Afghans Empowered

Afghans Empowered chats again with the talented Meral  Alizada: author of the upcoming poetry book, Daughter of Rumi. In this two-part episode, we talk all things identity, mental health, spirituality, and inner connection. In Part Two, we take a deep dive into our upbringings, exploring the meanings of love, family, sacrifice, protection, and more. We find comfort in our commonalities, and share our experiences with growing up and sorting through the challenges faced by children of immigrants. We circle back around to our discussions about Meral's upcoming book, bringing up major themes and reflecting on she portrays the journey of self discovery and spiritual oneness.  With respect to individual perceptions of faith, we encourage our listeners to welcome a view on exploring life’s challenges to one’s inner self and encourage an open mind. Meral’s book Daughter of Rumi will be available for purchase in November 2020. For more information, visit www.meralalizada.com

Afghans Empowered chats with Jamil Sherzad, founder and pioneer of Afghanistan’s first parkour team. We explore the history of Jamil’s discovery for his love of parkour, and from there, discuss the visions Jamil has for the growth of the sport. As Jamil explains, his journey has met many challenges: environmental, social, and financial challenges that he views as part of the obstacles in life that parkour prepares one for. For him, parkour is not only a sport; it’s an art, and a mirror of real life. He sets out to expand the accessibility of the sport to a diverse audience, and now has a team of over 50 parkour athletes. Training on the principles of discipline, inclusion, tolerance, and diversity, Jamil’s team learns skills that are applicable beyond the training course. With the recent national and international recognitions for the team, Jamil hopes to continue expanding awareness and acceptance of the sport, while seeking to open a permanent gym that will allow for athletes, students, adults, and children, to practice parkour. We’re committed to helping out Jamil through a connection of resources that will provide funding to support the team in the country. We look forward to working with Kabul Boys Parkour as they continue to grow!

Afghans Empowered chats with Jamil Sherzad, founder and pioneer of Afghanistan’s first parkour team. We explore the history of Jamil’s discovery for his love of parkour, and from there, discuss the visions Jamil has for the growth of the sport. As Jamil explains, his journey has met many challenges: environmental, social, and financial challenges that he views as part of the obstacles in life that parkour prepares one for. For him, parkour is not only a sport; it’s an art, and a mirror of real life. He sets out to expand the accessibility of the sport to a diverse audience, and now has a team of over 50 parkour athletes. Training on the principles of discipline, inclusion, tolerance, and diversity, Jamil’s team learns skills that are applicable beyond the training course. With the recent national and international recognitions for the team, Jamil hopes to continue expanding awareness and acceptance of the sport, while seeking to open a permanent gym that will allow for athletes, students, adults, and children, to practice parkour. We’re committed to helping out Jamil through a connection of resources that will provide funding to support the team in the country. We look forward to working with Kabul Boys Parkour as they continue to grow!

Afghans Empowered chats with Meena Nezami, president and founder of the Girl Up Afghanistan chapter. After her experiences with Girl Up India, Meena set out to appeal to the international Girl Up Campaign to support the opening of a chapter in Afghanistan. From there, she embarked on a mission to promoting the ideals and visions of Girl Up. This organization provides young women and girls with life-long skills in organizing, fundraising, campaigning,  advocacy, education, and more. Though Covid-19 has impacted much of the physical operations for the chapter, Girl Up continues to promote gender equality, and women’s rights through its presence on social media, and usage of digital tools. Girl Up invites students from all grade levels to join the club, and provides resources for the social and political participation for young women in society. As we discuss the current Afghan-Taliban peace process, we analyze the potential impacts that these discussions may have on the future of women in the country. Meena emphasizes the progress that’s been made in the recent decade, and reassures the work thats been done by the Afghan government to account for women’s participation and consideration in the negotiations. We transition over to the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, an internationally recognized event that ended on Human Rights Day, December 10th. For more information on the campaign, and to read more about Girl Up, visit GirlUp.org!

Afghans Empowered chats with Meena Nezami, president and founder of the Girl Up Afghanistan chapter. After her experiences with Girl Up India, Meena set out to appeal to the international Girl Up Campaign to support the opening of a chapter in Afghanistan. From there, she embarked on a mission to promoting the ideals and visions of Girl Up. This organization provides young women and girls with life-long skills in organizing, fundraising, campaigning,  advocacy, education, and more. Though Covid-19 has impacted much of the physical operations for the chapter, Girl Up continues to promote gender equality, and women’s rights through its presence on social media, and usage of digital tools. Girl Up invites students from all grade levels to join the club, and provides resources for the social and political participation for young women in society. As we discuss the current Afghan-Taliban peace process, we analyze the potential impacts that these discussions may have on the future of women in the country. Meena emphasizes the progress that’s been made in the recent decade, and reassures the work thats been done by the Afghan government to account for women’s participation and consideration in the negotiations. We transition over to the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, an internationally recognized event that ended on Human Rights Day, December 10th. For more information on the campaign, and to read more about Girl Up, visit GirlUp.org!

