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Afghan Women Break into Construction Work
FrontLines - May 2010
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A Strategic Provincial
Roads program participant
collects survey data.
|
U.S. assistance to
Afghanistan extends
to agriculture,
education, medicine,
infrastructure, and
the economic,
governmental, and
technology sectors.
For more information,
visit: http://afghanistan.usaid.gov.
KABUL— Stereotypes are
fading in Afghanistan, where
many women are occupying
non-traditional positions that
were long held by men. At the
USAID-funded Tarakhil Power
Plant near Kabul, women are
proving that they are qualified
to contribute to the development
of their country.
Twice a day, senior fuel
attendant Suraya Sahar puts on
her boots, safety glasses, and
hard hat to oversee the safe discharge
of diesel fuel into underground
tanks at the power plant.
In her first job at Tarakhil, when
the plant was being built, Sahar
was the inspector who tested
the high-wire scaffoldings to
ensure that the platforms could
bear the weight of workers. She
used that information to recommend
when harnesses or safety
cables were required, keeping
workers safe and construction
on track.
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A staff member from the USAID-funded Strategic Provincial Roads program, right, gets community input for projects in the area.
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“Being a woman in construction—
this is a first-time experience,”
Sahar said. “There was
teasing, but I didn’t pay attention
to it.”
The same is true for Fatima
Azizi, assistant to the director
of information technology at
USAID’s Afghanistan Infrastructure
and Rehabilitation Program
(AIRP). After years of on-the-job
training, she is skilled in
information technology, from
computer applications to hardware.
When her job requires, she
scrambles under office desks to
hook up computers and printers
or climbs on ladders to check on
wireless routers.
“Women say that this is a
man’s job,” Azizi said. “that it’s
too hard for women to do. But I
know computers, and this is
what I like.”
These non-traditional opportunities
have fostered growth and
professionalism in the lives of
these young women. Both of them
have contributed to U.S.-funded
development programs that are
rebuilding the country and helping
to improve the lives of other
young women in Afghanistan.
★
*Names of individuals have been changed for security reasons.
FrontLines is published
by the Bureau for Legislative and Public Affairs
U.S. Agency for International Development
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Material should be submitted
by mail to Editor, FrontLines, USAID,
RRB, Suite 6.10, Washington, DC 20523-6100;
by FAX to 202-216-3035; or by e-mail to frontlines@usaid.gov
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