LASHKARGAH - UN top diplomat in Afghanistan urged the Afghans to stand united in their support for the peace process for the sake of their country’s good future.
Addressing a gathering in Lashkargah, the capital of southern Helmand province, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Tadamichi Yamamoto, said the world’s body wanted the women of Afghanistan, particularly of Helmand, should widely participate in the next round of peace talks.
The gathering at the governor’s house was attended by local officials, the youth, women  and tribal elders.
Accompanied by Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission chief Seema Samar, the UN envoy said the UN wanted the Afghan women to play a proactive role in their country’s reconciliation process.
He said the UN was campaigning for women’s rights and was committed to equal rights of men and women. “We work shoulder to shoulder with the people of Afghanistan to ensure the rights of neutral people are not violated in the peace process
He said the  women of Afghanistan, particularly of Helmand province, were still deprived of education, work and justice and they faced a lot of problems.
Seema Samar said insecurities had affected women’s role in all spheres of life in Afghanistan. She said until attention was not paid during and after the peace process to the victims of the 40-year-old conflict, peace would continue to elude the country. (Pajhwok)