WASHINTON - The US President Barack Obama reaffirmed Washington’s support to Afghan women and girls to develop their talents, raise their voices and strengthen their communities and their country.

In a video message to the inauguration of the USAID funded Promote Programs, President Obama said ““The future of Afghanistan will be written by all Afghan citizens – men and women, boys and girls.”

Obama further added “And together, we can help women and girls across Afghanistan develop their talents, raise their voices, and strengthen their communities and their country.”

USAID has committed $216 million to fund Promote Programs, making it the largest women’s empowerment project in the US Government’s history.

The Promote programs will help 75,000 young Afghan women become leaders in their fields over the course of the five-year program. USAID is providing $216 million to Promote, with other donors possibly contributing an additional $200 million.

According to USAID, the Promote program’s main goal is to strengthen Afghanistan’s development by boosting female participation in the economy, helping women gain business and management skills, supporting women’s rights groups and increasing the number of women in decision making positions within the Afghan government.

Speaking during the inauguration ceremony, President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani also reaffirmed commitment on robust investment on girls education, saying that educating a girl will have it’s impact on the coming five generations.

President Ghani pledged to make robust investment on women’s education and promised that women will have major role in the judiciary system of the country.

He also added that the first women’s university will be opened in Afghanistan with the help of foreign allies of Afghanistan.

President Ghani also called on USAID to help the Afghan women in finding international markets for their products, including the US markets. (KP)