The ambitious multi-million dollar USAID program, which is the largest women’s empowerment program in the history of USAID, has given hope to millions of women in Afghanistan

Colonel Jamila Bayaz, 51, early last year became the country’s first female officer to be promoted to district police chief in Kabul. The promotion came at a crucial time, just ahead of the presidential elections. Ms. Bayaz, mother-of-five, hogged the headlines globally for commanding a police force that included hundreds of male police officers.

In a deeply patriarchal society where women have traditionally played second fiddle role to men, it was a departure from past. Ms. Bayaz’s appointment as the first female district police chief marked a new chapter in the history of Afghanistan.