VIRTUAL: Reflections on Events in Afghanistan

Watch the recording here

The Taliban are once again in control of Kabul and most of the rest of Afghanistan.  Hopes for even a slightly more flexible attitude are receding every day: the new chancellor of Kabul University has asked women not to attend the university or go to work until certain conditions, prescribed by the Taliban, have been met.  How did Afghanistan arrive at this juncture?  European powers and latterly the United States have intervened in Afghan politics for two centuries, but almost every war in Afghanistan seems to end badly for foreigners.  The return of the Taliban to Kabul is a major defeat for the USA and other powers.  The lessons of history are not forgotten but few of those responsible for the carnage appear to have learned from history.  How do we understand the events that have led to the Taliban’s recapture of Kabul?  Can peace return to Afghanistan, and if so, how?  How will women fare under the new regime?  The experts on our panel discuss these and other pressing questions about the past, present, and future of Afghanistan.

The panel discussion will be moderated by Professor Phiroze Vasunia.

Speakers include: Vijay Prashad (Tricontinental Institute for Social Research), Zarlasht Halaimzai (Refugee Trauma Initiative), Jonathan Goodhand, Professor in Conflict and Development Studies, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), London, and Heela Najibullah (IFRC Regional Office of Europe).

In case you missed the event, you can watch the recording here:

MediaCentral Widget Placeholderhttps://mediacentral.ucl.ac.uk/Player/fHhg28j8

Image: US Army photograph of schoolchildren in Kabul, 2008 (Public domain via Wikimedia Commons).

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