Women celebrate solidarity

A day before International Women's Day (IWD), some 700 Afghan and Pakistani women gathered in a show of unity in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad on Thursday. Organised by the United Nations and Pakistan's National Council of the Arts (PNCA), the event included many female refugees in the south Asian country who had fled Afghanistan after decades of war and conflict. "This is meant to be a gesture of solidarity between Afghan and Pakistani women," director of the United Nations Information Centre in Islamabad, Eric Falt, told IRIN on Thursday. "Obviously Pakistan has a bigger stake in the Afghan situation and its a celebration of solidarity between the two," he said enthusiastically. Falt's comments came as hundreds of women worked on a huge embroidered banner that would later be hung from a building in the Afghan capital Kabul to remind people of the closeness between the two nations. The theme for this year's event is: "Afghan Women Today: Realities and Opportunities", he explained. Commenting on the event, Coco Gul, an refugee from the northern Afghan province of Kunduz remarked how happy she and other Afghan women felt at the event. "It's nice to be around other ladies and contribute with whatever we can," she told IRIN. "We are thankful for the importance that has been given to us in this event," she exclaimed. Zara Jabeen, a 19-year-old Pakistani woman from Islamabad concurred her enthusiasm by saying: "This was a good idea as it reflects the unity between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Their life has been harsh and they are struggling, but our wishes are with them." Meanwhile in Afghanistan, a three-day Afghan women's conference ended in Kabul on Thursday. In an effort to develop a common vision of women's role in peace-building and reconstruction in the Central Asian country, female leaders from across the country gathered to work out a series of recommendations to be presented during Friday's IWD commemoration in Kabul. According to UN spokesman, Manoel de Almeida e Silva, representatives from a variety of professional backgrounds and geographical regions, including rural and urban areas, were brought together to discuss issues such as security, the economy, employment and education. Friday will be the first time in 11 years that IWD would be observed in Afghanistan. With hundreds of Afghan women from all over the country expected to attend the Kabul ceremony, Minister for Women's Affairs, Dr Sima Samar, interim authority leader, Hamid Karzai, and the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative, Lakhdar Brahimi are expected to address this year's event.