If you are wondering what the future holds for Afghan women and girls, watch this video of a talk I recently did at the Commonwealth of San Francisco where we discussed what ending America’s longest war could mean to the Afghan people.
Read More100-Year History of Afghan Women 1919-2021 | How Taliban's Return Could Affect Afghanistan
In this post and introduce my newest video which cover how regime changes, visionary leaders, and wars have affected the lives of Afghan women and how power-sharing with the Taliban could undo the gains in the past twenty years. People often ask me why Afghan women have ALWAYS been oppressed. It was this recurring question that inspired me to make this video to show the progress, gains, and setbacks in the past 100 years and how they have shaped the current climate for Afghan women.
We start with the reign of King Amanullah and Queen Soraya who attempted to modernize Afghanistan and gave unprecedented rights to women. Then we go on to cover the ‘Era of Peace’ 1933-1973 when Zahir Shah was the last king of Afghanistan and progress was slow and steady. During the Russian occupation, many rights were given to Afghan women but it was ineffectual in the rural areas where Afghans were being slaughtered by Russian airstrikes and women were losing their homes. The video ends with the current peace talks with the Taliban and how power-sharing could affect the lives of Afghan women.
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Rabia Blakhi was a writer and poet from the city of Blakh and the first woman poet in the history of Persian Poetry.
Celebrating Afghan Women on Women's History Month
Thankfully March is chock full of markers and celebrations to keep the days from blending together. On March 8th, I’ll be celebrating my 24th wedding anniversary along with International Woman’s Day. The Afghan Nowroz (New Year) celebration is on March 22nd, and my husband’s birthday (age not be disclosed) is on March 29th.
March is also Women’s History Month in the United States, an annual celebration highlighting the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society.
In keeping with the spirit of Women’s History Month, starting tomorrow, March 2nd, I will highlight and uplift an Afghan woman who is a public figure or an unsung hero on my Afghan Culture Unveiled Facebook page.
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