The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2022

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JULY-AUGUST 2022 17 No Good News from Afghanistan D espite early promises from the Taliban to respect women’s rights, since returning to power in August 2021 the regime has announced a series of edicts further restricting the activities of women and girls. On May 7, the Taliban’s hardline, reclusive leader Hibaitullah Akhunzada issued a decree requiring women to be completely covered when in public, with only their eyes visible. He suggested women shouldn’t leave their homes at all unless necessary and outlined punish- ments for male relatives of women who violate the code. The Taliban’s Ministry of Vice and Virtue went a step further on May 19, spe- cifically ordering female TV news anchors to cover their faces while on the air, which triggered a large social media response. In an act of solidarity, many male colleagues at prominent Afghan news outlets chose to don face masks while broadcasting for the following week and launched the social media hashtag #FreeHerFace. In March, Akhunzada issued a deci- sion that girls should not be allowed to go to school after completing the sixth grade, asserting that allowing older girls to continue their education contravened Islamic principles. Afghan civil society leaders, however, say Akhunzada is not well educated in the To that end, GTM has revamped its voluntary exit survey for departing employees, whether they are resign- ing or retiring, and encourages current employees to submit emails with inqui- ries or issues to GTMRetentionUnit@ state.gov. The unit also plans to launch a departmentwide “employee experience stay survey” this fall to learn more about the factors that drive continued employment. According to GTM, overall attrition in both the Foreign Service and Civil Service is low compared with industry standards and other federal agencies. However, the May 17 message said: “We must continually adapt and innovate. The goal is to foster a culture where you feel valued and have a sense of belong- ing—not just in your role and on your team, but in the larger organization.” The retention strategy currently in development is a key component of the Secretary’s Modernization Agenda announced on Oct. 27, 2021. The Retention Unit says it has been working with GTM, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, other federal agencies and private sector experts to determine what data the department already has, what it means and what data remain to be cap- tured. This baseline information, the unit says, will be shared with employees in the coming months. What we’re trying to do is make people risk aware and not risk averse, because this is a risky business that we’re in. That’s not to say people should be gambling with their lives, but they should take smart risks. That’s a cultural change that we’re going to keep working on. —Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Brian McKeon, in a May 3 Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on State Department authorization. Contemporary Quote AFSPA afspa.org/Critical-Illness afspa.org/dental Chambers Theory ChambersTheory.com Clements Worldwide Clements.com/MissionsAbroad FEDS Protection fedsprotection.com McEnearney & Associates McEnearneyPM.com Promax Management PromaxManagement.com Property Specialists, Inc. PropertySpecialistsinc.com Richey Property Management RicheyPM.com/foreignservice Senior Living Foundation slfoundation.org WJD Management wjdpm.com