ThoughtGallery.org > Future of Freedom: The Fight for Women’s Rights in Afghanistan

Future of Freedom: The Fight for Women’s Rights in Afghanistan

Just one generation ago, it was common to find women thriving in the professional environment or academia in Afghanistan. The Taliban’s ban on women in the workplace and schools put an end to that progress and shut women out of civil society.

In Afghanistan today, 57% of girls are married before the legal age of 16; the literacy rate of women is 15.8% and the country claims the second highest maternal mortality rate in the world. Yet, in spite of these obstacles, women are returning to the workplace in Afghanistan: 47% of women are working, though their wages are considerably lower than their male counterparts. Women have also made particular advances in entrepreneurship and in government, where they comprise 20% of the National Assembly.

As in the rest of the developing world, the empowerment of women in Afghanistan is crucial to the long-term economic development of the country. Join Ambassador Melanne Verveer, former United States Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues, along with Severine Caluwaerts of Doctors Without Borders, in discussion with moderator Elizabeth Rubin. The program will feature images from “Women Between Peace and War: Afghanistan,” an exhibition produced by ART WORKS Projects.

Ambassador Melanne Verveer is the Executive Director of Georgetown University’s institute for Women, Peace and Security. She was formerly the US Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues, and was the US Representative to the UN Commission on the Status of Women. A member of the Council on Foreign Relations, she is a graduate of Georgetown University.

Severine Caluwaerts is an Obstetrician/Gynecologist and referent gynecologist for Medecines Sans Frontiers/Doctors without Borders, and has worked extensively on maternal health in Afghanistan.

Elizabeth Rubin is an international journalist and a contributing writer at the New York Times Magazine and has reported extensively on Afghanistan. She is a graduate of Columbia and Oxford Universities.











When: Thu., Oct. 3, 2013 at 12:00 am - 8:00 am
Where: Asia Society and Museum
725 Park Ave.
212-288-6400
Price: $12
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Just one generation ago, it was common to find women thriving in the professional environment or academia in Afghanistan. The Taliban’s ban on women in the workplace and schools put an end to that progress and shut women out of civil society.

In Afghanistan today, 57% of girls are married before the legal age of 16; the literacy rate of women is 15.8% and the country claims the second highest maternal mortality rate in the world. Yet, in spite of these obstacles, women are returning to the workplace in Afghanistan: 47% of women are working, though their wages are considerably lower than their male counterparts. Women have also made particular advances in entrepreneurship and in government, where they comprise 20% of the National Assembly.

As in the rest of the developing world, the empowerment of women in Afghanistan is crucial to the long-term economic development of the country. Join Ambassador Melanne Verveer, former United States Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues, along with Severine Caluwaerts of Doctors Without Borders, in discussion with moderator Elizabeth Rubin. The program will feature images from “Women Between Peace and War: Afghanistan,” an exhibition produced by ART WORKS Projects.

Ambassador Melanne Verveer is the Executive Director of Georgetown University’s institute for Women, Peace and Security. She was formerly the US Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues, and was the US Representative to the UN Commission on the Status of Women. A member of the Council on Foreign Relations, she is a graduate of Georgetown University.

Severine Caluwaerts is an Obstetrician/Gynecologist and referent gynecologist for Medecines Sans Frontiers/Doctors without Borders, and has worked extensively on maternal health in Afghanistan.

Elizabeth Rubin is an international journalist and a contributing writer at the New York Times Magazine and has reported extensively on Afghanistan. She is a graduate of Columbia and Oxford Universities.

Buy tickets/get more info now