Thursday 11 March; 9:30 am - 12 noon
Royal Geographical Society, 1 Kensington Gore

(Entrance on Exhibition Road; Nearest tube: South Kensington, High Street Kensington)

Guest Speaker: Madame Khorshied Samad,
Journalist, Activist and Wife of the Ambassador of Afghanistan to France

AFGHAN WOMEN TODAY: ACHIEVEMENTS AND CHALLENGES AHEAD

From 2006 - 2009, Mme Khorshied Samad collaborated on a photojournalism exhibition on Afghan women journalists entitled Voices on the Rise: Afghan Women Making the News (www.voicesontherise.org). The exhibition has been shown internationally and Mme Samad will soon launch this exhibition in Paris in celebration of International Women’s Day, which is observed annually in many countries on 8 March.

An Afghan-American, Mme Samad has a Bachelor of Arts degree in World Arts and Cultures from UCLA, and a Master of Arts degree in Communication from the University of Ottawa. She is married to HE Omar Samad, the Ambassador of Afghanistan to France. They have two young sons, both born in Ottawa while they represented their country there for 5 years before being assigned to Paris. Prior to living in Ottawa, she worked for ABC News in New York and Kabul, and later as the TV correspondent and Kabul Bureau Chief for Fox News Channel in Afghanistan for nearly 3 years. While in Kabul, she became involved with various projects helping to support Afghan women with sustainable income and literacy training. She will showcase silk shawls hand-woven by Afghan women as a means of supporting their families.

Mme Samad is the author of Afghan Women, Media and Emerging Democracy: Social Evolution in Post-Taliban Afghanistan, published in 2009. She continues to raise funds for cultural and educational projects in her country through her Artists for Afghanistan Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation founded in 2000 (www.artists-for-afghanistan.org).

This is a rare opportunity for the multi-national members of KCWC to hear first-hand how women are faring in Afghanistan, a country which has withstood 30 years of war. Despite this, you might find it surprising that, at present, 25% of the members of the Afghan Parliament are women!

To celebrate International Women’s Day, KCWC members are invited to attend this special meeting in their lovely outfits coordinated with the colours of their flag or to bring a small flag of their country. What better way to show our solidarity in celebrating women’s achievements throughout the world! A prize will be won by the member with the best outfit!!!

GENERAL MEETING SCHEDULE
9:30 am - 10:30 am Coffee and Activity Sign-ups
10:30 am - 12 noon Announcements and Best Outfit Prize followed by Guest Speaker
12:30 pm - 3 pm KCWC Annual High Tea at Grosvenor House Hotel (See below for more information; book now to avoid disappointment)

SAVE THE DATE: Our perception of Queen Victoria, crowned at 18 and the longest-reigning British monarch, has always been that she was dour and reclusive. Young author and TV historian Kate Williams shatters this image when she speaks on Thursday 8 April on Young Victoria: Royal Teenage Rebel at the Royal Geographical Society. Kate’s book Becoming Queen was used as reference in the making of the recent film Young Victoria, starring Emily Blunt in the title role.

CHANGE OF DATE: Our much-awaited Annual Charity Fashion Show and Market will now be held on Wednesday 5 May (instead of 6 May, as previously announced) due to unforeseeable circumstances. Time and venue are the same. See page 6 and the inside back cover for details.