Displaying Archive for the ‘events’ Category

Today is International Women’s Day: Time to Take Stock Again

Connie K. Duckworth / March 8th, 2011 / posted in afghan women, events, social change / 3 comments

All that is valuable in human society depends upon the opportunity for development accorded the individual.

- Albert Einstein

As I began to reflect over the weekend about the meaning of today’s global holiday, celebrating the achievements, rights and worth of women, my thoughts took a flight of fancy to a world (if not run by women) where women had an equal say in all things, large and small. Then, I opened the newspaper and was jerked back to reality.

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Honoring Our Service Men and Women on Veterans Day

admin / November 11th, 2010 / posted in events / no comments

Founder & CEO Connie K. Duckworth and the rest of the ARZU STUDIO HOPE team would like to sincerely thank all of the men and women who have served in our country’s military, past and present. We would especially like to thank the United States Marine Corps for traveling with Connie during her recent trip [...]

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Update from State

Connie K. Duckworth / October 28th, 2010 / posted in afghan women, events, social change, social entrepreneur / no comments

Last Friday afternoon, Melanne Verveer, Ambassador for Global Women’s Issues, convened a meeting of the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council in Washington, DC. I am honored to have been a member of this bi-partisan delegation since its inception in 2002. This is a group that is keenly interested in understanding the Administration’s position on protecting the hard-won rights of women in Afghanistan. Despite her hectic schedule due to the presence of the Pakistani diplomatic delegation in the building, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, USAWC’s Honorary Chairperson, joined the meeting to address our shared concerns head-on.

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Women’s Rights and Talib, The Night Visitor

Connie K. Duckworth / October 19th, 2010 / posted in afghan people, afghan women, events, social change, social responsibility / no comments

The reconciliation process with the Taliban got underway in earnest last week when senior Taliban leaders were secretly allowed into Kabul to meet with President Karzai and his advisors. These are the kind of guys who, if not for the white flag extended to them, might otherwise have a drone on their tails.

There have been two immutable conditions for such talks: 1) agreement by the Taliban to recognize Afghanistan as a democracy, and 2) women’s rights. But this week, we’re starting to see language shift around the first point–that the Afghan Constitution, hammered out and proudly ratified by the Grand Loya Jirga in December of 2003, already has proper mechanisms in place to sufficiently ensure democratic principles. What is glaring is the silence on women’s rights.

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Empowering Women, Empowering Their Children

admin / October 7th, 2010 / posted in afghan women, afghanistan families, economic sustainability, events, opportunity, social responsibility / no comments

With Child Health Day on Monday and U.S. National Children’s Day coming up this Sunday, October is a month dedicated to improving the lives of children in our global community.

At ARZU STUDIO HOPE, our mission is to empower women weavers in Afghanistan; and by doing so, we also strive to help their families. As the saying goes, “Educate a woman and you educate a family.” ARZU believes in this statement, with education being a main priority.

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September 21 – World Peace Day

Connie K. Duckworth / September 20th, 2010 / posted in afghan people, afghan women, events, social responsibility / no comments

Tomorrow is recognized as an international day of peace. More specifically, it is a day dedicated to the “absence of war” and will hopefully be marked by a temporary ceasefire in combat zones around the world. At the United Nations, the “Peace Bell,” inscribed with “Long live absolute world peace,” will be rung as a reminder of the “human cost of war.”

No place seems to be more deserving of peace than Afghanistan. No people understand more completely the terrible cost of war. To commemorate this day, I’d like to share the stories of three of ARZU STUDIO HOPE weavers and what peace means to them.

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Don’t Count Out the Afghan Voters Yet

Connie K. Duckworth / September 13th, 2010 / posted in afghan people, events, social change, social responsibility / no comments

With the Afghan Parliamentary elections less than a week away on 9/18, like clockwork, the naysayers are out in force talking them down. At the top of the list is the Taliban with its particular election messaging. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid is quoted as saying:

“We urge people not to participate in the election. Everything and everyone affiliated with the election is our target — candidates, security forces, campaigners, election workers, voters are all our targets.”

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Crying Fire in a Crowded Theater

Connie K. Duckworth / September 10th, 2010 / posted in events / 1 comment

This past week felt like the world was living out the 1983 movie War Games where Matthew Broderick as a hacker unknowingly starts playing Global Thermonuclear War as the Soviet Union. While the military tries to defuse the situation, the computer just keeps playing to win the game, pushing them into raising the DEFCON level that would set off World War III.

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Our Shared Experience

Connie K. Duckworth / August 30th, 2010 / posted in events, people / no comments

We are now halfway through Ramadan, which began this year on August 11 and ends on September 10 with the festival of Eid ul-Fitr. If you are like me and grew up as a non-Muslim American with virtually no exposure to Islam, chances are you may be unfamiliar with this important religious faith tradition.

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From the Past to the Future: Equality for Women

admin / August 26th, 2010 / posted in afghan women, events, social responsibility / no comments

From the ARZU STUDIO HOPE staff…

Today is Women’s Equality Day – commemorating the passing of the 19th Amendment in the United States as well as the continued efforts to bring full equality for women worldwide.

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