Shahrzad Kofi & Asad Khosha

Early life and background

Shahrzad Kofi was born in Fayzabad city in Badakhshan. She says she is from Badakhshan but has lived in Kabul almost all her life, and her family moved to Kabul when she was about three years old. She says she is 23 years old. [1]

Kofi's mother was one of the few women who worked during the Taliban era. After the Taliban era was over, her mother moved to Kabul and started working with the UN. Kofi's father died when she was five years old. [1]

Education

Kofi attended a high school in Afghanistan where she learned Turkish. She received a scholarship to go to the United States and has studied there. [1]

Career of Shahrzad Kofi

At about age 16, Kofi began working with a non-profit organization. The organization was originally named differently and worked for women, children and the environment. After turning 18, Kofi became its director, and it was renamed. The organization works on peace building and economic opportunities for women. [1]

Kofi has also worked as an intern with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She says she and her colleagues were thinking of gathering youth from different Afghan provinces. The planned program would talk to youth about the peace process and their own definition of peace. Kofi says the plan could later include an exchange program to Pakistan. [1]

Views of Kofi on the Taliban and women

Kofi says women could not go to school or work under Taliban rule, and that they had more opportunities for work and politics after the Taliban era. She says women in Afghanistan are less privileged than women in other parts of the world. She says Taliban in her province have set rules that stop women from going out alone. She also says a woman can move alone in Kabul but not in provinces controlled by the Taliban. [1]

Kofi says one group of Taliban is now civil and accepts a government where women are involved. She says some people support the Taliban because it serves their interests. She says police in Badakhshan handed over their arms and left without fighting, out of fear of bloodshed. She says the Taliban are taking over many provinces. In her account, after the withdrawal the Taliban came to believe they could win through fighting because there was no international support. [1]

Kofi says she hopes Afghanistan does not return to how it was before 2001. She says the situation may potentially lead to civil war. Her best-case scenario is an interim government followed by a government that includes everyone, and her worst case is that Afghanistan goes back to where it was. She says she personally does not want more intervention from the US or other international communities in Afghanistan. [1]

Views of Kofi on society and the future

Kofi says the younger generation is more open-minded than older Afghans, and that ethnicity divides the older generation. She says a main reason young Afghans join the Taliban is that they have no jobs. She sees a bright future for Afghanistan through its youth, if given the chance. She says that without war, people would be keen to start businesses, join politics and become doctors. [1]

Kofi says Afghanistan could become self-sufficient if it developed its agriculture. She describes it as a very agricultural country, rich in mines and oil. She says Afghanistan is very diverse in geography, with mountains in the north and middle. She says the border area with Pakistan is warm and green, with crops such as rice. [1]

Kofi says internet access is becoming mainstream in Afghanistan but is still expensive. She says some of her friends in Afghanistan have no internet and use cafes to do research. She says Facebook is very popular in Afghanistan because mobile data packages are small. [1]

Kofi says Afghanistan has a brain drain, with talented people unable to put their ideas into practice. She says many talented Afghans leave the country to save themselves and their families. According to Kofi, Afghans who leave go to Pakistan, Canada, European countries and Australia. She says some Afghans sell their property and make hard decisions to leave for their children's future. [1]

Views of Khosha on the Taliban and the government

Khosha says it is a challenge for the Taliban to re-establish their regime. He says the Taliban have some support in villages and provinces. He describes the Taliban as village mullahs who lack an understanding of governance. He says the Taliban distance themselves from a large part of society and from the youth. [1]

Khosha says the Taliban left the negotiating table last time without any excuse. He says the Taliban demand complete control of Afghanistan and surrender. He says pressure on the Taliban could bring them to the negotiating table and lead to a settlement. He warns that if talks fail, refugees could flow into Pakistan and war could follow. [1]

Views of Khosha on Pakistan and the region

Khosha says the war in Afghanistan is partly a war of other powers. He says Afghanistan's neighbors and regional countries can play a vital role in its peace, and that Afghanistan cannot resolve its problems unless regional countries come together. He says Pakistan, Iran, China and Russia can each play a vital role. [1]

Khosha says the image of Afghanistan in most Pakistani media is flawed. He recalls a taxi driver, on the ride from Islamabad airport, asking whether Kabul has mosques. He says there is an opportunity to correct the wrong perceptions that people have about each other. [1]

Khosha calls it a fault that Pakistan has engaged with a specific group in Afghanistan. He says Pakistan should also engage civil society, think tanks, universities and media in Afghanistan. He says many Afghans do not share the views of successive Kabul governments on issues including the Durand issue. [1]

Khosha says India has used aid and development projects in Afghanistan as a tool to influence public opinion. He says Pakistan has less investment in Afghanistan, and that Afghanistan can benefit from CPEC and the Gwadar project. He says Afghanistan is landlocked and its economy is a war economy. He says there are many opportunities in trade and regional connectivity between Afghanistan and Pakistan. [1]

Khosha says Afghanistan has friendly relations with Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. He says its relations with Iran are not very friendly but are good to a large extent. He says the Afghan government has problems with governments in Pakistan. [1]

Personal life

Kofi does not have a brother and has one sister. Her mother is part of the negotiation team in Doha. Kofi says her mother was shot in the arm, probably by the Taliban. [1]

Appearances

Frequently asked questions

References

1. Afghanistan, the Taliban, and the cost of seeing each other through state eyes . Thought Behind Things , 2021-08-04.