Here at Women’s Annex, we help women in Afghanistan and around the world offer their perspectives on different topics. When focusing on how to empower women in Afghanistan, it’s important to focus on their opinions and thoughts about world events. For example, our latest series, “An Afghan Perspective,” offers up the perspectives of Afghani women and men on the show “60 Minutes”.
These articles and videos explore the thoughts of women in Afghanistan after watching the show “60 Minutes”. Fereshteh Forough, the focus of the latest “An Afghan Perspective” video, is the founder of Afghan Citadel Software Company. She discusses how overseas companies and Afghani companies can work together to design breakthrough inventions. Forough says, “In Afghanistan, I see there’s potential. Unfortunately, we don’t have facilities like here. I see the laboratories at Google - if they have an idea, they can easily implement it.” However, she points out the difficulties companies currently face in Afghanistan. She says, “In Afghanistan, we have an idea, but we don’t have the facilities or we don’t have the people who are experts in these fields who can provide advice for them.”
Education will play a critical role in helping Afghanistan work with other countries. While education in Afghanistan for women is on the upswing, thanks to initiatives like the Afghan Development Project, people in other countries will also need to educate themselves on Afghanistan. This two-way street could be mutually beneficial, helping Afghani women join the forefront of technological development. As Forough says, “When [people] meet together, they can create something innovative that would be helpful for Afghanistan.”
There are already several blog posts in the “An Afghan Perspective” series. One recent blog post focuses on a recent “60 Minutes” episode featuring Sonia Sotomayor. Forough draws comparisons between Sotormayor and notable Afghani woman Maria Bashir, winner of the 2011 International Women of Courage Award. In this article, Forough points out, “We can feel the desire among Afghan women to be more active and involved in each sector even in politics which is mostly dominated by men in Afghanistan. Women are an unforgettable part of a society. Keeping them more involved in social activities will result on more progress and development.” To empower women in Afghanistan with education and social media can help bring more Afghani women to the forefront of society.
Another recent article discusses the “60 Minutes” episode about robots and whether or not they hurt job growth. Fereshteh points out that, although robots are not widely used in Afghanistan for labor, robotics involve many people, from software developers to maintenance staff. Education in Afghanistan for women in these technological fields could create new industries in the country. One first step toward creating these opportunities is educating women through projects like the Afghanistan Development Project, which strives to create wired and connected classrooms to help girls and women learn these valuable skills.
Click here to see the entire “An Afghan Perspective” series.
