Dr. Massouda Jalal Speaks
Dr. Massouda Jalal is a featured speaker at CSUMB in September. In June of 2002, Dr. Jalal ran for President of Afghanistan. Though many perceived her candidacy as merely symbolic, she finished second in the election, behind incumbent President Hamid Karzai and ahead of two male opponents. One year prior to the election, Afghan women had no right to work or study; legally, they were completely private citizens.
"I think it has changed the mentality of people, for women not to be weak, or like second-class citizens," Dr. Jalal says about her run for president. She is slated to run again in December 2003.
Dr. Robina Bhatti, CSUMB's Director of the Global Studies Institute, met Dr. Jalal last summer in Kabul and invited Dr. Jalal to speak at CSUMB.
In September, Dr. Jalal relates to the CSUMB audience her experiences with the Loya Jirga, Afghanistan's Grand Council. She describes the past and present role of women in Afghanistan, as well as her platform for the reconstruction of the country. Because of Dr. Jalal's serious challenge to Karzai at the June Grand Council, she was offered the position of Vice President in the Afghan government. Jalal turned down the appointment, opting to continue her grassroots work in the field of health and healing.
Dr. Jalal is a pediatrician who has taught at the Kabul University School of Medicine. She was arrested under the Taliban regime, but courageously continued her work despite threats on her life. Jalal now works for the World Food Program in Kabul. In addition to visiting CSUMB, she spent September in Washington, D.C. where she conducted leadership training sponsored by the World Food Program, an organization responsible for gender issues and health throughout Afghanistan.
100 Campus Center
