The Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America will be hosting a potluck dinner on Saturday, May 18, at 6 p.m. featuring a lecture on the education of Afghan women and the living conditions in Afghanistan.
The guest speaker, Shirlee Taraki, has spent 20 years teaching Afghan women. Her presentations will include slides of the current conditions of everyday life for Afghan women. Ms. Taraki’s experience teaching Afghan women provides unique support as a member of the Afghan Women’s Task Force, a nonprofit group that raises money to aid women in the war-torn country.
An Evanston resident, Ms. Taraki has taken a high profile role speaking at a number of Chicago-area events in recent years. What makes her view of the current situation in Afghanistan unique is that she actually lived there from 1947 to 1972.
Ms. Taraki grew up in Chicago, met her husband, Mohammed Rascal Taraki, then a Northwestern University student, at International House in 1943. In 1947, the young couple moved to Afghanistan’s capital city of Kabul and Ms. Taraki’s in-laws offered her a chadari, the traditional head to toe dress in Afghanistan. Ms. Taraki’s husband told her that as a foreigner she did not have to wear it. Although she dressed in Western clothes, Ms. Taraki was able to learn much about Afghanistan, as she taught English in a girl’s school and raised her son and daughter while her husband worked as a government official.
The May 18 speaking engagement is open to the public and will be held at Luther Memorial Church, 2500 W. Wilson Ave. Those interested in attending are asked to bring a dish to pass that serves six. A small donation will also be collected towards the cost of the event.
For more information, call the church office at (773) 539-3018.
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