Malalai Joya talks about her hopes for her country, her heroes and the London conference
The US government doesn't want a democratic Afghanistan, so it counts on its puppets who are anti-democracy and anti-woman to the marrow of their bones.
Interview by Mehdi Hasan
What is your earliest memory?
I was only four days old when the coup of 27 April took place and the Russian puppet regime was installed in Afghanistan [in 1978]. One of my earliest memories is of clinging to my mother's legs while police ransacked our house, looking for my father. They turned it upside down searching for clues, emptying everything out of drawers, ripping open mattresses and pillows.
Do you still hope to return to the Afghan parliament?
Yes. I have challenged my illegal suspension in court, although in two years there has been no progress. My case is being followed by the Inter-Parliamentary Union, but it is also deeply fed up with the Afghan parliament, as it only makes empty promises.
I knew from the very first day in parliament that it is a meeting place for the worst enemies of the Afghan people. The majority are warlords, drug lords and human rights violators. The parliament in occupied Afghanistan is a show of democracy. It has not brought anything positive to the Afghan people in the past five years and it will not do anything for my people in future. They have only passed laws that are anti-democratic and anti-woman.
When I was in parliament, these brutal men and women gave me a hard time. They regarded me as an obstacle to their sinister plans. My suspension was a political conspiracy. But I still want to return to this defamed and undemocratic parliament, as I regard it as a good platform from which to raise the voice of my voiceless people and expose the parliament's reactionary nature from within. There, I can challenge the brutal and powerful warlords, so they cannot pass their laws easily, far from the eyes of the Afghan people.
Who are your political heroes?
I don't want to name a specific person. My people, the suppressed millions, are my heroes. They are the real source of any positive change in Afghanistan and their power is stronger than anything else. And anti-war protesters around the world, those who are standing against the destructive policies of world powers. There is a superpower in the world besides the US government -- world public opinion.
What inspires you to keep going?
The suffering of my people, especially women.
Do you live in fear, or hope?
Both. I fear that I will not live to see freedom for Afghanistan and a joyful life for my people in a democratic and just society. But I have great hope that we will eventually be free, democratic and prosperous and that this can be achieved by the men and women of my own country.
In the past 30 years of conflict, we lost everything in Afghanistan. But it also taught us many things. Our people's political consciousness and awareness were raised and they do not accept the domination of national and foreign invaders or criminal forces. This is a great asset in the Afghan people's struggle for liberation and it gives me hope for a bright future.
What do you believe the Afghanistan summit in London can achieve?
I don't expect anything positive from the London conference at all. Since 2001, there have been a number of conferences. They have only pushed Afghanistan further into the hands of the occupying forces and their local agents.
The Afghan government begs for funding from the international community in the name of its people, but the billions of dollars poured into the country are looted by warlords, drug lords, national and international NGOs and government officials. Much of it goes back into the pockets of the donor countries.
According to US government sources, more than $60bn in aid has been given to Afghanistan since 2001. Such a huge amount could have turned Afghanistan into a paradise, if it were properly spent. But that money did not reach the needy people, so I am sure that any other amount sent in future will have no impact on poor Afghans and will only widen the gap between rich and poor.
Over 70 per cent of Afghans are living below the poverty line, but the Afghan government spent $4.2m on a luxury apartment in the Trump World Tower in New York for Zahir Tanin, the permanent representative of Afghanistan to the United Nations. This is one small example how the international aid is wasted.
The conference will prepare the ground for the return to power of the Taliban and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's Islamic Party [Hezb-e-Islami]. The Afghan government says it will ask the world leaders there to remove the name of Mullah Omar, the Taliban leader, from the Security Council's blacklist. Ordinary Afghans have no faith in such conferences.
What is your opinion of Hamid Karzai?
Among Afghans, a king called Shah Shuja is hated for being an agent of 19th-century British rule. When the Russians installed Babrak Karmal, he was called the second Shah Shuja. The US and its allies have tried hard over the years to portray Hamid Karzai as a powerful leader but, for Afghans, his government is the most corrupt and unpopular in our modern history. Karzai is the third Shah Shuja -- a US puppet who has also joined hands with our internal enemies.
His own brothers have been accused of involvement in the drugs trade. Ahmed Wali Karzai, his half-brother, is allegedly on the payroll of the CIA.
What about Barack Obama?
