Women
Ahmad Shah Behzad: “Open minds are the key to a safe, sustainable future”
Ahmad Shah Behzad is a Member of Parliament from Herat province. He was forced to migrate to Iran during the war and stayed there until the fall of the Taliban. Upon his return to Afghanistan with his family, he started working as a journalist for Radio Azadi.
Wednesday 5 March 2014Roya Sadat: “She even changed her name to Sohrab, a boy’s name”
Roya Sadat was one of the first female filmmakers to emerge after the fall of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. She studied law and political science at Herat University but her real passion was in film.
Tuesday 4 March 2014Abdullah Ahmadi: “They seek their human rights, as humans and citizens”
Abdullah Ahmadi is a human rights activist. He is the Program Director of the Cooperation Centre for Afghanistan, a human rights and conflict resolution organization where he has worked for the past 10 years.
Monday 3 March 2014Shakila Ibrahimkhalil: “We have fought too hard for our freedoms to lose them again”
Shakila Ibrahimkhalil is an Afghan journalist. During the time of the Taliban, she was forced to withdraw from her journalism studies and get married. Four years later, she suffered the loss of her husband.
Friday 28 February 2014Dr Daud Shah Saba: “The Afghan economy is a man’s economy”
Dr Daud Shah Saba was the Governor of Herat from 2010 to 2013. He resigned in July 2013, citing rampant corruption and the failure of the central government to bring about promised reforms.
Wednesday 26 February 2014Khadija Ghaznawi: ”The key to peace lies within Afghanistan, not outside”
Khadija Ghaznawi was the only woman who presented as a candidate for the 2014 presidential elections. She was disqualified from running by the Independent Election Commission.
Wednesday 26 February 2014Mohieddin Mahdi: “You do not have the right to breathe the air of this country”
Mohieddin Mahdi is a well-known politician, and a Member of Parliament. He was a member of the Northern Alliance in the 1980s and later the Deputy Ambassador of Afghanistan to Tajikistan.
Tuesday 25 February 2014Maria Bashir: “He threw my documents back in my face, and shouted: ‘Go and stay at home!’”
Maria Bashir is the Chief Prosecutor General of Herat province. She was the first woman to be appointed Chief Prosecutor in Afghanistan, and is the only woman serving as Chief Prosecutor in any of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces.
Monday 24 February 2014Yassin Negah: “…. that she would give thanks a thousand times a day for being a woman”
Yassin Negah is the editor-in-chief of Porsesh [Question], a weekly magazine in Afghanistan, and the director of Writers Home, an association for young independent writers and poets.
Friday 21 February 2014Suraia Perlika: “We cannot trust our statesmen”
Suraia Perlika is an activist for human and women’s rights. She founded the Democratic Women’s Organization with five other women in 1965. In 1978, she was held as a political prisoner and tortured for her activities related to women’s rights.
Thursday 20 February 2014
