The Plight of International Aid: Fighting for Women’s Right to Education in Afghanistan

Since the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan in 2021, Afghan girls have been barred from secondary school and above, nullifying the gender equality progress that was made over the past two decades. This podcast begins with an interview with Elaine Unterhalter about the importance of women's education, the development of women’s education in Afghanistan under the international influence, and the symbolism of Afghan girls’ secret schools. Afterward, this podcast introduces international aid and what they have accomplished while trying to improve the existing gender inequalities in Afghan education, but then transitions into a conversation with Jo-Anne Dillabough, which exposes the limitations of international aid in a humanitarian context. Lastly, this podcast explores the causation of the Taliban’s misogynistic approach to women’s education and ends with a question reflecting on the difficulty of addressing this issue by looking at the unavailing effort of the international community.