Yesterday (12 November) the EU, UNDP, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan officially launched the project to support fifty young women from Afghanistan to study in nearby Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. European External Action Service Director, Paola Pampaloni said that the EU has always been a very loud voice for the promotion of women and girl’s rights. The EU in close consultation with the regular women’s forum in Afghanistan identified education as a top issue, but were confronted with the concerns of parents in allowing their daughters to study in Europe, which is so far away and which is culturally very different. Pampaloni explained that in discussions with Central Asian colleagues the issue came up and there was an agreement that it would be easier for these countries to host the young women and offer appropriate courses in areas such as, applied statistics, agriculture and mining.
Kazakhstan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Roman Vassilenko said that the EU funding is a unique program because it's the first time that something like this has been done in our part of the world. Kazakhstan proposed the program two years ago and it is now being launched. The EU is making a EUR 2 million contribution.
Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov described the project as a very important program for Afghan women and girls. For Uzbekistan, it is one part of their wider program of cooperation with neighboring Afghanistan. He said that students will be a bridge of friendship between the two nations.
The Ambassador for Afghanistan to the EU, Nazifullah Salarzai underlined the importance of educating women: “We have the saying in Afghanistan, if you want to change a generation, educate a man, if you want to change five generations educate women; I think it's very important for Afghanistan. During many years of imposed conflict women did not have the opportunity to be educated or to have this right during the Taliban time to pursue their education. Any step in the direction of educating women will have huge impact on the entire well-being of our society.”
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