MAIMANA (Pajhwok): Thirty-five policewomen have completed a three-day training course to perform duty at female polling sites in northern Faryab province, an official said on Sunday.
However, the Independent Election Commission (IEC) has said it is concerned about the shortage problem of policewomen to perform election duty.
The 35-member group received the training at Faryab police headquarters, where trainer Lt. Col. Abdul Mutallib said the graduates learned how to search women at polling centres.
He urged the graduating officers to respect female voters and treat them in a decent manner, saying their professional behavior could encourage more women to join police.
One of the graduates, Sergeant Mehboba, said it was her 8th year since joining the force. She said they were taught new important methods during the three-day course.
Noria, another participant, said the short-course was a combination of theory and practice. She said the current strength of 40 policewomen in Faryab was inadequate. 
Faryab police chief Lt. Gen. Toryalai Abdiani said 400 policewomen would be trained for election duty in Faryab as directed by the Ministry of Interior.
There are a total of 240 polling stations in the province. The police chief said each female polling centre would be provided with two policewomen for duty.
However, regional IEC office head Syed Massoum Massoumi said they were concerned about the problems of shortage of policewomen.
He said they had requested 400 policewomen for election duty, but there had been no positive response.
Massoumi said their office also faced a shortage of female employees, but they were making efforts to overcome the shortage.
mrh/ma