When Roshan Mashal and her family evacuated from Afghanistan during the fall of Kabul in 2021, she knew she would never return.
“I cannot forget that day,” she says. “I was scared for my children, for my colleagues, for our families. At first, I told my friends that I felt I had to stay to continue the struggle. And my friends told me, ‘But you have to be alive to continue the struggle.’”
For over a decade, Mashal has advocated for women’s and gender issues, access to education, and participation in elections in Afghanistan. Now, she will serve for one year as a fellow within the Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies program in the College of Liberal Arts. In the role, she will focus on journalism, women’s rights, and advocacy.
Mashal’s fellowship is thanks in large part to a collaboration with the Texas International Education Consortium (TIEC). The TIEC Fellowship for Afghan Evacuees was created during the mass evacuations from Afghanistan in 2021.
“This represents UTA’s commitment to providing our students with access to world-class experts who can bring their unique experiences to bear on the educational process, connecting what we do in the classroom with some of the most impactful events in our world,” says Dan Cavanagh, interim dean for UTA’s College of Liberal Arts.
