St. Catherine University Hosts Community Event with Local Afghans
St. Catherine University held the third installment of its Women of Color Leadership Series last month, Courageous Leadership: Our Efforts to Educate Women & Girls in Afghanistan, featuring speakers Pashtana Zlamia Khan Durrani and Roya Mahboob. They shared their inspiring stories from their home country. Our team of Dari and Pashto specialists provided simultaneous interpreting for the live event at The O’Shaughnessy. The University hosted 100 Afghan refugees as honored guests and served iftar, a meal held every day during Ramadan after evening prayer and sunset.
Pashtana and Roya are courageous social entrepreneurs and refugees who continue to bring hope and education to Afghan women and girls. Pashtana, Founder of LEARN Afghanistan and Roya, Founder & CEO of Digital Citizen Fund discussed their leadership strategies and their work creating organizations that directly address literacy for women in Afghanistan and beyond. Attendees learned about actions they can take within their own communities and how they can contribute to improved literacy worldwide.
In 2012, Pashtana was featured in the #100Timestalks and was among the BBC 100 Most Influential Women list in 2021. In 2013, Roya was recognized for her work in TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World and is a member of the 2014 Tribeca Disruptive Innovation Awards, Civic Innovators, and Young Leader of World Economic Form.
