TIEC is pleased to announce a new campus speaker series, Global Voices on Campus, launching this fall for our member institutions. For our first lecture series, TIEC is proud to feature Roshan Mashal, globally recognized advocate for women's rights from Afghanistan.
As part of TIEC’s mission to bring global perspectives to Texas universities and colleges, we offer this new series as a complimentary member benefit to any TIEC member campus in the Dallas-Forth Worth and Arlington areas.
FEATURED SPEAKER: ROSHAN MASHAL, WOMEN’S RIGHTS ADVOCATE AND JOURNALIST
Roshan Mashal is a prominent advocate of women’s rights and journalist from Afghanistan. She played a leading role in the Afghan Women’s Network and served in many other Afghan women’s organizations for over a decade, working to advance women’s political participation and access to education. Mashal’s advocacy has been internationally recognized, most recently by Refugees International’s Advocacy Awards, which she received alongside Secretary Hillary Clinton in 2022.
Mashal and her family evacuated Afghanistan after the fall of Kabul in 2021. Today, she is a visiting scholar and fellow at The University of Texas at Arlington School of Social Work, where she advances research and supports student learning in the women and gender studies program.
Through TIEC’s Global Voices on Campus Speaker Series, Mashal will engage students and faculty through talks and classroom discussions on critical global issues. Her powerful advocacy and insights should inspire students to deepen their understanding of global challenges and act.
Bring TIEC’S First Speaker Series to Your Campus
To book TIEC’s new speaker series for your campus, please fill out the interest form here. A list of lecture topics is shown below.
Note: For TIEC members outside the DFW area who are interested in the Global Voices on Campus speaker series this fall, and are able to cover basic travel arrangements, please contact TIEC directly.
TIEC GLOBAL VOICES ON CAMPUS: FALL 2024 LECTURE SERIES TOPICS
Choose from one of the lecture topics below or work directly with TIEC to tailor a topic for your campus.
Topic 1: Transforming Systems: Social Justice, Gender Equality, and the Sustainable Future
The presentation "Transforming Systems: Social Justice, Gender Equality, and the Sustainable Future" aims to address systemic barriers to equality by advocating for reforms in legal, economic, and social structures. Using real-world examples like Afghanistan as a case study, Mashal will examine how social justice is violated through human rights abuses.
She highlights the interconnectedness of social justice, gender equality, and sustainable development, emphasizing that long-term global progress cannot be achieved without addressing the inequities faced by marginalized groups, particularly women.
Topic 2: Global Voices, Local Realities: Women’s Rights, UN Sustainable Development Goal 5, and the Afghanistan Crisis
The presentation “Global Voices, Local Realities: Women’s Rights, SDG 5, and the Afghanistan Crisis" underscores the stark contrast between global advocacy for women’s rights and the harsh local realities faced by women in Afghanistan, particularly in light of the current crisis. This presentation explores the disconnect between international commitments, such as UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 — which aims to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls — and the lived experiences of Afghan women, who are facing systemic repression, exclusion from education, work, and public life, along with severe human rights violations under the Taliban regime. By examining this disconnect, the presentation calls for stronger global action, increased solidarity, and urgent international efforts to address gender-based inequalities in conflict zones, ensuring that SDG 5 aligns with the pressing needs of women in Afghanistan and other regions facing similar crises.
Topic 3: Resilient Voices: The Strength and Struggles of Refugee Women
"Resilient Voices: The Strength and Struggles of Refugee Women" sheds light on the unique challenges faced by refugee women, who often experience both displacement and gender-specific struggles like violence, discrimination, and exclusion. It aims to raise awareness of their marginalized voices, highlight their resilience, and emphasize their significant contributions to their communities. By connecting these issues to global development goals such as SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being, SDG 5: Gender Equality and SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the presentation seeks to inspire advocacy and action, urging stakeholders to design policies that better serve refugee women and celebrate their strength in rebuilding their lives.
