October 7, 2026, marks twenty-five years since U.S.-led military operations began in Afghanistan. August 15 marked five years since the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul; U.S. and allied forces completed their withdrawal later that month.
For Afghan women and girls, these anniversaries are not distant history. Severe restrictions on education, work, public participation, and other fundamental rights continue under Taliban rule.
As part of the Texas Symposium on Women, Peace, and Security, and in partnership with The Bush School of Government & Public Service’s Program on Women, Peace, and Security at Texas A&M University, Art Works Projects presents an exhibition, film excerpt, and panel examining Afghanistan, women’s rights, and the role of women in peace and security.
Women Between Peace and War: Afghanistan features recent drawings by Afghan students from a rural province. The program also includes an excerpt from Roya Sadat’s The Sharp Edge of Peace, a documentary following four Afghan women peace negotiators during the negotiations that preceded the Taliban’s return to power in 2021.
The event concludes with a panel discussion featuring Afghan women’s rights leaders and advocates.
AWP programming takes place within the full symposium schedule. Screening and panel times will be added as the agenda is finalized.
Speakers & Moderator
Additional participants will be announced as confirmations are finalized.
Moderator
Steve Bynum
Interim Executive Director, Art Works Projects
ABOUT THE BUSH SCHOOL
“The [Bush School] Program on Women, Peace, and Security is premised on a simple, thoroughly studied proposition: what you do to your women, you do to your nation. Conversely, the more secure women are, the more secure the nation is.”
—The Bush School of Government & Public Service, Texas A&M University
Art Works Projects believes visual storytelling can do more than bear witness. It can confront abuse, challenge injustice, and move audiences beyond awareness to action. This gathering asks us not simply to remember Afghanistan, but to listen, to reckon, and to act.
This event is part of “Art Works Year 20”—a year-long series of programs, events, and gatherings marking two decades of visual advocacy for human rights and social justice.
Registration details are coming soon.