Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State John Kerry and former first lady Laura Bush convened in Gaston Hall to discuss Afghan women Friday.
The event, “Advancing Afghan Women: Promoting Peace and Progress in Afghanistan,” was co-sponsored by the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security, the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council, the George W. Bush Institute and the Alliance to Support the Afghan People.
Many seats in Gaston Hall were reserved for specified guests, and many students who had lined up for the 10 a.m. event as early as 5:50 a.m. did not get in.
University President John J. DeGioia offered opening remarks on the progress that has been made so far through partnerships between U.S. and Afghan organizations.
“It is a privilege for Georgetown to have the opportunity to contribute to this critical work,” DeGioia said. “Sustaining and building upon these gains remains critical especially as Afghan citizens face significant transition. In this context, today’s gathering has an added urgency.”
In his opening remarks, Kerry also addressed the progress made since 2001, including an influx of technology, educational opportunities for young women and access to health care.
“Today, 80 percent of Afghan women now have access to a cell phone,” Kerry said. “They are connected to their friends and families, but, most importantly, they are connected to the world and to their futures.”
However, Kerry submitted that, moving forward, the future of security in Afghanistan would be largely dependent on the opportunities afforded to its women.
“We all know that creating opportunities for women isn’t just the right thing to do – it’s a strategic necessity. Societies where women are safe, these societies are more prosperous and more stable – not occasionally, but always,” Kerry said.
Following Kerry’s remarks, Anita Haidary, a senior at Mount Holyoke and co-founder of Young Women for Change, a Kabul-based organization for female empowerment, took the stage with several accomplished Afghan women, including activists Palwasha Hassan and Nilofar Sakhi, Opus Prize winner Sakena Yacoobi and Shabana Basij-Rasikh, the current managing director of the School of Leadership, Afghanistan.
The symposium continued with a roundtable moderated by Melanne Verveer (FLL ’66, GRD ’69), executive director of the GUIWPS and former Clinton aid, with Bush and Clinton.
Both Bush and Clinton emphasized the critical nature U.S. support for Afghanistan will play after all U.S. troops are removed in 2014.
“Once our troops leave, the eyes of the U.S. will move away, and we can’t let that happen,” Bush said.
During the roundtable, Verveer posed questions submitted by Afghan students at the University of Kabul, who were able to participate in the symposium via videoconference.
Clinton responded to a student’s question regarding raising awareness of the needs of Afghan women in the absence of security by stressing the importance of the bilateral agreement the United States looks to sign with Afghanistan in coming weeks.
“We won’t know what we can do or how we can respond until we get a response [from Karzai],” Clinton said.
In the second half of the symposium, USAID administrator Rajiv Shah, Minister of Foreign Affairs for Norway BÃ? ¸rge Brende, and NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for Women, Peace, and Security Mari SkÃ? ¥re offered remarks on the work their respective organizations and countries are doing to advance opportunities for women in Afghanistan.
Brende assured the audience that his country’s continued support for Afghanistan would not be fazed by troop withdrawal in 2014.
“The women of Afghanistan have glimpsed the chance of a better future,” Brende said.
“You can count on Norway’s continued support of your important work. We will be there next year, but also in 2018.”
In closing the discussion, Clinton urged Georgetown students and those in Kabul to take initiative in forging cross-cultural bonds.
“I would love to have Georgetown students talk with one another about what you can do to support [Afghan students],” Clinton said. “The more we can link up our university communities – those make a tremendous difference in validating the work that is being done.”