DURHAM -- Afghanistan and the city of Durham crossed cultural and judicial borders this week when the Durham Police Department hosted Col. Shafiqa Quraishi, one of the highest-ranking female officers in the Afghan National Police.
Col. Quraishi, a recipient of the 2010 International Woman of Courage Award presented by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, is the Director of Gender, Human and Child Rights within Afghanistan's Ministry of the Interior.
Amid pervasive cultural barriers to gender equality, the colonel has set a goal of increasing the number of women working in the Ministry of Interior to 5,000 and of improving the quality of the ministry's service to Afghanistan women.
Some 15 female Durham police employees -- officers and civilians -- exchanged experiences and perspectives at a round-table meeting with Col. Quraishi at police headquarters on Tuesday, police spokeswoman Kimberle Walker announced Thursday.
