The Fate of Women’s Rights in Afghanistan: One year after the Taliban takeover.
This event took place at Colorado College and was a presentation given by Dr. Nina Ansary. Dr. Nina Ansary is an American author, historian, and activist for women’s rights. She is extremely well accomplished and has made huge strides in the fight for women’s rights specifically in Iran. This presentation focuses on Women’s rights in Afghanistan specifically after The Taliban takeover. One of the points she made while presenting and continued to reiterate was the concept that women in Afghanistan are not complacent. Women in Afghanistan are fighting everyday to earn an education and are being killed as a result. She noted that with the United States withdrawal the opportunities that have been given to girls in Afghanistan for 20 years were suddenly and drastically taken away. Many of the younger generations of girls living in Afghanistan had never lived under Taliban rule until the Taliban takeover in August of 2021. She explained how much progress had been made while Afghanistan was occupied by the United States and how women and girls in Afghanistan feel abandoned by the United States. Dr. Nina Ansary advocated for the involvement of Washington in the fight against the Taliban. Although I understand where she is coming from, the involvement of the United States in Afghanistan is a deeply political issue with many complexities. Many American citizens believe we should never have occupied Afghanistan in the first place and will be opposed to interfering further in the affairs of another foreign country. I also believe that her perspective on the topic was narrow. I personally felt she approached the issue with a more emotional outlook and less rational. She didn’t address any of the reasons why the United States was hesitant to involve themselves further in Afghanistan or why the decision to remove American troops from Afghanistan was made. I understand that not mentioning this piece of the conflict furthers her cause, but it made the presentation come across as biased and unresearched.