in the community.
“A simple measure of progress is the number of women doing their shopping in the bazaar and it is has gone from very few to about 100 a day,” Captain Vesey said.
In a significant milestone for women in Afghanistan, Uruzgan Province Governor, Mohammed Omar Shirzad recognised the role of women in Afghanistan by hosting over 150 Afghan and Coalition Defence servicewomen at an International Women’s Day function on Saturday 6 March 2011.
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