A program hosted by the University of Virginia is teaching Afghan women about the nuts and bolts of American democracy, in the hopes that they’ll bolster democracy in their home country. ... “I think right now [the creation of functioning democracy] is going to have to start with kind of the middle, those people like we have now. … The top of the government is not always square, and I think the people [at] the very bottom, are just trying to get by,” said Daman Irby, director of operations at UVa’s Center for Politics.