Gender Apartheid: Afgahanistan & Iran

As we approach the second anniversary of the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan on August 15, 2023, we revisit a particularly moving panel discussion from the 2nd Annual Vital Voices Festival centered around gender apartheid in Afghanistan and Iran. Listen as Afghan Women’s Rights Activist METRA MEHRAN and Iranian Actress & Activist SEPIDEH MOAFI sit in conversation with ZAINAB SALBI, founder of Women for Women International, co-founder of Daughters for Earth, and a Vital Voices board member, to discuss the problems and proposed solutions to achieve gender equality in the Middle East.  Play through to the end to hear a special surprise unveiling of a protest piece created by the ArtLords, a collective of Afghan artists that was founded in Kabul in response to the injustices there. The artwork was created on a blank canvas during the Festival and completed just minutes before it was presented on stage during the panel. It now sits on display near the entrance to the Vital Voices Global Headquarters for Women's Leadership as a sign of solidarity for all the oppressed women and girls of Afghanistan, Iran and around the globe.