It is now clear to many people around the world that Obama is a warmonger, no different from Bush. The big hopes that the US people had for him are gradually turning into despair. His popularity is dropping faster than any previous US president's at this stage of office.
Obama is making the world more unjust and insecure by waging new wars in Pakistan, Iran and Yemen, and also by increasing troops in Afghanistan. While billions of people around the world and inside the US are living in poverty, he is increasing the Pentagon's overall budget in fiscal 2011 to a record $708bn, which is ridiculous. Spent in the right way, this huge amount could ensure peace and prosperity around the world
Those who supported Obama as a hope for change should have reviewed his past. During his time in the US Senate, he voted for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, he voted for the Patriot Act, he refused to support a bill for single-payer health care, he supported the death penalty, and so on. He came to power with corporate backers. They want him to continue the US's militarism and he obeys.
I hope Obama will be a lesson to the US people that, as long as the current political system is in place there, no president, white or black, will bring any major "change". In the best case, they will cause some cosmetic changes, nothing more.
How has Afghanistan changed since the fall of the Taliban?
The US and its allies occupied Afghanistan after 11 September 2001 under the banner of bringing peace, democracy and women's rights. But they replaced the barbaric Taliban with the brutal Northern Alliance -- who look different but are mentally similar. This act betrayed human rights.
Afghanistan is not only a safe haven for terrorism today, it is a mafia state and is ranked at the top of the most unstable countries in the world. Afghanistan produces 93 per cent of world opium and even some ministers and Karzai's family have been implicated in the dirty business. Turning Afghanistan into the world capital of opium was part of the US's and Nato's hidden agenda and they have reached their goal.
The situation for women is as catastrophic today as it was before. In some big cities, some women and girls have access to jobs and education, but in most provinces women's lives are hell. In rural areas, most women do not even have a human life. Forced marriages, child brides and domestic violence are very common. Gang rape is becoming more common day by day in Afghanistan, more common than it has ever been in the history of our country. Self-immolation is at a peak. Every day, we receive news of women who burn themselves to death to get out of their awful destitution and plight.
What was the last book you read?
Devil's Game: How the United States Helped Unleash Fundamentalist Islam by Robert Dreyfuss. Reading this book, one can better understand that the current "war on terror" is a hoax -- a family issue between the US government and its fundamentalist creations. I do not agree with certain points in the book, but I recommend it to everyone who wants to know about the hidden, dirty games played by the US and its allies in Afghanistan over the past decades. It will be an eye-opener for those who regard the Taliban, Iran's fascist regime and other fundamentalist forces as "anti-imperialist".
What security precautions do you have to take, now that your life is under threat?
Since I was expelled from parliament, life has been very difficult for me inside Afghanistan. I have been restricted from free movement and meeting people in different parts of Afghanistan, so I have tried to advance my efforts on international platforms. I change homes often and can't have an office. I wear a burqa outside and travel with bodyguards, and I don't attend public meetings. But I still don't feel safe. I receive threats.
Do you think the majority of Afghan women support your view of the Karzai government?
Yes, I am very sure they do. I am talking about women who are suffering and have no voice, those women who mostly live in the countryside, deprived of everything. They are completely ignored by the media, too.
Your critics say you don't represent them.
ost of my critics are warlords, Taliban or US puppets. Many of the women in the Afghan parliament are critics, as they are, unfortunately, female warlords. The US government has a handful of Afghan women in Kabul who are used as showpieces: they are given awards, featured by the western mainstream media and sent to important international meetings as representatives of Afghanistan. Such women try to whitewash the wrongdoings of the US and its puppet regime and justify the US occupation of Afghanistan.
They comprise a small minority, living luxurious lives in Kabul or other major Afghan cities, and have not experienced the brutalities of recent years. From the occupation, they have gained wealth and fame, and they are afraid to lose it from the withdrawal of the US troops. It is natural that such Afghans rise against me.
What are the chances for a better life for Afghan women while foreign troops are still in the country? Do you believe that is part of their purpose in being there, as they say it is?
"A Woman Among Warlords", a book by Malalai Joya.
Only some cosmetic and symbolic changes have been made. Most of the 68 women sent to the parliament are pro-warlord; the women's ministry has done nothing for women at all.
We Afghans know well that the US and its allies occupied Afghanistan for their own strategic, economic and regional interests and don't care about the wishes of our people. So the "liberation" of Afghan women was never part of the real agenda. It is just a lie. The so-called freedom given by the US to Afghanistan is enjoyed mainly by the warlords and drug lords, who are free to commit their crimes and do their drug trafficking.
