A long line of widows in tattered blue burkas waited for hours Sunday for Canadian-bought rations of flour, cooking oil, dried peas and medicine...Now, providing minimal food support for war widows would seem to be a fairly affordable means of making sure that Canada is seen positively by the Afghani citizens whose choices will determine the country's future direction. And indeed the plan for increased training would seem to be more appropriate as a supplement to food aid, rather than a substitute for it.
They are the poorest of Afghanistan's poor, yet their monthly food support is to be cut off by April.
That's when the Canadian International Development Agency plans to replace the rations, worth C$2.5 million a year, with training designed to help widows support themselves.
Ottawa planned to end them last year but extended funding for another 12 months when the widows planned a protest - an extraordinary act for one of the country's most voiceless, marginalized groups.
Zainab Wahdi, deputy manager of women's programs for CARE Afghanistan, hopes Canada will reconsider.
"Vocational training is the best, but it will not be enough," she said.
Proposals being considered so far would only cover about 5,000 widows - and many will face child-care issues and resistance from men who don't want them to work, she added.
The reality is that thousands of women still desperately need help to feed their families, Wahdi said.
But apparently, food aid doesn't fit into the Cons' priorities for Afghanistan. And unless another protest again succeeds in shifting the current position, the move may soon give both the widows and those who are paying attention to their cause plenty of reason to doubt Canada's commitment to doing anything to improve the lives of Afghanistan's citizens.
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