Afghan women: priority or bargaining chip?

Some argue women’s rights are at risk as the US and Afghan governments negotiate with the Taliban.

Afghan women listen during an animal husbandry class on September 8, 2011 in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

In Afghanistan, are women's rights a priority or just another political bargaining chip? As Afghan officials seek reconciliation with the Taliban and social conservatives, some analysts argue that any gains the government has made in improving women’s rights are in danger of disappearing. With U.S. plans to withdraw all its troops by 2014, others add that the issue has faded from the President Obama’s top list of priorities for the country.

In this episode of The Stream, we talk to Mariam Atash Nawabi of the US-Afghan Women’s Council; Noorjahan Akbar, co-founder of Young Women for Change; and Fariba Nawa, journalist and author of “Opium Nation.”

What do you think? Has the Afghan government made enough progress in improving women’s rights? Send us your thoughts and comments on Facebook or Twitter using hashtag #AJStream.

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