NEWS: Afghanistan to Appoint 1st Female Governor, page 1

Following criticism that he failed to include more women into the new Afghanistan government, President Hamid Karzai says he will most likely select a woman to be a provincial governor in the district of Bamiyan. This major achievement will hopefully help further remove the Taliban influences in the Afghan society in regards to the treatment of women.

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An all-female shortlist including former Women's Minister Habiba Sarobi has been drawn up for the governorship of central Bamiyan province, presidential spokesman Jawed Ludin said, though no decision has been taken.

"One of those ladies will be the governor of Bamiyan," Ludin said at a news conference. "If a woman is able to do the job, the law says we can appoint her."

Sarobi said she had discussed the position with Karzai after rejecting his suggestion that she become an Afghan ambassador abroad.

"I want to be inside the country at the service of my people," she said.

Sarobi said she had a good chance of gaining acceptance in Bamiyan, a province inhabited almost exclusively by fellow ethnic Hazaras where women have traditionally been freer to work and gain education.

"It wouldn't be possible for me to be governor of provinces in the south, southeast of southwest," she said. "Karzai said that the best place would be Bamiyan."

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This is good news from Afghanistan, but I worry that "reconciliation" efforts with Taliban members will hamper the progression of the women's movement in the country. The women's movement in Afghanistan has made remarkable progress and their efforts should be noted.