First Afghan woman mayor says women's rights worsened

By Golnar Motevalli

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan's first woman mayor is determined to improve one of the country's newest and poorest provinces, but she is concerned women's rights in the former Taliban state are getting worse.

"I was very happy to get this job, especially being the first woman to be a mayor in Afghanistan, but there are some men who think a woman couldn't do this job," Azra Jafari told Reuters.

"Unfortunately, Afghan society has not yet become a society which can accept that women are able to do this job, like any other person."

Jafari is just two weeks into her new post.

About twice a month, she commutes between the capital Kabul and the town of Nili in Dai Kundi province, where she has set up a mayoral office in a rented house, with her four-year old daughter in tow. Her husband lives and works in Kabul.

Jafari's commute between Kabul and Nili is dangerous, taking her two days by road, and crossing the insecure province of Maidan Wardak, where extra U.S. troops are being deployed to stem the Taliban's growing influence on the outskirts of Kabul.

"I face the same risks that any other woman or government employee faces, but this problem should not stop you from doing your job. Danger is everywhere," 30-year old Jafari said.

Under the Taliban, toppled by U.S.-led and Afghan forces in 2001, women were banned from school and the workplace, many women, such as Jafari, moved to neighbouring countries such as Pakistan and Iran for education or work.