Institute of Business Studies (IBS) initiated Afghan Girls Debating Program, a non-profit volunteer social program, which aims to empower female debaters in Afghanistan, enhance their skills, increase the number of female debaters in debate programs and provide a safe platform for young women to engage, analyze, and speak confidently about the most urgent issues Afghan women face. The objective is to recruit new female debaters, conduct specialized debate trainings, and enhance their personal and professional skills. The debaters are equipped with debating skills (Parliamentary Debating Formats) that includes: Critical Thinking, Rational Reasoning, Public Speaking, Strategic Research, Time Management and Teamwork that will enable them to compete at intervarsity debate tournaments that will be organized nationally and internationally.

Young Women’s Debate

Canadian Embassy sponsored the first ever female tournament in Afghanistan ”Young Women’s Debate”, an initiative of Afghan Girls Debating Program. The tournament was held at the Canadian Embassy on 29th March 2017 where 20 teams, making 40 female university and high school graduates, competed. A total of 12 Afghan expert debaters and officials from the Embassy of Canada, possessing debate experience, adjudicated the three primary rounds. The final round was adjudicated by the chief guests, Ambassador of Canada to Afghanistan, Francois Rivest, Senior Advisor to the Afghan President on UN Affairs, Farkhonda Zahra Naderi, and Media and Public Relations Advisor to the Afghan First Lady, Rola Ghani, Zohra Yosuf were our honorary guests at the event. The debaters debated on Human Rights issues covering, women rights, refugee crises, child labor, media, and national security. Young Women’s Debate empowered and enabled female debaters not only to enhance their debating skills, make new friends but also to participate at the first ever Female Debate Tournament. The day was ended with chief guests’ insights’ on the event followed by the recognition of the champions, Shahrzad Koofi Ahmadi and Fakhria Rasikh, graduates of Afghan Turk High School.