Women from more than 10 nations joined together Wednesday to celebrate and share their cultural experiences in honor of Eid al-Fitr, otherwise known as the end of Ramadan.

The Community Agenda for Regained Empowerment hosted an Eid al-Fitr celebration and meal at the SOKY Marketplace for local women regardless of their background.

Group Chairman William Mkanta said the event was an opportunity to bring together recent female Afghan arrivals with women from the community to ease the Afghan women’s transition to the United States.

He said he was pleased with the event’s turnout and the different cultures that were represented.

“Whenever they (Afghans) have the opportunity to celebrate their culture, it helps integration,” Mkanta said. “They can learn from different cultures, and it’s an opportunity for other women leaders to inspire them and let them know they can be contributing members to the community.”

Traditional Afghan dishes were served during the celebration while Afghan music also played throughout.

Mkanta said his organization recently developed a program called Afghan Community Empowerment to host events that showcase the culture of the new arrivals to southcentral Kentucky.

“We felt like the women may be more vulnerable due to their cultural background, so our organization created a women’s cooking group,” Mkanta said. “The women’s cooking club is an ongoing thing. The big picture is to enable others to go through things like English training and learning the systems in this country.”

Sodaba Rahmaty, a female leader in the Afghan community of Bowling Green, attended Wednesday’s event and praised the showing from attendees of different cultures.

“It feels very, very good – especially when you are new to this society and you feel like people are here with different backgrounds,” Rahmaty said. “They are here to say welcome, and we all feel more included. I’m really happy and thrilled with the program.”

Rahmaty said Eid al-Fitr is one of the most celebrated festivals in Islam and is enjoyed annually through valued time spent with family and friends over food.

She said after the recent influx of more than 200 Afghan refugees in Bowling Green, several of the female arrivals felt a sense of isolation. This week’s Eid al-Fitr event was an ideal way to fix those feelings, she said.

“We wanted to have a specific woman celebration,” Rahmaty said. “Most of the women are not working and are living in exile. We need to make them come forward so they feel included in this society especially after being apart from their family and friends. They should feel like they are included in this community.

“Through gatherings like this, the Afghan society can also showcase their culture and famous foods,” she said. “It’s showing people how we celebrate our events and how we dress. This will help us a lot.”

– Follow reporter John Reecer on Twitter @JReecerBGDN or visit bgdailynews.com.