Don't polls show Afghan support for the western military presence?
This is not only a military war, but also a war of propaganda. A recent BBC survey said that 70 per cent of Afghans think that the country is headed in the right direction and 71 per cent support Karzai. Even animals make fun of the figures! If Karzai is so popular, why did he have to win the election by fraud? Unfortunately, the western mainstream media are playing a very negative role. It is not honest to the Afghan people.
You want foreign forces out -- but what then?
Afghans face three enemies: the occupying forces, the Taliban and the warlords. When the US pulls out, the Taliban and the warlords will lose their guardian. It will be easier for Afghans to unite and crush these internal enemies.
The US government doesn't want a democratic Afghanistan, so it counts on its puppets who are anti-democracy and anti-woman to the marrow of their bones. Today, friends of the US in Afghanistan are dark-minded, criminal people.
Afghanistan will never see democracy and freedom when such dirty elements are real power-holders and policymakers.
Can democracy ever flourish in a tribal and conservative society like Afghanistan?
We are living in the 21st century. The world has turned into a global village. Years of conflict have changed Afghanistan and its people's political knowledge has increased. It is the US and its puppets who try to give a bad name to democracy in Afghanistan.
Our people want democracy but now know that occupation will never bring democracy for them. Because democracy without independence has no meaning. When Afghan people raise their voice for independence, western forces call them "tribal" and "anti-democracy", while those barbaric warlords and Taliban who have accepted the US occupation and are in the parliament are called "democrats"!
What would you like to forget?
The cheap attacks of my enemies.
Are we all doomed?
No. We can change our destiny by our struggle and efforts.
This interview is originally published in the New Statesman Magazine on January 25, 2010
Category: Taliban, Women, US-NATO, HR Violations, Corruption - Views: 3435
Showing posts with label assistance by women. Show all posts
Showing posts with label assistance by women. Show all posts
Friday, June 18, 2010
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Statement by Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA)
http://www.rawa.org/rawa/2010/03/07/emancipation-of-afghan-women-not-attainable-as-long-as-the-occupation-taliban-and-national-front-criminals-are-not-sacked.html
Emancipation of Afghan women not attainable as long as the occupation, Taliban and “National Front” criminals are not sacked!
Statement of the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) on the International Women’s Day, March 8, 2010
Today, on the 8th of March, Afghan women are mourning for the gang-rape of Bashiras and Saimas, for being flogged by most lowed elements, for being auctioned in open market and for their young daughters who put an end to their miserable lives by self-immolation. But the perpetrators of all these crimes are forgiven; therefore they enjoy complete immunity, are still holding their official positions and tightening it through plundering our people and country.
February 2010: Local warlords in Ghor province in Western Afghanistan publicly flogged two Afghan women.
Though we don’t expect anything different from the most corrupt and dirty puppet regime of the world, the pain of Afghan women turns chronic when the world believes that the US and NATO has donated liberation, democracy and human and women rights for Afghanistan; whereas, after eight years of the US and allies’ aggression under the banner of “war on terror”, they empowered the most brutal terrorists of the Northern Alliance and the former Russian puppets – the Khalqis and Parchamis – and by relying on them, the US imposed a puppet government on Afghan people. And instead of uprooting its Taliban and Al-Qaeda creations, the US and NATO continues to kill our innocent and poor civilians, mostly women and children, in their vicious air raids.
In such conditions, we saw that Karzai, as the most demagogic and flagrant President, turgidly talks about the London Conference, which in fact had no positive outcome for Afghan people, where he only bargained and dealt for the return of the terrorist Taliban and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar to power and the pouring of millions of more Dollars which will go to the pockets of the Karzai family and the mafias of Fahim, Khalili, Dostum and other murderers.
The Karzai puppet and reactionary regime is implicated in corruption and blood of the poor from top to bottom. Only the hundreds of people killed in the recent avalanche tragedy in Salang and the miseries of millions of refugee Afghans in the hands of the Iranian criminal regime are enough to punish and jail many of the so-called high ranking officials for negligence and inattention to the problems of our people.
