One Voice for Peace and Justice

Nearly five years after the Taliban returned to power, what does real support for women and girls in Afghanistan look like, in action and not only in words?

In the first episode of One Voice for Peace and Justice, journalist Alisina Ayobi speaks with Mariam Safi, founding director of the Organization for Policy Research and Development Studies (DROPS), a researcher, policy expert and peace advocate who has briefed the UN Security Council.

In this episode

• Living with the fall of the republic on 15 August 2021, and carrying that weight from exile
• Why women inside Afghanistan describe their situation as "gender apartheid", and what DROPS surveys of women across 34 provinces found
• Has the Women, Peace and Security agenda failed Afghanistan, and why she says it cannot work without a democratic state
• The UN-led Doha process: why DROPS boycotted Doha 3, and why she says the process opened Pandora's box
• Why, in her view, interests are outweighing values in the international community's engagement with the Taliban
• Resistance inside Afghanistan: secret schools, book clubs, midwifery programs, and the vloggers invited by the Taliban
• Civil society inside and outside the country, exile fatigue and the impact of aid cuts
• A message of hope, drawn from Rumi: take a step, and the path will appear

Chapters
00:00 Introduction
05:05 Meet Mariam Safi
10:00 Carrying the weight of 15 August
12:50 Is "gender apartheid" the right term?
15:05 Has the Women, Peace and Security agenda failed?
26:15 The Doha process: boycotts and the price of exclusion
42:10 "Pandora's box" and why interests outweigh values
45:00 Resistance inside Afghanistan
50:00 Inside and outside: is civil society coordinated?
52:15 Exile, fatigue and aid cuts
57:30 A message of hope
1:01:00 Closing reflections

Host: Alisina Ayobi
Guest: Mariam Safi
Produced by Window for Hope – United for Change in cooperation with RAH Production.
Website: https://windowforhope.net/