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The delegation of 22 female Afghan government officials and civil society leaders who took part in the Perspectives on Democracy program at the University of Virginia Center for Politics. Four went missing before their scheduled return to Afghanistan.
Four Afghan women went missing while on a three-week educational program in the United States, a spokesman at the University of Virginia said Monday, and federal authorities reportedly are looking for them.
The women were among 22 Afghan female professionals studying the rule of law at the university’s Center for Politics, which was hosting the program in partnership with the California-based nonprofit group Relief International. It was sponsored by the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and ran May 21 to June 6.
"In the course of that at a certain point, Relief International told us that two women had left the program," said Kyle Kondik, spokesman for the Center for Politics at the university. "Later in the program, two others left overnight."
The group, made up of teachers, professors, lawyers, judges and leaders of non-governmental organizations, was staying at the Cavalier Inn in Charlottesville and was picked up each morning for excursions and presentations on U.S. history, government, rule of law, pluralism, freedom of expression and workplace practices.
Federal officials are looking for the women, The Associated Press reported, citing a State Department source.
The other women in the program departed the United States on schedule.
A news release issued by the university said the women chosen for the program were using Afghanistan’s nascent legal system to protect the rights of women and children against abuses like forced marriage, child marriage, domestic violence and exploitation of children.
"Little by little, we are making a difference," said Hamida Saidi, a public defender who was among the Afghan delegation.
The group was the third of four Afghan delegations that originally planned to take part in the Perspectives on Democracy program at the University of Virginia, which was founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819.
"The fourth — we don’t know if and when it is going to happen,” said spokesman Kondik. "That depends on what the State Department decides."
The State Department did not immediately respond to calls seeking information on the missing women.
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Leave a Comment:
I would have gone missing too! Who wants to live in Afghanistan?
Check your local 7/11
Living like an illegal here, even if you receive no aid is probably heaven compared to living in Afghanistan
They probably wanted to be just like Apu from The Simpsons and open up their own convenient/grocery store.
Gee, four intelligent, educated, professional women preferring to live in the U.S. than Afghanistan.
Who would have thought?
To further a supposition: How many people, who come here on our endless list of giveaway VISAS, happens to "come up missing" and who aren't here to make a better life but to do harm?
And who and how many are looking for the ones who have apparently, run off and/or over-stayed their welcome? I would venture a guess and say that whoever "they" are who are looking for the "run-offs" would have to be looking for more than just a few absconders.
They're probably still stuck in the checkout line at Wal-Mart.
I agree. Who wants to go back to that hell hole? I am surprised the other 18 didn't disappear as well.
That tall one in the middle of the second row can stay. She has my permission. ;-)
God's Favorite1 banned, multiple of I'd bang Bristol, also banned. Shoulda caught that earlier.
Agreed. The US will be leaving in 2013+. What is going to happen to these 'Taliban-bait' people? -- George
I used to duck out of study hall a lot. Did anybody check to see if they went out back for a smoke?
I hope the find them and get thm the hell outta here.
Brilliant show a picture of 22 women and expect someone to be able to identify 4. why not show blow ups of the four that vanished, we should keep the two cutie's in the right front just for the hell of it, maybe that tall one in the middle too.
Two sides of the coin here. Are they hiding not to return to Afghanistan or are was their intent to get lost once they got here for nefarious reasons? Since they are free to leave Afghanistan, I don't see why they would disappear.
Either way, until they surface, all further groups should be prevented from coming.
Perhaps the women wanted to go missing -
Have they checked Disney World ?
I agree with MyThoughts4U, if I had the chance to leave Afghanistan for the US I would not want to go back either.
Did they leave on their own or were they coerced? Did someone lure them away with a promise of money,job, a chance to stay in the US, etc, only to trap them in a human trafficking scheme? Could Afghanis living here have thought their participation in protesting something as openly against their traditional mores as forced marriages, etc. indicate they should be subject to Afghani punishments about impure women?
Wherever they are and for whatever reason they left, one hopes the are okay and safe.
"Amanda....open up the door to your heart!"
Sex trafficking is unfortunately the most likely scenario, and it sounds like someone in Relief International might have had something to do with it. Relief International said they left the program when in actuality they went missing. There's a huge difference between saying someone "left" and someone "went missing". It sounds like someone in Relief International didn't want anyone looking for them.
wow, and i thought i could come up with paranoid hypothesis. i just hope the story stays alive until the women are found. maybe they know someone here and went visiting. but two 'disappeared' and then the other two - which is fishy. we lost one young woman in the Bahamas (Bermuda?) and the story went on and on - will we see more of this story? are they married women? are relatives looking for them? did they bring their luggage? did they have money? i hope for the best.