But the US government does not try to curb its Afghan stooges and allows them to commit many crimes, betrayal and lootings, so they could repress and intimidate Afghans in any possible way and stop the emergence of any anti-fundamentalist and pro-independent uprising in Afghanistan. Therefore, it comes of no surprise that the decay and corruption of top criminals such as Rabbani, Sayyaf, Dr. Abdullah, Qanoni, Karzai family, Zia Massoud, Fahim, Khalili, Saddique Chakari, Mirwas Yassini, Zahir Aghbar, Hadi Arghandewal, Anwar Jakdalak, Ismael Khan, Atta Mohammad and others are even reflected in some Western media, who have made dirty businesses and multi-billion Dollar investments in Afghanistan and Dubai as a result of their lootings and drug-dealings in Afghanistan.
To show to the world that they value women’s rights, the US and its Afghan mafia lackeys nourished a bunch of flunkeys and pro-occupation women to hold conferences and meet the so-called “his Excellency” President Karzai and his US-assigned spokespersons Wahid Omer, Siamak Herawi, Sibghatullah Sanjar and other traitors to ask for more ministries for Afghan women. But they are grasping the intentions of others with their own dirty mirrors and think ordinary Afghan women are unaware of the fact that even if all the members of the cabinet are made up of reactionary women such as Amina Afzali, Hassan Bano Ghazanfar, Massouda Jalal, Noorzia Atmar, Qadria Yazdanparast, Shukria Barakzai, Fouzia Kofi, Manija Bakhtari and others linked to brutal warlords, still it will not bring any positive change for Afghan women, because such women, acting as committed agents of the US government and its fundamentalist and non-fundamentalist menials, only define themselves by raising soft criticisms and asking for some reforms acceptable for the governing criminals and their foreign masters.
With money and offers of official posts, the US and its Afghan agents have bought many Afghan intellectuals. Many of the writers and poets are paid by the blood-thirsty Iranian regime who instead of raising people’s awareness and mobilizing them for pro-independence, pro-democracy and anti-fundamentalism struggle, try to pave the way for Iranian theocratic regime’s deeper involvement in Afghanistan and inflame and fuel ethnic, sectarian and lingual tensions among Afghan people.
RAWA always believes that women’s problem is a political issue and we cannot tackle it separately from the current catastrophic political situation. Without the overthrow of the current puppet regime, which is becoming more mortal and odorous than before by the inclusion of Taliban and Gulbuddini murderers, none of the thousands of the problems of our unhappy people will ever be solved.
Slogans about restoring peace, security, democracy and women’s rights will be empty and amplified claims, as long as Afghanistan has not gained its independence; the Taliban and the Northern Alliance killers are not prosecuted and the billions of wealth they have pillaged from people are not taken back from them. The benchmark to judge if any individual or organization is truly patriotic and progressive in the current situation is their struggle in any possible means against US occupation, the criminal Taliban -- who have the enslavement harness of Pakistan around their nick -- and the hirelings of Iran and the US in the “National Front”.
RAWA is eager to get united in solidarity with individuals and forces that are ready to fight for democracy in an independent front against the occupation, the Taliban, Jehadi and Khalqi and Parchami homeland-sellers.
While women of Afghanistan are experiencing a new era of captivity and are in the grip of the fundamentalist monsters, RAWA sends it heartfelt salutations to struggling brave women of Iran, Palestine, Kurdistan, Sudan, Nepal, India and the rest of the world and announces solidarity with them.
Emancipation of Afghan women not attainable as long as the occupation, Taliban and “National Front” criminals are not sacked!
Statement of the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) on the International Women’s Day, March 8, 2010
Today, on the 8th of March, Afghan women are mourning for the gang-rape of Bashiras and Saimas, for being flogged by most lowed elements, for being auctioned in open market and for their young daughters who put an end to their miserable lives by self-immolation. But the perpetrators of all these crimes are forgiven; therefore they enjoy complete immunity, are still holding their official positions and tightening it through plundering our people and country.
February 2010: Local warlords in Ghor province in Western Afghanistan publicly flogged two Afghan women.
Though we don’t expect anything different from the most corrupt and dirty puppet regime of the world, the pain of Afghan women turns chronic when the world believes that the US and NATO has donated liberation, democracy and human and women rights for Afghanistan; whereas, after eight years of the US and allies’ aggression under the banner of “war on terror”, they empowered the most brutal terrorists of the Northern Alliance and the former Russian puppets – the Khalqis and Parchamis – and by relying on them, the US imposed a puppet government on Afghan people. And instead of uprooting its Taliban and Al-Qaeda creations, the US and NATO continues to kill our innocent and poor civilians, mostly women and children, in their vicious air raids.
