The Georgetown U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council recently appointed first lady of Afghanistan Rula Ghani as its newest honorary co-chair, who will serve alongside former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former U.S. first lady Laura Bush.

The USAWC was founded in 2002 as part of the U.S. State Department as an initiative between former U.S. President George W. Bush and Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, but moved to Georgetown in 2008. It strives to develop the education, health, financial standing and leadership of Afghan women and children by seeking public and private resources and creating partnerships that will support them.

Executive Director of the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security and USAWC member Melanne Verveer said that Ghani would offer a new perspective to the council.

“It is terrific to have Mrs. Ghani on the council, as the council is enriched by Afghan participation,” Verveer wrote in an email to The Hoya. “In the past, Afghan officials have served on the council. Mrs. Ghani brings an important perspective on what kinds of support would be most useful, and she was actively engaged in our recent meeting that Mrs. Bush hosted in Texas.”

Likewise, University President John J. DeGioia said that Ghani would be essential in forming a more inclusive community for the GIWPS.

“Mrs. Ghani’s inspirational leadership [on behalf of women’s issues] reflects a deep conviction that a more inclusive society is a stronger one — a belief at the heart of the work of the GIWPS and the USAWC here at Georgetown,” DeGioia said on the university website.

USAWC Vice Chair and Director of the Medical Center Phyllis Magrab echoed Verveer’s enthusiasm about Ghani joining the council. In particular, Magrab believes that Ghani has a genuine concern for women living in rural Afghanistan.

“She is very concerned about the most marginalized populations of Afghanistan, particularly the women in rural areas. When many of these programs come to be, they happen in the big cities, but they never reach the small villages and the women that are struggling in those villages,” Magrab said. “She believes that we should be training women in the villages to be teachers and healthcare workers, that we should be developing community centers in the small villages. She is a wonderful role model for women in Afghanistan.”

Magrab agreed that Ghani brings equilibrium to the council, as the other two honorary chairs were both previously U.S. first ladies.

“Mrs. Bush and Mrs. Clinton are both former first ladies, so it provides a nice symmetry to have the same kind of visibility and recognition in Afghanistan that we have here in the United States,” Magrab said.

Ghani, who grew up in Lebanon, received two master Lebanonnice symlitical studies and journalism from the American University of Beirut and Columbia University, respectively. Her children were also born in the United States.

Other USAWC members include University President John J. DeGioia and U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues Catherine Russell. The Afghan co-chairs include Afghan Minister of Foreign Affairs Salahuddin Rabbani and Afghan Minister for Women Affairs Husn Banu Ghazanfar. The council’s other members are made up of government leaders, professors, members of the private sector and philanthropists.

Since its founding, the USAWC has embarked on various projects to ameliorate living conditions and increase opportunities for Afghan women. For instance, the council initiated The Rising Afghan Women Leaders Initiative on the School of Foreign Service’s campus in Doha, Qatar, which cultivated the personal and professional leadership skills of 22 Afghan women leaders and six Georgetown University students.

In addition, through other projects such as the Ayenda Foundation, The Grossman Burn Foundation and Afghan Women Leader’s Connect, the USAWC provides scholarships, employment, medical care and leadership training for Afghan women. These organizations have also set up day-care centers, taught computer skills, provided medical services, offered business and voter education training and supplied direct financial support.

As the council continues to tackle issues that Afghan women currently face, it seeks to find solutions to pressing issues such as literacy, education and health.

“Literacy is a very big issue for women, and girl’s education is a huge issue. Now, a large percentage of girls are in school, whereas in 2002, hardly any girls were in school. Once women are educated, you have the idea of women starting businesses and being entrepreneurial. At the time when the council was started, Afghanistan had next to the worst maternal survival rate and also very low child survival rate, with an age period of 0-5. Burns were also a serious problem because women burned themselves cooking,” Magrab said.

As the U.S. and Afghan members of the USAWC have built a strong collaborative relationship, they have been able to efficiently identify the urgent needs of Afghan women.

“The Afghan co-chairs have been very instrumental in helping us to determine what kinds of needs there are in Afghanistan. We work closely with the Afghan government to find out what kinds of needs there are that some of our members might be interested in building projects around,” Magrab said.

Correction: An earlier version of this article stated that her children were fathered by former Afghan president Hamid Karzai. They were in fact fathered by her husband, Ashraf Ghani.