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U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
PRESS RELEASE
WASHINGTON, DC 20523
PRESS OFFICE
http://www.usaid.gov
(202) 712-43202002-026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 8, 2002Contact: USAID Press Office
Kabul, Afghanistan - The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) joined the Afghan Ministry of Women's Affairs in celebrating International Women's Day at the Ministry's new offices. Hamid Karzai, Chairman of the Interim Administration, attended the event, along with a number of heads of agencies and other dignitaries. U.S. Charge d'Affaires in Afghanistan Ryan Crocker, Bernd "Bear" McConnell, Director of USAID's Central Asia Task Force, and James Kunder, Director of USAID-Afghanistan were among the U.S. officials who attended the ceremony. The USAID-funded rehabilitation of the building complex enabled the Afghan Interim Authority to mark this first International Women's Day at the Ministry of Women's Affairs in the new Afghanistan. More importantly, this assistance has helped the Ministry conduct its most basic administrative functions to become a stronger force for protecting and enhancing the rights of women throughout Afghanistan.
Last month, USAID Director for Afghanistan Jim Kunder announced two grants totaling $64,000 for the rehabilitation of the Afghan Ministry of Women's Affairs building complex. Charge d' Affaires Crocker and the Afghan Women's Affairs Minister, Dr. Sima Samar, presided over the signing ceremony.
USAID is rehabilitating the Ministry building in cooperation with its implementing partner, the International Organization for Migration (IOM). USAID funding enabled the removal of rubble from the Ministry's auditorium, providing for the renovation and equipping of 11 offices, and providing support for technical advisors. In addition, USAID is provided a technical assistance package to assist the Ministry in establishing operations and developing programs.
The Afghan Interim Authority has assigned the Afghan Ministry of Women's Affairs a complex of buildings in downtown Kabul that housed the Afghan Women's Institute from 1949 until the Taliban closed the Institute. The Taliban burned the auditorium during its occupation of Kabul, which began in 1996.
USAID's three-phase rehabilitation project is offering visible signs of physical restoration of the Ministry of Women's Affairs and, symbolically, of the more inclusive policies of the Afghanistan Interim Authority toward women. USAID is committed to a long-term partnership with the Ministry of Women's Affairs to begin the process of building a safe, stable society that meets the needs of Afghanistan's women and families.
The U.S. Agency for International Development has provided economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for more than 40 years.
For more information about USAID programs and International Women's Month, go to http://www.usaid.gov/about/women/.
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