Public Diplomacy Outreach to Afghan Women with Cynthia Hogle

The USC Center on Public Diplomacy was pleased to host Cynthia L. Hogle, International Advisor to the Afghanistan World Foundation and member of the American Support for Afghanistan board. Cynthia discussed her public diplomacy project, which engaged women in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan to assess their role as a moderating influence on the male-dominated society.

Cynthia conducted interviews with Afghan women in an open and supportive environment. Topics of discussion included education, literacy, economic opportunities, governance, the United States presence, and the challenges of living under Taliban rule. An outcome of this project was the personal development of these women, enabling them to participate economically and socially and become voices of influence in their families and communities.

While the U.S. policy priorities in Afghanistan shift and the military draws down troops in Afghanistan, the impact on public diplomacy and counterinsurgency initiatives must be considered, particularly in regard to the Afghan women whom U.S. enablers engaged in the region. A Marine who served on a Female Engagement Team (FET) warns of potential ramifications if the U.S. does not maintain public diplomacy endeavors:

FETs are planting “seeds of hope” among the women. If the seeds don’t grow, if they are injured, or if their environment doesn’t change, then after a time we may lose the support of not only the Afghan women, we may also lose the support of generations to come as stories are passed for generations about our failed attempts to help them after we drink their tea and they risk their lives to give us information. Hence, we are possibly creating a new generation of Taliban that is fueled from Afghan mothers to their sons. (Watson, MSgt. Julia L. "Female Engagement Teams." Marine Corps Gazette 95.7 (2011): 20. Print.)

Press
USC Daily Trojan covered the event. The write-up can be found here.

About Cynthia Hogle
In March 2012, Cynthia returned from Afghanistan where, for nine months, she served as a Human Terrain Analyst with the U.S. Department of the Army. Her work and interviews with Afghan women resulted in a report regarding women in the region and the establishment of the Malalai Anaa Center for Women and School for Girls.
Ms. Hogle was also deployed to Iraq for eighteen months, serving as a Public Diplomacy Officer for the U.S. Department of State (2009-2010). She designed and initiated a training program for Iraqi journalists, which resulted in an Emmy Award winning documentary. Cynthia also founded The Actors and Artists Forum in Karbala Province.

Cynthia received her BA from California State University, Northridge and her MPA from Harvard University. She trained under the U.S. Army and Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) in military intelligence gathering for civilian positions with the U.S. Department of Army and at the U.S. Department of State Foreign Service Institute.

Appointed Special Assistant to the Chief of Protocol and Protocol Gift Officer at the U.S. Department of State Office of Protocol, Cynthia traveled as a member of the support staff on President Clinton’s official visit to India in March 2000. Cynthia was awarded a Fellowship at Conaculta (National Council for the Culture and Art of Mexico) in 2002, where she developed a literacy campaign for rural Mexico.

Cynthia writes and speaks on politics, public diplomacy, women’s issues, and civil-military relations. She has been published in the Military Intelligence Professional Bulletin, and, as a Helmut Schmidt Fellow, she presented a paper in Stockholm, Sweden at the annual plenary meeting of the InterAction Council of former Heads of State and Government. She has written and produced television, theater, and film projects. Credits include: Roseanne, Married...With Children, and others.