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Hazara Women Subjectivity and Digital Narratives

If you are in the Washington D.C. area, you should definitely consider attending this remarkable event: "Hazara Women of Afghanistan Share Digital Stories." What makes this event unique is that, for the first time, the Hazara women, members of the lower caste in Afghanistan, are able to share their stories. Hazara women are the untapped reservoir of talent, valor, resistance to oppression, resilience, and perseverance in the face of constant oppression. This is a good chance to discover who the Hazaras are, in particular, who the Hazara women are, and what role they played in the past 20 years of relatively democratic and peaceful situation that was created by the presence of the U.S. and its allies and how this fragile peace disbanded overnight. The aftereffect of this betrayal was catastrophic for women, particularly the Hazara women because they have been treated in worst oppressive manner than women of other ethnicities. There is a stark difference between being Hazara women and Pashtun/Afghan or Tajik women even when it comes to be living as a woman and girl under the Taliban brutal regime in Afghanistan. You have to differentiate between ethic groups because their social and political positions mark the social hierarchy in Afghanistan and ignoring this fact is a violence itself.

In Afghanistan, if you belong to the Hazaras ethnic group, you face the worst state of affairs, and you are entirely excluded from all spheres of social, economic, and political life. This is the current situation of the Hazara people under the Taliban de facto regime. 

This event is a chance to learn about the Hazara women's subjectivity and their social, political, and personal identities, something that has been overlooked and undervalued by the dominant ethnic groups in Afghanistan and even abroad. Events such as this provide platforms for the Hazara women to tell their stories, which are unique and different from the women of other ethnic groups, like Afghan/Pashtun and Tajiks, and others. For further details about the event click here and to go directly to the sign up event page, click here

Read this text in Farsi on my Farsi blog

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