Female Afghan MP Blasts Yale for Taliban Student
Female Afghan parliamentarian Malalai Joya gave a speech at Yale University on Thursday night criticizing US policy in Afghanistan, and had very strong words about Yale’s admission of a former Taliban spokesman: Joya talks on Afghanistan, Hashemi. (Hat tip: Hulugu.)
Joya said there has been no fundamental change in democratization and women’s rights in Afghanistan since the defeat of the Taliban in 2001. She criticized the U.S. government for pursuing its own strategic interests in the region while supporting fundamentalist warlords who make Afghanistan “a hell for its people.”
“Afghanistan’s issue is not an easy issue,” she said. “I only want to be a voice for my suffering people who are always silenced.”
After her lecture, Joya delivered a statement about Hashemi’s enrollment. She said Hashemi was one of the Taliban’s top propagandists and called his status as a student at Yale “disgusting” and an “unforgivable insult.”