Women Rangers Now Roam Afghanistan's First National Park

It took 62 years for women rangers to achieve equal status with their male peers in the US National Park Service： in Afghanistan， it has taken just three. In a landmark event for Afghanistan， four women were recently hired as park rangers in the country's Band-e-Amir National Park -- the first female park rangers ever employed in the nation.

The hiring of Sediqa， Nikbakht， Fatima， and Kubra represents a significant milestone both for the employment of women in Afghanistan and for their involvement in the nation's law enforcement field. According to Nato， less than 1% of Afghanistan National Police are female， while the World Bank estimates that only 16% of Afghan women are employed in the formal economy.

These new women rangers will make a great contribution to the effective management of Band-e-Amir. In helping to safeguard Afghanistan's wildlife and natural wonders， they， along with their male colleagues， will also serve as role models for other like-minded men and women considering a career in wildlife conservation. Band-e-Amir is Afghanistan's only national park.

Established in 2009 with the help of the Wildlife Conservation Society （WCS）， it is one of the world's most beautiful landscapes and has been nominated as a World Heritage site. The park's six deep-blue crystal clear lakes are a surprising tourist draw in the country. Over 4，000 visitors a month come to the park in the summer， with the same number in just one weekend in some holiday periods.

The park is particularly popular among women from all over Afghanistan as a recreational area and for the reputed therapeutic properties of the water. It is also home to a number of rare and endangered species， including the recently re-discovered Persian leopard.