Think about it? would you go back if you knew your future was to marry a filthy goat herder and live in a dust bowl with the constant threat of being killed because you visited the US. These are educated women, they know what the future in Afghanistan will be, I would not hesitate about remaining as a illegal in the US versus returning to a near helpless situation, even no future here is better than what Afghanistan has to offer, as soon as the US pulls out the loonies will start pouring out of their hiding spots and reek havoc on these people, they will never stop killing each other. their way of life is if your goat dies then you kill your neighbor and take his goat, if your other neighbor disagrees with your thinking then you have to kill him, if a woman gets raped she goes to prison until she agrees to marry the one that raped her, you won't change that twisted thinking overnight, I don't like illegals but in this case more power to them, I would run away to if I had the chance. if they are smart they will head to Canada. or seek asylum with some embassy. hopefully no harm has fallen on them.
You do know that these woman are doing something that is not accepted by the male POS muslims... checking out mosque's would be the answer as to what happened to these brave women... unfortunately, I don't see this being a good outcome... muslim males treat women horribly and would think nothing about homicide...
you are right.....Muslims treat their women like pigs.....I don't blame them at all.....they should all stay here...
and get rid of them stupid burqas......you talk about some stupid primitive crap. It is almost as stupid as the
witch hunts performed by the Christian Inquisitors......just primitive. We should stop giving aid to all of these stupid enslavement dictatorships...
Five women in the picture are not wearing their head bibs over their hair, I'll bet the 4 missing are within those 5. they are liberal enough to contemplate starting a new life instead of returning to their backwards country, the story is terribly incomplete with no pictures of the individuals and no history of family affiliations, no background, not much of a story without some content.
Amanda GOOD INPUT! It makes you wonder what kind of punishment would be awaiting them when they returned,The thing that has me worried is do they have family here?or will they end up being trafficked in order to get by and a promise of our Good life???
What ever the case I pray they are well and healthy....
I'll bet the Mexican Coyotes are angry over this avoidance of their fees.
I'm with everyone who feels that these women, being in a line of work that makes them targets for torture and murder in Afghanistan, decided that they'd had enough of walking around with a bull's eye on their backs and "got lost". I wouldn't be surprised if they show up at whatever office one goes to in order to apply for asylum. That's exactly what I'd do. Small likelihood that they're moles for terrorism, since the terrorists have enough foreign born (and a few home born) American citizens they can look to for carrying out their dirty work.
The four Afghan women missing probably got a dose of the corrupt Republican corporate MONARCHY & their political puppets and decided that they were better off back home!
Uh, 'TR' - how do you figure that our country is run by a "Republican corporate MONARCHY" when a Democrat is currently living in the White House!?! Idiot.
TR Rose II You really are a moron, don't you know. What a doofus. The demonrats are in control right now, and you most likely voted for the sham in the white house, didn't you?
Atticus & elaine,
while TR is an idiot your comments are equally qualifying. Democrats are not in control right now, no party is. There is a stalemate in power between the R's and D's. Congress is where all of the domestic political power is held, the President has very little influence over domestic policy directly.
We have a Republican controlled House, an evenly controlled controlled Senate (Democrats do not have 60 chairs), a Democratic White House, and an evenly controlled Supreme Court (most of the time). That does not look like the Democrats are in charge to me, it also does not look like the Repu8bklicans are in charge.
Though I wouldn't consider Atticus & elaine's comment as equal to TR's, Geowil has a point that no party seems to have the upper hand.
To address TR point: you are always free to float to Cuba in an inner-tube is the US is so bad. It seems like we just can't stop people who want to come here for jobs, so maybe the "republician monarchy" isn't so bad? I agree we have issues to fix (like CEO's getting a bonus while sending jobs to China), just try not to be stupid when pointing fingers, as you might accidently be standing in front of a mirror.
That tall one in the middle of the second row can stay. She has my permission. ;-)
These women are all tough guys, who knows what they have gone through back home to get an education and become successful. I say welcome to America! Good luck, I sincerely hope you make it.
they either hid so they would not have to go back and will ask for amnesty or they were killed for what they were doing by muslim men .
We sure do a good job screening our visitors from enemy countries don't we?
I bet you're one of those that though the whole "axis of evil" talk was the best speech in history by a president.
If that was FD Roosevelt speaking yes, otherwise no.
Does anyone actually blame them? I'm surprised all 22 didn't go missing. I've been to Afghanistan, and unless you are in Kabul, women are treated like @!$%#. What is there to go back to? Afghanistan is a failed and corrupt country, it's citizens would be better off if Pakistan or Iran took it over.
