The U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council hosted a reception Monday night to facilitate the ongoing discussion and creation of student initiatives focusing on the women of Afghanistan. Over 50 students, faculty, graduate students and community members attended the event in the Philodemic Room aimed to expose the greater community to networking opportunities related to their interests in Afghanistan.

The U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council is a public-private partnership established to utilize public and private sector resources to empower Afghan women. University President John J. DeGioia was appointed co-chair in 2009 when the council moved to Georgetown University.

Organized by Phyllis Magrab, the director of the Center for Child and Human Development and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization chair, who leads the consortium of Georgetown’s program of U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council, Kelly Krohn (SFS ’13) and the Lecture Fund, the event focused on networking and pursuing initiatives with the members of the Georgetown community invested in the future of Afghanistan.

Krohn said, “Our goal is to get all components of Georgetown interested in [Afghanistan] . we hope to start a formalized student group here at Georgetown.”

Afghan student Rafi Khetab (SFS ’12) is working with Krohn to bring their vision of a student organization devoted to Afghanistan to life. After detailing the dangerous interaction with the Taliban that he endured on his trip to obtain a student visa to study here, Khetab stressed to the audience the significance of education to the Afghan people.

“Afghanistan unfortunately is suffering greatly from a lack of educational opportunities . Anything we can do to help them improve their education will make a great difference in their lives, and the future of the country depends on it,” he said.

Magrab said her goal for the evening was to form a network of students motivated to innovate change in Afghanistan, as part of a push for increased enthusiasm among students in addressing the many issues facing the Afghan people today.

Ambassador Steve Steiner, senior adviser in the Department of State’s Office of Global Women’s Issues, said of the United States’ view, “We are looking to empower women all over the world, and Afghanistan is a huge priority. We want to get it right there, and to get it right we want to help women help themselves.”

The council’s executive director, Eva Weigold Schultz, said that the council would love to bring the community into the council as new members, as “there is such a universe of opportunities to engage in – from mentoring to research to anything you would like to offer.”

Several faculty members attended the event, including Associate Professor of Communication, Culture and Technology Master’s Program J. P. Singh and Carol Lancaster, interim dean and professor of politics for the School of Foreign Service.

Some of the students and graduate students in attendance were already nonprofit start-ups. David Lee (NHS ’11) launched the initiative Stinky Peace through his nonprofit Sanitation NOW, New Opportunities for Women, which creates jobs and development opportunities for women and children with operations in Afghanistan, India, Bangladesh and Kenya. He said, “I think this was great how we brought in so many faculty and students today . This was a very successful event.”

Heidi Schaler, the executive director of Friends of the American University of Afghanistan, spoke of the 4-year-old American University of Afghanistan’s dire need of basic supplies, such as pens and uniforms for its sports teams. Reiterating the importance of such a high percentage of women attending their school, a number over 20 percent, Schaler said she would love to work with anyone at Georgetown and suggested several fundraising events, such as a book drive and cover charges at networking events like Thursday’s event.

Concerned community member Mati Arsala said he was very impressed by the amount of interest in the problems of Afghanistan here at Georgetown. Speaking as an Afghan-American and a Maryland resident, he said, “I have seen a lot – women are treated over there as second and even third class citizens. We can do better than that.”

Beth Goldberg (SFS ’12), a student intrigued by the precarious situations in countries like Somalia and Afghanistan, said, “I thought it was a good culmination of minds and good networking opportunities.”

Students who are interested in getting involved were welcomed to contact Magrab, Krohn or Khetab.