VCU news

By VCU News staff

As the world approaches the one-year anniversary of President Joe Biden announcing the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, the Department of Political Science in Virginia Commonwealth University’s College of Humanities and Sciences will host a conversation with Afghan refugees in Virginia on the impact of that withdrawal, and the impact of the Taliban’s takeover, on the lives of those in Afghanistan.

“Afghan Voices in Virginia,” a conversation with Khushnood Nabizada, a journalist and former diplomat, and Mahbob shah Mahbob, Ph.D., an educator and former journalist, will take place via Zoom at 7 p.m. April 12. Jessica Trisko Darden, Ph.D., an assistant professor of political science who studies foreign aid and political violence and wrote the 2020 book, “Aiding and Abetting: U.S. Foreign Assistance and State Violence,” will lead the discussion.

• Mahbob is a lecturer at Kabul University, where he teaches Pashto literature, and a former journalist for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Azadi. He was previously director of cultural and social affairs in the office of the president of Afghanistan. Mahbob, who lives in Alexandria, Virginia, was born in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, and is a graduate of Nangarhar University, Kabul University and the University of Peshawar.
• Nabizada is an Afghan journalist and former diplomat. He is the founder and owner of the trilingual Khaama Press, established in Kabul in 2010. He previously served as chief of staff in Afghanistan’s State Ministry for Peace and in the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing. Nabizada, who lives in Glen Allen, Virginia, was born in Bamyan province, Afghanistan.

Those interested in attending this virtual event must register in advance via Zoom.