On today’s episode, Asha Metcalfe and Rosie Hillary speak to Sveto Muhammad Ishoq, a women’s rights advocate, TEDx Speaker, and social enterprise founder who works to empower Afghan women economically and amplify their voices on the global stage. We discuss how media representations of Afghan women distort the reality of their experience, and unpack the importance of Sveto’s own project Chadari, which aims to reframe the hijab narrative. Sveto emphasises the importance of speaking and listening to Afghan women to reframe biased narratives.
We explore the connection between peace and education, and discuss the importance of Afghan women-led peacekeeping from the diaspora. We consider the strength and agency of Afghan women both in Afghanistan, and among the diaspora despite Taliban rule. We conclude by discussing recommendations for the international community to ensure support for women’s rights in Afghanistan is led by grassroots organisations and centres Afghan women themselves.
Find Sveto’s work listed below:
Chadari Project https://www.instagram.com/chadariproject/?hl=en
Building Peace from Afar: Women-Led Peacekeeping from the Diaspora:
https://digital.sandiego.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1116&context=ipj-research
Sveto’s TEDxLSE Talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/sveto_muhammad_ishoq_the_untold_truth_about_afghan_women
Organisations mentioned in the episode:
Aseel app: https://aseelapp.com/?srsltid=AfmBOoph9RqPXg8NyjUTJUVAP_DbH4qvl9L8-vdjvHvroPTXx9W8cdWi
Learn afghanistan: https://learnafghan.org/
Muska app: https://www.muska-app.com/