KABUL: A 50-year-old Colonel Jamila Bayaz has been appointed as first female district police chief in Kabul, one of the most important areas of the Afghanistan’s capital.
Bayaz, the mother of five children, is the first to be promoted to such a senior rank despite being one of 2,000 female police officers in the violence-ravaged country.
“This is a chance not just for me, but for the women of Afghanistan,” Bayaz said in an interview with media on Wednesday. “I will not waste it. I will prove that we can handle this burden.”
“I want to thank America and the international community for all of their help and support. I would not be here today if it weren’t for all of their assistance,” Bayaz said.
Meanwhile, the Afghan Interior ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqi said that Bayaz’s making police chief was the first step in promoting women within the police ranks. “We will we see a female Provincial Police Chief in the near future,” he said.