In order to encourage more and more women to join the country’s police force in a rather conservative and patriarchal society, Afghanistan has started a housing project for its female officers. The Women’s Police Town was recently inaugurated in Kabul and is said to be funded by international donors, with Canada providing approximately $26 million for its first phase.

The US-led coalition and Afghan officials said the project includes the construction of 10 apartment buildings, each with 30 units and able to house 300 policewomen and their families in Kabul.

Arab news reported the interior minister, Najib Danesh, saying, “This is the first such project for female police in the history of Afghanistan.”

The coalition said that the Women’s Police Town will play a critical role in ongoing government efforts to tackle gender inequality and promote female participation in the security sector.