Georgetown University

Washington, D.C. - First Lady Laura Bush announced today that the U.S.-Afghan Women's Council will transition from its current home at the U.S. State Department to its permanent home at Georgetown University’s Center for Child and Human Development. 

Mrs. Bush said she will continue her involvement with the council even after President George W. Bush’s time in office ends in January 2009. “This is my last U.S.-Afghan Women's Council meeting as first lady, and so in my next meeting I'll be on the private side. I think there's a very strong role for both the public and private sides of the partnership,” said Mrs. Bush.

The council, which meets in both Washington, D.C. and in the Middle East every year, was established by President Bush and Afghan President Hamid Karzai in January 2002 to promote public-private partnerships between American and Afghan institutions and mobilize private sector resources to help Afghan women. Georgetown has been engaged in the bi-annual meetings of the council in a supporting role since December 2006.

“The council is a very good example of how both the private sector and the public sector can work together to help the people of Afghanistan try to meet challenges, especially the women of Afghanistan,” said Mrs. Bush. “As we all know, the women of Afghanistan still need our encouragement and face many challenges.”

For the last two years, the U.S.-Afghan Women's Council and Georgetown University have been working in partnership to help empower Afghan women through educational opportunities, skills training, improving political and legal participation, and access to medical care. As the council transitions from the State Department to Georgetown in the coming month, Phyllis Magrab, director of the Georgetown Center for Child and Human Development at the Georgetown University Medical Center, will join President DeGioia in shaping the future direction of the council and the foundation for its ongoing work.

“It is a privilege for our university to take on a new leadership role with the U.S.-Afghan Women’s council in responding to the need to promote justice, opportunity, peace and stability in Afghanistan,” said Georgetown University President John. J. DeGioia. “The permanent move of the council to Georgetown further highlights the university’s ongoing commitment to the government and people of Afghanistan.”

Magrab, the council’s new vice chair, says that although the council is moving to Georgetown, its function will remain the same—to help ensure that Afghan women gain the skills and education necessary to participate in all sectors of society, and to stimulate private and public assistance for such activities. Georgetown’s primary leadership role will be to facilitate the work of the Council members.

“Georgetown’s new leadership role will provide the university with an opportunity to apply the resources and expertise found in its various schools, centers and institutions to help improve the enormous health, psychosocial and educational needs of families and children in Afghanistan,” said Magrab.

To date, the council has implemented more than 30 initiatives that help bring practical benefits to the women in Afghanistan, including initiatives in the areas of economic empowerment, education, political participation, health, and children’s issues. In 2005, the council established the Ayenda Learning Center in Bamiyan, Afghanistan. Funded by Afghan and American citizens, the new school provides more than 200 children who were orphaned by the Taliban a safe place to live or study. 

Mrs. Bush, who received an honorary degree from Georgetown in 2003, referred to the university’s involvement in various initiatives with Afghanistan over the past several years as a sign of commitment to the country. In January 2002, just one month after he began his appointment as head of the transitional government of the country, Georgetown hosted President Karzai in an address to the campus community. Since Karzai's 2002 visit, Georgetown has continued its relationship with Afghan officials, nonprofit leaders and educators, convening multiple summits on recovery and reconstruction in Afghanistan.

About Georgetown University

Georgetown University is the oldest and largest Catholic and Jesuit university in America, founded in 1789 by Archbishop John Carroll. Georgetown today is a major student-centered, international, research university offering respected undergraduate, graduate and professional programs in Washington, DC, Doha, Qatar and around the world. For more information about Georgetown University, visit www.georgetown.edu.