In such conditions, we saw that Karzai, as the most demagogic and flagrant President, turgidly talks about the London Conference, which in fact had no positive outcome for Afghan people, where he only bargained and dealt for the return of the terrorist Taliban and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar to power and the pouring of millions of more Dollars which will go to the pockets of the Karzai family and the mafias of Fahim, Khalili, Dostum and other murderers.
The Karzai puppet and reactionary regime is implicated in corruption and blood of the poor from top to bottom. Only the hundreds of people killed in the recent avalanche tragedy in Salang and the miseries of millions of refugee Afghans in the hands of the Iranian criminal regime are enough to punish and jail many of the so-called high ranking officials for negligence and inattention to the problems of our people.
But the US government does not try to curb its Afghan stooges and allows them to commit many crimes, betrayal and lootings, so they could repress and intimidate Afghans in any possible way and stop the emergence of any anti-fundamentalist and pro-independent uprising in Afghanistan. Therefore, it comes of no surprise that the decay and corruption of top criminals such as Rabbani, Sayyaf, Dr. Abdullah, Qanoni, Karzai family, Zia Massoud, Fahim, Khalili, Saddique Chakari, Mirwas Yassini, Zahir Aghbar, Hadi Arghandewal, Anwar Jakdalak, Ismael Khan, Atta Mohammad and others are even reflected in some Western media, who have made dirty businesses and multi-billion Dollar investments in Afghanistan and Dubai as a result of their lootings and drug-dealings in Afghanistan.
To show to the world that they value women’s rights, the US and its Afghan mafia lackeys nourished a bunch of flunkeys and pro-occupation women to hold conferences and meet the so-called “his Excellency” President Karzai and his US-assigned spokespersons Wahid Omer, Siamak Herawi, Sibghatullah Sanjar and other traitors to ask for more ministries for Afghan women. But they are grasping the intentions of others with their own dirty mirrors and think ordinary Afghan women are unaware of the fact that even if all the members of the cabinet are made up of reactionary women such as Amina Afzali, Hassan Bano Ghazanfar, Massouda Jalal, Noorzia Atmar, Qadria Yazdanparast, Shukria Barakzai, Fouzia Kofi, Manija Bakhtari and others linked to brutal warlords, still it will not bring any positive change for Afghan women, because such women, acting as committed agents of the US government and its fundamentalist and non-fundamentalist menials, only define themselves by raising soft criticisms and asking for some reforms acceptable for the governing criminals and their foreign masters.
With money and offers of official posts, the US and its Afghan agents have bought many Afghan intellectuals. Many of the writers and poets are paid by the blood-thirsty Iranian regime who instead of raising people’s awareness and mobilizing them for pro-independence, pro-democracy and anti-fundamentalism struggle, try to pave the way for Iranian theocratic regime’s deeper involvement in Afghanistan and inflame and fuel ethnic, sectarian and lingual tensions among Afghan people.
RAWA always believes that women’s problem is a political issue and we cannot tackle it separately from the current catastrophic political situation. Without the overthrow of the current puppet regime, which is becoming more mortal and odorous than before by the inclusion of Taliban and Gulbuddini murderers, none of the thousands of the problems of our unhappy people will ever be solved.
Slogans about restoring peace, security, democracy and women’s rights will be empty and amplified claims, as long as Afghanistan has not gained its independence; the Taliban and the Northern Alliance killers are not prosecuted and the billions of wealth they have pillaged from people are not taken back from them. The benchmark to judge if any individual or organization is truly patriotic and progressive in the current situation is their struggle in any possible means against US occupation, the criminal Taliban -- who have the enslavement harness of Pakistan around their nick -- and the hirelings of Iran and the US in the “National Front”.
RAWA is eager to get united in solidarity with individuals and forces that are ready to fight for democracy in an independent front against the occupation, the Taliban, Jehadi and Khalqi and Parchami homeland-sellers.
While women of Afghanistan are experiencing a new era of captivity and are in the grip of the fundamentalist monsters, RAWA sends it heartfelt salutations to struggling brave women of Iran, Palestine, Kurdistan, Sudan, Nepal, India and the rest of the world and announces solidarity with them.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
A shelter for women in Herat
Cornelia Walther describes a shelter for women in Herat, Afghanistan. Herat is located in the central, western part of Afghanistan. In previous blogs, we have identified a number of efforts by women to assist other women. The following example is one that has received some support from UNICEF. These are mostly efforts that don't yet reach a large number of women and children, but they represent a postive and often courageous step under freightening conditions.
