GLS, Alumni
GLS alumna Roberta Staley on women in media and gender equality in Afghanistan
From Ms. Magazine...
Afghanistan is not an easy place to be a woman—the war-torn Central Asian nation currently ranks 152 out of 155 countries in the United Nations Development Program gender equality index. But Roberta Staley, an award-winning Vancouver writer and editor, sees hope via the increasing participation of women in Afghan media.
Staley spotlights three dynamic women–a singer, TV reporter and activist filmmaker–in Mightier Than the Sword, her first documentary which completed her Master’s degree in graduate liberal studies at Simon Fraser University. Shot in Afghanistan in 2015, it’s currently under consideration for multiple film festivals and is nominated for Direction and Screenwriting at the Leo Awards, the awards program for the British Columbia film and television industry.
Ms. chatted with Staley about the film and the impact media can have on women’s lives in Afghanistan.