The story of a young entrepreneur whose business created jobs and hope for women in her Kabul, Afghanistan, neighborhood during the Taliban years.

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon discusses Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's efforts to put women and girls at the forefront of the new world order.

Investment in maternal health in Afghanistan provides a cost-effective way to promote strategic U.S. foreign policy objectives. As part of a responsible drawdown, the United States should continue its commitments to improving maternal health programs.

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon says, in Thursday night's debate, Vice President Biden worked to portray Paul Ryan as the candidate most in favor of continuing the unpopular fight in Afghanistan, a war that President Obama advanced and that the public no longer backs.

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon says Mitt Romney's major foreign policy speech on Monday reflects a vision for America's role in the world that is both far more forward-leaning than the current administration has exercised and far less energetic than Bush's.

This campaign season, President Obama and Mitt Romney have remained focused on domestic issues in the "face of a gasping economy and long-term joblessness," argues Gayle Tzemach Lemmon. However, given pressing concerns raised by Afghanistan and the Middle East, among other foreign policy issues, the candidates will soon have to address international affairs issues.

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon says, though little attention will be paid to the war in Afghanistan on the campaign trail, Paul Ryan's views on the "forgotten war" have shifted more in line with Romney's these days.

"[Paul Ryan] voices a trade-based American exceptionalism with human rights at its core -- an outlook embraced by those on the hawkish end of GOP foreign policy," says Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon argues that new Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer's private decision to embrace new motherhood while scaling new professional heights should be respected, and not judged.

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon discusses the surge of protests for women's rights in Afghanistan following the Taliban execution of an Afghan woman.

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon says girls and women need more encouragement--especially from other women--to aim for the top and stay there.

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon discusses concerns by Afghan entrepreneurs over the future of their economy as the United States draws down its troops and military presence from Afghanistan.

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon discusses the need for the development community to adopt a comprehensive approach to skills training for entrepreneurs in conflict and post-conflict zones.

This module features teaching notes with discussion questions and ideas for additional projects by CFR Fellow Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, along with other resources to supplement the teaching of Ms. Lemmon's book, The Dressmaker of Khair Khana, in the classroom. In this book, Ms. Lemmon provides an intimate look at the daily lives of women in Afghanistan through the incredible true story of a female entrepreneur who mobilized her community under the Taliban. This text can be incorporated in a variety of international affairs and foreign policy courses, such as those focusing on Afghanistan, global political economy, international development, and gender studies.

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon discusses a recent study on sexism that reveals that men may be subconsciously looking at women through the lenses of their own marriages.

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon examines the importance of single mothers in the 2012 presidential election.

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon argues that in the wake of recent poisonings in Afghan schools, safety in girls' education is a priority for Afghanistan's future.

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon and Ashley Harden state, "Business must be part of putting lives together after war. And economies."

Economic growth stimulated by small and medium-sized enterprises can foster stability in fragile states. Comprehensive approaches that offer entrepreneurs access to finance, markets, networks, and skills should be offered.

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon says that while U.S. politicians have accused them of destroying "the fabric of this country," single mothers are a powerful example that is holding society together.

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon says a battle is on to keep Afghan women from falling off the political agenda while Washington and its NATO allies seek a diplomatic solution to America's longest-ever war, and the fight becomes more urgent as the NATO summit in Chicago approaches.

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon discusses innovations that are enabling entrepreneurs to secure financing.

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon argues that any peace agreement in Afghanistan that leaves out Afghan women will simply be a short-term deal, not a durable peace.