A CIC Victoria Zoom event.

In the wake of years of conflict, and since the takeover by the Taliban in August last year, Afghanistan has been plunged into a deep economic, social, humanitarian and human rights crisis. In particular, secondary school girls have been banned from attending school by the Taliban, a strict hijab rule has been instituted for women and women are no longer able to take part in public and political life. Almost all households face a high level of food insecurity and access to basic services, including healthcare, is diminishing.

To discuss what is happening on-the-ground in Afghanistan we are pleased to welcome Corey Levine, who spent a week in Pakistan and a week in Kabul in June 2022, where she observed first-hand life under the Taliban.

Corey Levine, who is a human rights and peacebuilding policy and programming expert, researcher and writer with a specialization in gender. She has spent more than 20 years working in conflict areas, including Afghanistan, Bosnia, East Timor, Iraq, Kosovo, Mali, Palestine, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka and Ukraine. Corey was also in Kabul up until last summer, where she spent 8 months with UN Women. Corey has also been assisting in the resettlement of Afghan refugees in Canada and she is the former Director of Humanitarian Affairs with AMan Lara, an NGO dedicated to safeguarding, advocating and evacuating Afghans at risk from Afghanistan. Corey recently returned from Afghanistan.