The future of women’s rights in Afghanistan

>>> isn't it, sir?

>> it is, it's big because it will have are impact over the years. the idea of empowering women , educating women . and afghanistan is all part of laying foundations for lasting peace. and my concern, of course, is that the united states gets weary of being in afghanistan , it's not worth it, let's leave. and laura and i believe that if that were to happen, women would suffer again. and we don't believe that's in the interest of the united states or the world to create safe haven for terrorists and stand by and watch women 's rights be abused.

>> that's a noted patriot george w. bush for the u.s. to stay in afghanistan . and i wanted to play that clip for you from the american perspective discussion of women 's rights in afghanistan have been built up from the military occupation and intervention there. from your perspective, how do you hear that? is he right, do you agree with george w. bush ?

>> to be honest, i wish he was right. there's so many elements or layers to the problem that you just cannot -- i think it's naive of president bush in afghanistan to say if we leave the women would suffer. unfortunately, the women have suffered with the presence of america and the women will continue to suffer, unfortunately. i want to come back to the issue of taliban and peace talks because that's still an issue that's heavily supported and tracked by u.s. involvement. so when we talk about peace negotiations with the taliban , the question for not only women but the common citizen in afghanist afghanistan , what do these peace talks really entail and what would it mean for women after these peace talks and negotiations are made. the general stand is as long as there's militarization of aid and development in the country, also in the region, as well as krugs and the still activity of the warlordism, meaning people in corrupt positions there is not going to be peace, whether the taliban .

>> they did implement changes. violence against women , female parity in government. two years ago, that same government under pressure from warlords who have been endlessly empowered by the huge influx of weaponry into the country, forced karzai basically to roll host of that back. now it's legal to force your wife to have sex with you. and a lot of feminists say we're now less well off than were we because of this, proliferation of weapons in afghanistan is not good for women 's right, mr. feminist president bush . one in five kids not making it through their first year. i just spoke to kathy kelly , what she described as the economic violence for life in afghanistan is almost something that's invisible here.

>> i just wanted to comment, you said the warlords forcinged karzai, i don't think he was forced. never forced anybody in that position. it just shows the mentality that exists in the male-dominated patriarchal society .

>> what we see. happening globally, women are the bargaining chips. we're the cheapest bargaining chips. whenever someone says i want to strike a deal with you. and they say i'm going to put women 's rights on the table. we said before the break, we're not around the table and our rights are negotiated over our heads. and then we're told afterwards what we have to live with which is why women are now saying we're not leaving the streets.

>> mallika, you're just back from india, the horrifying gang rape and murder that happened in new delhi there, i was actually reticent to cover it can have an air. but it struck me it had the effect on the indian public that newtown had on the american public which is people die from gun violence every day. but this particular thing happened it was so evil and gruesome and horrific in details that it broke something inside the nation's consciousness that just changed the political terrain. is that your sense of what's happening there?

>> i do think that's true. one of the things i want to say, i appreciate the fact you started this process with the u.s. women 's movement and then you're going global. so we're not having this conversation that everything is all well in other parts of the world and we're fine and dandy here in the united states . i appreciate how this global feminist power is happening. you know, i think what happened in india was a long time coming. and why this particular incident sparked the kind of outrage that it did is one of those things that we keep asking ourselves. i've gotten to a place i don't really care why it happened. i'm really glad that it did. i believe the big difference that it's made that there were young men, old men, boys on the streets with women . that's the piece of the movement. i think it's time for us to say that men and boys need to step up and actually take a stand and join the movement. because if you think about all of the big shifts, whether it was the issues of race, whether it's been gay marriage , we always needs to have the larger swath of society get on board. so i think men on the streets for women 's rights is good.

>> i want to talk that and the egyptian conflict. ...with