Successfully elected MAS provincial councilors received 67,000 votes and currently hold about 23 percent of the 117 female quota seats allocated nationwide.  In Badghis Province MAS members hold all three female quota seats.  MAS members now sit on councils in almost every province in Afghanistan.  Prior to the elections, all MAS provincial council candidates were trained through the IRI campaign academy. 

On November 11-12 MAS held an event to recognize the newly elected 27 provincial council members and to provide pertinent trainings for their new positions.  MAS board members and members of parliament, Ms. Azita Rafat and Sahera Sharif, trained participants on the roles and responsibilities of elected officials and the procedures for creating and passing laws.  IRI staff led discussions on the topics of collective action for political success and how to legislate effectively.   Ms. Humaira Haqmal, MAS chairwomen, talked about effective public diplomacy. 

The event was attended by a number of local media outlets including RTA television, Azadi Radio, Tamadun Television, Wakht News Agency, and Afghanistan Times, among others.

MAS is an independent women’s organization dedicated to building a national social movement that emphasizes the equality of citizenship, full participation of independent women as candidates and voters and advocacy of women’s issues in the national arena.  The IRI-supported partner was formed in September 2008 from a cross section of non-political party or faction-affiliated women from parliament, the business community and civil society.

In March 2009, IRI’s Women’s Democracy Network awarded MAS the Jeane J. Kirkpatrick Award, an award that honors those who have made outstanding contributions to the advancement of women in politics and civil society.

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