KABUL - Some of the women Members of Parliament (MPs) claimed they had a small role to play in the Wolesi Jirga due to lack of coordination among the women MPs while less importance was given to their ideas. The Parliament in Afghanistan consists of two Houses, the Wolesi Jirga (the National Assembly) and Meshrano Jirga (the Senate). The Wolesi Jirga has 249 members including 69 women, while the Meshrano Jirga has 102 members with 28 women members.

Although most of the women MPs had good programs but still more importance was given to the views of men MPs inside the parliament, Shakiba Hashmi, an MP representing Kandahar province told Pajhwok Afghan News.

"I wanted to include security related problems of my province in the agenda but failed to do so," Shakiba said, adding their voices were not heard as members.
It was not only the parliament, but in fact all those problems arose from the society where majority of the people did not respect women's views, she said.

"Women MPs are unable to gain a seat in the administrative board of the Wolesi Jirga due to lack of coordination and dissent of women MPs in side the House," Shakiba revealed.

There were two women MPs as members of the administrative board of Wolesi Jirga, Fauzia Kofi was the second deputy of Wolesi Jirga and Najiba Husaini was the secretary of the Meshrano Jirga during previous parliament but no female MP is there in this parliament.

The Wolesi Jirga has 18 while the Meshrano Jirga has 12 commissions but only four of these all are headed by women MPs.

Security and defense commission is headed by Shukria Barikzai and Fauzia Kofi is heading women and civil society commission in Wolesi Jirga while in Meshrano Jirga Ruz Gul Khairzad is heading defense and public welfare commission and Khair-un-Nisa Ghami is heading women affairs commission.