How do you change a backwards people when their car is stuck in reverse????
Really? Better off if Pakistan or Iran took over? I think not. All of those countries are hopelessly mired in the Dark Ages.
Ali Hussain banned, comment spamming.
I've been to Afghanistan and even in Kabul women are treated like @!$%#. But in Pakistan, at least rural Pakistan, they are too. Tribal m-fers.
Let's face it, with all our flaws we are still head and shoulders above many of the choices out there. My son did the Army tour of Afghanistan too and from his description I cannot think of a worse place to "go home" to especially if you are a woman.
I dated a woman from Uzbekistan......and she was like the strangest woman I ever met.....she basically hated men all together....wierd......that country is the same....full of stupid people.....all them muslim countries are living in stupid backward belief systems.........and they want US to go back to tribunal/stone age mentality....talk about a bunch of losers. Especially the people of Saudi Arabia....what a bunch of grease balls. Lawrence of Olivier is over with....get off the camels....and quit treating women like cows. Male ego pricks. Come and get me you @!$%#s.
I hope they do not return, they would be much safer in the us.
Hey, Kari Huus - People don't "go missing". That is a British idiom that is not used in this country. The correct term is "disappeared" or "vanished". This country is becoming ignorant enough without the help of undereducated writers using incorrect English.
Damned foreign idioms, this country is getting overrun with them.
C'est la vie, I'll worry about it manana. Right now, I see a bunch of foreign idioms hanging around the 7-11 looking for a sentence to occupy.
We need to put the army on the border to keep those foreign idioms out or no American idioms will be able to find work anymore.
Of course it is used in this country. Do a Google search, and see how many times that phrase appears on American web sites. It's become quite popular in the press in recent years. And since our language evolves according to its usage, I'd say it's now part of our language.
It's used all the time in the US, Atticus. Where have you been hiding?
Hank, I had a foreign idiom once, but it bit me, and I had to have it put to sleep!!
Hank you are bloody brill! Great jollies from your post
Years ago, I was a student at Colorado State U. in Fort Collins. I knew young, female students from Middle Eastern countries who were seeking way to remain in the U.S.
you could marry one, but then the brothers and father would come over here and cut both of your heads off.....i met an iranian girl I wanted to marry at Western Illinois......well......that was so many years ago now......at the present time her ass is probably 4 feet wide now......and has a freakin' mustache .....just like most American women......geez....you talk about some serious fat problems in the USA......"I don't want her, you can have her...she's too fat for me".....
To be honest, I'm not sure what to think,are they trying to prevent their return to Afghanistan or are they here for terrorists plots or was there something bad that happened to them? I guess we won't know until they pop up, if they pop up. The thing is,if they are trying not to be sent back home, then you think that they would try to seek asyslum rather than just running off.
They got jobs at the Badabing - bring your singles with ya and get ready for the best belly dance you ever saw.
TAXI, TAXI....
Have they check the Taxi's?
Good for them, I wouldn't want to go back either! I bet they appear at the Canadian Border and apply for asylum any day now.
i wouldnt be surprised if some xenophobic anti-muslim nut was behind it
I don't blame them for not wanting to go back to that hell-hole but please go and apply for asylum in Canada.....we don't need anymore mouths to feed here in America, and if these Muslims start multiplying God help us.
Jane, you gonna let that guy above you (vegeta) call you a nut ?
Muslim immigrants have been coming to America since the early 1900s(like my grandfather), not just in the last few years. And, if you want to stop the welfare bleeding..start speaking to "our" population, especially teens.
Sleeper cell recruits.
Nice photo for trying to find someone.
Billie
Is there a reason that none of these women are showing any legs or boobs. That is what is needed in pictures for adult magazines. Also they must be worrying about rain or being cold because they head are covered with ugly do rags.
Now we will have four more Immigrants to give welfare to. Free food stamps, rent, health coverage, you name it. Everything that most Americans have a very hard time getting because they are Americans. Oh isn't this wonderful news. And on top of that since they are law students they can advise the Afghans that our government is bring here on Their rights as immigrants.
We probably have 4 terrorists that could very well carry out an attack on United States citizens.
I agree - my first thought is I'd go missing too if I could from that hell hole. But then, perhaps they went lost on purpose to unleash some serious shenanigans. Sadly, we have learned to trust absolutely no one from that neck of the woods.
Maybe they were killed by a suicide bomber from the hell hole their from. If you were a women from Afghanistan would you want to go back to get raped, beaten sold into a marriage etc or stay here work in a 7-11 and meet some guy you can have all the sex you want without getting punished.
Do they get extra welfare being they did not sneak into the country.