KABUL - Denmark has initiated a major project to strengthen the role of Afghan women and civil society in the peace and reconciliation process.
At Sunday's Tokyo conference on the future development of Afghanistan, Danish Minister for Development Cooperation Christian Friis Bach announced the new project to promote women's rights.

"To date the voice of the Afghan women in the peace and reconciliation process has, unfortunately, been difficult to hear. With this new initiative, we are working to incorporate the views and advice of women much more systematically into the process," Bach said.

According to a statement from the Denmark embassy in Kabul, the project will be jointly implemented by the Civil Society and Human Rights Organization and the High Peace Council.

Through a consultative process, women's rights activists, human rights experts, religious leaders and civil society bodies meet for a string of regional conferences.

Representatives from all 34 provinces will participate. The outcome and recommendations from the conferences would be taken to national level to feed the development of an action plan for the inclusion of women in the peace process.

The action plan would guide the work of the peace council in its endeavors to make the reconciliation process more transparent and inclusive.

"The initiative aims at underpinning and providing input to this effort. I attach great importance to the fact that this initiative is truly led by Afghan civil society. It is my hope that the reconciliation process will ultimately become more inclusive and transparent through strong and vocal civil society involvement," added Bach. (Pajhwok)