HERAT – Inauguration of a government building may not usually be a cause for commemoration. However when it’s a building for a branch of the Ministry of Women in a far-flung province, it is an occasion for celebration.

Stymied by the heavy rain on Women's Day, women of the western province of Farah celebrated the inauguration a day later with a popular woman singer Ustad Mahwash inaugurating the occasion with a song.

The directorate, which was earlier being run out of rented buildings, will now have its own space. The project for construction of the building was financed by USAID at a cost of $95,000.

Lailoma Sediqi, director of women's affairs in Farah province, said the building was completed in six months

Sediqa, a 35 year old resident of Farah told Pajhwok: "We are celebrating women's international day. Compared to the past, women's conditions have improved, but we want to ensure that women's rights are never violated again."