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Shelter provides hope for abused women in western Afghanistan
© UNICEF Afghanistan/2009/
By Cornelia Walther
HERAT, Afghanistan, 11 January 2010 - Nafiza Popal, 45, manages Herat’s only women’s shelter, providing a refuge for women in distress, the vast majority of whom have fled their husbands after experiencing physical violence.
When a woman arrives at the shelter she meets a psychosocial consultant and a nurse. If her problem is of a legal nature, she is able to see a lawyer. The location of the shelter is kept secret, even from family members.
“Last month we took care of Haidary, a girl whose nose and ears had been cut,” said Ms. Popal. “She had found out that her husband was betraying her with another woman and tried to argue with him. He answered with his knife. Today, the husband is in jail and the woman is back with her family.”
The shelter was established by Afghan Voices of Women and UNIFEM in 2003. UNICEF has been supporting it since 2008, by training social workers and providing equipment.
‘Half her body was burned’
Fariba is just 10 years old, but she is already married. Her brother arranged her marriage to a 45-year-old man, in exchange for $5,000.
© UNICEF Afghanistan/2009/Walther
Arzo Nusrat, 25, found refuge at Herat’s women’s shelter, along with her daughter. She fled home after being beaten by her husband.
“Fariba came here some days ago,” said Ms. Popal. ”Half of her body was burned. When she tried to prepare a meal for her husband, she had poured hot water over herself; the cooking pot was too heavy for her.”
“The marriage was celebrated under the condition that the husband would not touch the girl before her 14th birthday,” added Ms. Popal. “What an empty promise!”
Today, thanks to the support of the women’s shelter, Fariba’s husband is in jail.
Classes foster independence
Fifty women, on average, come to the shelter every month. They usually stay between six months and four years, and attend classes in tailoring, literacy and carpet weaving.
“I may never be independent, but at least I know that I could earn money for myself if I got a chance,” said Arzo, 25, who fled to the shelter with her daughter after being beaten by her husband.
For those women who stay longer in the shelter, Ms. Popal and her co-workers find small jobs for them. Depending on their level of education, the women are employed as cleaners, cooks or secretaries. When a man is interested in establishing a relationship with one of them, his offer goes through the Ministry of Women’s Affairs.
The shelter is a glimmer of hope for women like Haidary, Fariba and Arzo, yet they represent just a fraction of the women who face domestic violence in the region. In response, UNICEF and its partners are working to give hope to all Afghani women facing abuse with expanded shelter programmes and widespread education campaigns.
------------------------------
Shelter provides hope for abused women in western Afghanistan
© UNICEF Afghanistan/2009/
By Cornelia Walther
HERAT, Afghanistan, 11 January 2010 - Nafiza Popal, 45, manages Herat’s only women’s shelter, providing a refuge for women in distress, the vast majority of whom have fled their husbands after experiencing physical violence.
When a woman arrives at the shelter she meets a psychosocial consultant and a nurse. If her problem is of a legal nature, she is able to see a lawyer. The location of the shelter is kept secret, even from family members.
“Last month we took care of Haidary, a girl whose nose and ears had been cut,” said Ms. Popal. “She had found out that her husband was betraying her with another woman and tried to argue with him. He answered with his knife. Today, the husband is in jail and the woman is back with her family.”
The shelter was established by Afghan Voices of Women and UNIFEM in 2003. UNICEF has been supporting it since 2008, by training social workers and providing equipment.
‘Half her body was burned’
Fariba is just 10 years old, but she is already married. Her brother arranged her marriage to a 45-year-old man, in exchange for $5,000.
© UNICEF Afghanistan/2009/Walther
Arzo Nusrat, 25, found refuge at Herat’s women’s shelter, along with her daughter. She fled home after being beaten by her husband.
“Fariba came here some days ago,” said Ms. Popal. ”Half of her body was burned. When she tried to prepare a meal for her husband, she had poured hot water over herself; the cooking pot was too heavy for her.”
“The marriage was celebrated under the condition that the husband would not touch the girl before her 14th birthday,” added Ms. Popal. “What an empty promise!”
Today, thanks to the support of the women’s shelter, Fariba’s husband is in jail.
Classes foster independence
Fifty women, on average, come to the shelter every month. They usually stay between six months and four years, and attend classes in tailoring, literacy and carpet weaving.
