Afghanistan seeks more women to join its army

Afghanistan has announced fresh initiatives to bring more women into the army, weeks after the country's first female pilot sparked a national debate on insecurity and women's rights by seeking asylum in the US.

The defence ministry wants to boost the proportion of women in the army to 10 percent, deputy ministry spokesman Mohammad Radmanesh said on Friday, after confirming a slew of incentives which included a special salary statement only for the womenwho are to be recruitted.