According to various outlets and election officials, Joe Biden will be the next President of the United States. Afghans Empowered reflects upon this news and shares what we believe will be some of the most important political, economic, and social developments in the next administration. We talk about the country’s pandemic response, immigration reform, civil rights, and healthcare. The conversation itself is definitely incomplete. There’s so much going on in the US that we could be speaking on it for hours on end. But we hope that a brief reflection on atleast some of the issues will remind our followers to keep pushing to make their votes count. Election campaigns and promises have to turn into real results. We expect for all our votes to count in a meaningful manner because we envision a future in this country that includes civil liberties, economic prosperity and opportunity, and social welfare. We know the results wont happen over night but with such a historical event unfolding in the 2020 election results, Afghans Empowered urges followers to continue using their voices for longterm social change. Join the conversation and share what you think about the recent US elections. 

According to various outlets and election officials, Joe Biden will be the next President of the United States. Afghans Empowered reflects upon this news and shares what we believe will be some of the most important political, economic, and social developments in the next administration. We talk about the country’s pandemic response, immigration reform, civil rights, and healthcare. The conversation itself is definitely incomplete. There’s so much going on in the US that we could be speaking on it for hours on end. But we hope that a brief reflection on atleast some of the issues will remind our followers to keep pushing to make their votes count. Election campaigns and promises have to turn into real results. We expect for all our votes to count in a meaningful manner because we envision a future in this country that includes civil liberties, economic prosperity and opportunity, and social welfare. We know the results wont happen over night but with such a historical event unfolding in the 2020 election results, Afghans Empowered urges followers to continue using their voices for longterm social change. Join the conversation and share what you think about the recent US elections. 

Afghans Empowered chats with the talented Meral  Alizada: author of the upcoming poetry book, Daughter of Rumi. In this two-part episode, we talk all things identity, mental health, spirituality, and inner connection. We take a journey through the book, listening to a recitation of several beautiful poems. Meral guides the audience through what she believes is the natural process of finding spirituality in one self. The journey of self discovery, channeled through an ascension of oneness with a higher power, provides a holistic representation of the challenges in individual spirituality felt by many Afghans in the diaspora. With respect to individual perceptions of faith, we encourage our listeners to welcome a view on exploring life’s challenges to one’s inner self and encourage an open mind. Meral’s book Daughter of Rumi will be available for purchase in November 2020. For more information, visit www.meralalizada.com

Afghans Empowered sits down with local licensed therapist, Sara Stanizai, owner and practitioner of Prospect Therapy. We take a tour through her many services, and her specialization in therapy for queer, transgender, and first-generation clients. We talk about the intersectionality between  gender, sexuality, and ethnicity, and the need to acknowledge cultural differences in order to be sensitive to the individual experience of self-identity, and mental health issues. Sara shares with our listeners her method for facilitating a conversation and session about self validation and acceptance, for individuals struggling to accept their true selves. As first generation Afghan Americans, we bond over the buffer life we live, oscillating between two different cultures and learning to accept and love a unique identity that makes up the Afghan-American experience. Sara is offering an Afghan American Women’s group where she will be tackling on “imposter syndrome”, a topic we refer back to several times throughout our conversation. For more information on Prospect Therapy, visit ProspectTherapy.com

Afghans Empowered sits down with local licensed therapist, Sara Stanizai, owner and practitioner of Prospect Therapy. We take a tour through her many services, and her specialization in therapy for queer, transgender, and first-generation clients. We talk about the intersectionality between  gender, sexuality, and ethnicity, and the need to acknowledge cultural differences in order to be sensitive to the individual experience of self-identity, and mental health issues. Sara shares with our listeners her method for facilitating a conversation and session about self validation and acceptance, for individuals struggling to accept their true selves. As first generation Afghan Americans, we bond over the buffer life we live, oscillating between two different cultures and learning to accept and love a unique identity that makes up the Afghan-American experience. Sara is offering an Afghan American Women’s group where she will be tackling on “imposter syndrome”, a topic we refer back to several times throughout our conversation. For more information on Prospect Therapy, visit ProspectTherapy.com