“I may never be independent, but at least I know that I could earn money for myself if I got a chance,” said Arzo, 25, who fled to the shelter with her daughter after being beaten by her husband.
For those women who stay longer in the shelter, Ms. Popal and her co-workers find small jobs for them. Depending on their level of education, the women are employed as cleaners, cooks or secretaries. When a man is interested in establishing a relationship with one of them, his offer goes through the Ministry of Women’s Affairs.
The shelter is a glimmer of hope for women like Haidary, Fariba and Arzo, yet they represent just a fraction of the women who face domestic violence in the region. In response, UNICEF and its partners are working to give hope to all Afghani women facing abuse with expanded shelter programmes and widespread education campaigns.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
A review of Malalai Joya's book, A Woman Among Warlords
A Voice of Resistance in Afghanistan
January 05, 2010 By Suzanne Weiss Source: Socialist Voice Suzanne Weiss's ZSpace Page
http://www.zmag.org/znet/viewArticle/23558
A Woman Among Warlords: The Extraordinary Story of an Afghan Who Dared to Raise Her Voice, by Malalai Joya, with Derrick O'Keefe. Scribner, 2009.
Afghan social activist and writer Malalai Joya is the voice of another, hidden Afghanistan - the partisans of independence, democracy, and human rights who have no voice under the corrupt U.S.-sponsored regime of Hamid Karzai.
She has survived multiple assassination attempts for her outspoken advocacy of women's rights and withdrawal of U.S., Canadian, and other NATO armed forces. She believes the people of Afghanistan, especially the women, can organize the struggle for fundamental rights such as health care, education, control of their bodies and their lives - but only when the foreign occupiers leave their country.
Her book challenges us all to redouble efforts for this goal. Written from the heart and from profound experience, it tells the story of war and warlordism in Afghanistan, and how it has devastated the fabric of life there.
Tradition of resistance
Joya tells us of her background as an inquisitive child in a family and community with a tradition of centuries of resistance to foreign occupiers. She was named after a national hero, Malalai of Maiwand, who rallied Afghan forces to win a decisive victory over British invaders in 1880, sacrificing her life in the famous Battle of Maiwand.
Joya chronicles her family's suffering under the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, which began in 1979 when she was still an infant in her mother's arms. During these years, millions of Afghans fled for their lives to the neighboring countries of Iran and Pakistan. Most refugees settled in detention camps that, Joya says, are like "concentration camps, designed to humiliate and break the Afghan national spirit and pride."
Joya's father, an important influence in her life, insisted that she and her siblings be educated. This led the family to move from Iran to Pakistan, where she was able to attend the Watan School for Afghan refugees in Quetta. It was there that she first got acquainted with the Revolutionary Women's Association of Afghanistan (RAWA) founded by Meena, a social activist who was martyred in 1987. (See www.rawa.org/meena.html)
For women's rights and democracy
Joya, although not a member herself, champions RAWA as waging an "uncompromising struggle for women's rights and democracy." Today the organization operates underground within Afghanistan, for fear of retribution for their outspoken criticism of the Afghan government.
While still a student at the age of 14, Joya dedicated herself to teaching other youth in Pakistan. She received a small stipend to help her family income. She used innovative incentives to encourage women to come to her classes. Later, she became a social activist with the Organization for Promoting Afghan Women's Capabilities (OPAWC), a non-governmental organization seeking to ameliorate the health and education of women and girls.
During her 16 years in exile, Joya came to admire the Palestinian resistance and resolved to "become a Palestinian" in her own country.
Betrayed hopes
The Taliban regime that ruled from 1996 to 2001 was widely hated for institutionalizing anti-women and brutal practices. When the U.S. attacked Afghanistan in 2001, it proclaimed the goal of releasing women from this bondage. Many Afghans hoped that conquest by the U.S. might bring a better future. But that was not to be.
The U.S. hypocritically clothed its invasion in feminist garb. "The purpose of the American invasion [is] to restore women's rights," said "First Lady" Laura Bush. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell claimed, "The rights of women in Afghanistan will not be negotiable."
Joya counters that it was obvious from the very first days of the war that the United States had not the slightest intention of supporting the women of Afghanistan, but aimed instead "to sustain the worst enemies of women in that country."
