Shaharzad AkbarVerified account

As an Afghan woman who has sit in too many rooms full of men, I understand & value the importance of women's presence n d room & their meaningful contribution. From my experience, qualified female leaders bring substance, diversity f perspective & broaden d agenda

Women in public face a variety of challenges daily. Women struggle with double standards & descrimantory behavior by colleagues & peers. From access 2 safe working space, 2 receiving less administrative support compared 2 their male counterparts, 2 even access to female toilets.

Sexism, sexist jokes & remarks, mansplaining & harassment r all too common & part of d daily experience of women in positions of power in Kbl. D experiences of women n non-leadership positions & n provinces is much much more difficult & their courage 2 persist admirable.

I have been a witness many times, of a room of officials standing up to greet a male Deputy Minister & completely ignoring a woman n the same position when she walks in. Of security & support personnel not showing the same level of respect 2 women & men n d same positions.

I have felt the burden of objecting to a sexist joke or remark fall solely on me or another female colleague when men n d room laugh or ignore. I have been a witness to silencing, ignoring or belittling of opinions solely because they were expressed by a woman.

Recruiting women in all layers f administration is d first step. Providing them with support, political & administrative, & ensuring a safe working space 4 women in all sectors & across Af is where we need 2 continue 2 invest. Both women & men leaders have a duty towards this.

I believe most of us have hidden biases. Let's support women by learning about & confronting these internal biases: It is not JUST a woman's job 2 attend 2 issues of women. Not all women are GENDER experts. Women can & do have expertise & opinions on all aspects of issues.

Women shouldn't have 2 prove they deserve a position if men don't. Women's marital status r personal life is none of our business. Women, like men, can be corrupt or incompetent, & in that case, we have to treat them similar 2 a male leader & not make it about their gender.