A Talk with David Cortright in honor of International Women's Day

with Opening Comments by Congressman Keith Ellison and Robin Pillips, The Advocates

David Cortright directs Policy Studies at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies and co-authored Afghan Women Speak:  Enhancing Security and Human Rights in Afghanistan

"The prospect of a political solution to the Afghan war has generated much public debate about
the fate of Afghan women. Since the overthrow of the Taliban by U.S.-led forces in 2001, the
promotion of Afghan women’s rights has been a highly politicized appendage of the military
intervention. International efforts to assist women have produced mixed results: while Afghan
women have achieved improvements in their health, education, and economic and political
participation, escalating violence has eroded those gains in many provinces. Women exercising
leadership abilities or pursuing opportunities provided by Western donors have been accused of
being anti-Islamic and subjected to threats, attack, and assassination. Because of the symbolic
and cultural value of women in Islamic society, differing views on women’s roles have been a
battleground over which competing visions for Afghan society and claims to power have been
fought. Women — so often objectified in times of war — have been at the frontlines of the
Afghan conflict."

Full report at: http://www.nd.edu/~jfallon2/WomenAfghanistanReport.pdf

Sponsored by

Women's Action for New Directions: Women Legislators Lobby (WiLL)  http://www.willwand.org/

Center on Women and Public Policy, Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota  http://www.hhh.umn.edu/centers/wpp/

Co-sponsors:
Human Rights Program, University of Minnesota  http://hrp.cla.umn.edu/about/

Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Global Change, University of Minnesota http://www.icgc.umn.edu/

World Without Genocide http://worldwithoutgenocide.org/

Advocates for Human Rights  http://www.theadvocatesforhumanrights.org/

St. Catherine University, School of Business and Leadership http://www.stkate.edu/schools/sbl/

AAUW Minnesota  http://www.aauwmn.org/

Friends for a Nonviolent World  http://fnvw.org/