Women Who Lead: USAID/ASHA Spotlights Work of Bard First-Year and Alumnae of Network Partner AUCA
Clockwise from top left: Sonita Alizadeh ’23, Aisha Sultanbekova, Anisa Atalova, and Begimai Amantaeva
During Women’s History Month, the USAID’s Office of American Schools and Hospitals Abroad (USAID/ASHA) honored the work of Bard College student Sonita Alizadeh ’23 and three outstanding alumnae of the American University of Central Asia (AUCA)—Aisha Sultanbekova, Anisa Atalova, and Begimai Amantaeva—in the Women Who Lead section of its international e-publication. The shout-out included Sonita Alizadeh’s February address to the United Nations, where she spoke about how she was sold into child marriage twice, escaped, and went on to become an advocate for education for girls worldwide. Alizadeh, an Afghan rapper and human rights activist, lived with her family as an undocumented refugee in Iran. When her family began to discuss selling her as a child bride, music became a way for her to express her fears and frustrations. The video for her song “Brides for Sale” went viral in 2014 and called attention to the plight of many Afghan girls. With help, Alizadeh moved to the United States, completed her secondary education, and enrolled at Bard College. She has become an advocate for Girls Not Brides, a global partnership of more than 1,300 civil society organizations committed to ending child marriage and enabling girls to fulfill their potential.
USAID/ASHA also highlighted the work of Aisha Sultanbekova, a recent AUCA graduate in journalism and mass communications. Sultanbekova directed her first film, Ad Astra, as her thesis project in 2018. The film had its world premiere at the 62nd San Francisco International Film Festival and subsequently premiered in Europe at the Torello Mountain International Film Festival in Torello, Spain. Anisa Atalova, who majored in business administration at AUCA, interned at the Small Business Development Center in Washington, D.C., and later joined the Global Village for Future Leaders of Business and Industry program at Lehigh University. She has since returned to Kyrgyzstan, where she is developing her own business. AUCA alumna Begimai Amantaeva is a software engineer for an outsourcing company in Vilnius, Lithuania. She is the founder of Neobis, an organization empowering youth and aiming to support the development of information technology in Kyrgyzstan and expand the country’s capacity for innovation. Amantaeva is also a regional leader for Bishkek in the global Women Techmakers community.
Post Date: 04-07-2020
USAID/ASHA also highlighted the work of Aisha Sultanbekova, a recent AUCA graduate in journalism and mass communications. Sultanbekova directed her first film, Ad Astra, as her thesis project in 2018. The film had its world premiere at the 62nd San Francisco International Film Festival and subsequently premiered in Europe at the Torello Mountain International Film Festival in Torello, Spain. Anisa Atalova, who majored in business administration at AUCA, interned at the Small Business Development Center in Washington, D.C., and later joined the Global Village for Future Leaders of Business and Industry program at Lehigh University. She has since returned to Kyrgyzstan, where she is developing her own business. AUCA alumna Begimai Amantaeva is a software engineer for an outsourcing company in Vilnius, Lithuania. She is the founder of Neobis, an organization empowering youth and aiming to support the development of information technology in Kyrgyzstan and expand the country’s capacity for innovation. Amantaeva is also a regional leader for Bishkek in the global Women Techmakers community.
Post Date: 04-07-2020