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Summary
Women in Afghanistan have achieved significant progress in terms of working in public life since the international intervention in 2001. Despite of insecurity, patriarchal attitudes and discriminatory mindsets they have effective presence in parliament, media, government and civil society to contribute in democratization and stability of the country.
Portraying the story of their public life seems important because of certain interrelated reasons: to motivate other women to enter into public life, to promote women’s social acceptance and to strengthen their role in the traditional society of Afghanistan. In order to address these issues, Rahe Madaneyat Weekly Magazine and Heinrich Boell Stiftung (hbs) decided to highlight the individual and social role of Afghan women and to enhance awareness on the fact that there are successful women in Afghanistan who contribute towards democratization of the country and towards peace and stability through this series of interviews of “Successful Women”.
This publication combines all 31 interviews portraits published in Rahe Madaneyat Magazine during 2012 and 2013 as well as 4 interview portraits were published before the start of the project. The portraits include stories of women artists, film makers, and business women, women in the police, young leaders, and women members of the parliament and cabinet ministers, women rights activists and poets. They are friendly dialogues reflecting the visions and practices of Afghan women from a very personal level to socio-political affairs and they discuss their administration and working environment. The women interviewed describe how they interact with their husbands and govern their family. They describe how women fight against discrimination and injustice and how they support democracy and its values throughout their work. The interviewees present how women could play an effective role to safeguard the achievements made over the last 12 years also in the future.