The Responsibility to Represent: An Afghan Woman MP on Healing, Exile, and the Future of Democracy

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In this episode of Let’s Talk Democracy, host Tina Johnson speaks with Farzana Elhem Kochai, former Member of Parliament in Afghanistan’s House of Representatives (Wolesi Jirga). Farzana reflects on her journey into politics as a young woman and women’s rights activist, the challenges of legislating within a deeply patriarchal and unequal system, and the pain of witnessing the systematic erosion of women’s rights from exile in Norway.

This conversation explores accountability, ethical governance, the responsibility of the international community, and the critical difference between voices inside Afghanistan and those speaking from the diaspora.

Organizations Supporting Afghan Women and Girls

Afghan Women’s Educational Center (AWEC)

https://www.awec.info

New Afghanistan Women Association (NAWA)

https://nawa.ngo

Empowerment Center for Women (ECW)

https://ecw.org.af

Organization for Afghan Women Capacity and Knowledge (OAWCK)

https://oawck.org.af

Afghan Women Coordination & Promotion Organization (AWCPO)

https://awcpo.org.af

Alliance for the Education of Women in Afghanistan (AEWA)