Today we highlight a post from the U.S. Army Central Command’s (CENTCOM) blog.
U.S. Central Command promotes cooperation among nations, responds to crises, and deters or defeats state and nonstate aggression, and supports development and, when necessary, reconstruction in order to establish the conditions for regional security, stability, and prosperity.
The blog post discusses the many ways in which U.S. Army Soldiers and the other military branches are working to empower the Afghan women. One way in which U.S. Army and Marines have worked to accomplish this goal has been to develop Female Engagement Teams (FETs) that are focused on assisting Afghanistan’s most silent female population. Read more about the initiative here.
Read an excerpt of the post below:
Women and girls suffers tremendously under the Taliban. Shamim Jawad, the wife of Afghanistan’s ambassador to the US, reports that, once the Soviets left the country and the Taliban rose to power, “many of the country’s children — particularly girls — weren’t allowed to go to school.”
“They could not play soccer, fly a kite or even smile,” she said. “Even laughter was threatening to the Taliban.”
American troops, under the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), are now working to empower Afghan women. Soldiers have been meeting with Afghan women to learn how they can best help. The first part is understanding where Afghan women are today.
Photo Courtesy: U.S. Central Command Blog
To read the entire piece, visit http://centcom.dodlive.mil/.