The U.S. supported the Northern Alliance, a vicious league of anti-Taliban warlords, notorious for the use of torture, as the Taliban before them, used rape as a weapon to dominate and terrorize the people, Joya says. "Men were also subjected to rape ... even children [were] raped, as young as four."
When the Taliban fled under U.S. bombardment, the Northern Alliance occupied Kabul. One of its first actions, in November 2001, was to ban a planned women's march through the streets of the city. Conditions of women did not improve.
If Afghanistan is a failed state today, Joya says, "it is because the warlords who had failed our country before were once again in power."
In 2001, Joya returned to her native western Afghan province of Farah, where she opened and directed the Hamoon Health Care Clinic under the auspices of OPAWC. It had three physicians, half a dozen nurses, and an ambulance service operated through volunteers.
The provincial government warned that they would not guarantee her safety as project director, but at the initial opening, the local people expressed their support, promising to guarantee her security themselves. Joya experienced many acts of solidarity which represent what she describes as the "quiet resistance of people who are risking their lives to rescue their fellow countrymen."
Afghanistan was now dominated by new occupiers - the U.S. and its NATO allies. Joya accuses the new U.S.-sponsored rulers of using the "name of Islam and Jihad to make war on their own people and oppress Afghan women."
Most people in the West believe that the "severe oppression of women there began under the Taliban regime" (1996-2001), Joya notes. "But this is a lie." The main props of the entrenched subjugation of women are the warlords who have dominated Afghanistan both before and after the Taliban and now provide the main support for the government of Hamid Karzai. The "worst atrocities ... were committed during the civil war [in the 1990s] by the men who are now in power," she says.
Hypocrisy and deception
The widely hated burqa, or full body veil, is often seen as a symbol of subjugation linked to the Taliban. However, Joya testifies that even today, "Afghanistan women are obliged to wear the burqa for fear of being kidnapped, raped, and murdered." Joya assures us that "many Afghan men are very sympathetic," and risk their lives to protect women. However, the many women who are raped or abused often become despondent and fall into hopelessness and "self-immolate to escape their misery." Joya cries out, "Afghanistan remains like a bird with one wing-women-clipped. As long as the subjugation of women persists, our society will not be able to take off and move forward."
The U.S. is now sending tens of thousands of additional soldiers to "fight the Taliban." But war and occupation brings only grief to the Afghan people, Joya says. Money flows freely for military expenses and policing, but funds for health care, education, or day care are scarce. Joya's book honors the memory of many women martyred under the NATO occupation because they struggled for social services and education, women's rights and bettering the conditions for children.
"There is nothing in Islamic religion," Joya explains, dictating that women should be subjugated. In fact, women suffer similar religious constraints under some forms of Christianity, Judaism, and Hinduism. The hijab - veil, or headscarf - is not unlike the wigs or scarves worn by women of other religions.
Voice of resistance
Malalai Joya does not stand alone. The people of her province elected her in 2005 to the Wolesi Jirga, the lower house of the Afghan parliament. She received the second-highest number of votes in Farah province. Joya aimed to find a way to put an end to the rule of "the warlords and fundamentalists," she tells us. "I knew the great majority of Afghan men and women shared this aim," she writes. "My mission would be to expose the true nature of the Jirga from within it."
Inside the parliament, she boldly challenged leading politicians who were drug lords and criminals of the Northern Alliance. In response, she was undemocratically suspended from the Wolesi Jirga in 2007 and threatened with sexual violence by members of that body.
Many people demonstrated against her suspension, in the streets in Kabul and other towns and cities across the country. But often the police prevented peaceful protest on the pretext that they were protecting demonstrators from potential violence. In Jalalabad, women and men marched to the UN office to demand her reinstatement. Joya found that many women had defied the odds and voted for her at tremendous personal risk. Joya recalls the words of Meena, the martyred founder of RAWA, "Afghan women are like sleeping lions who when awakened ... [they] will play a tremendous role in any Afghan social revolution."
Joya lashes out at these rulers and spits out their names like poison off her tongue, bearing witness to the anger of her people who know each one of these politicians and their crimes. These men shamefully "use the name of Islam and jihad to make war on their own people and oppress Afghan women," she declares. They received millions from the American CIA and the Pakistani ISI [security force]. Joya also denounces the women who have been appointed to the Wolesi Jirga to rubber stamp the repression of the government, although she concedes that these women, are "themselves victims of the system."
Joya sees the Afghans today as "trapped between two enemies: the Taliban on one side and U.S./NATO forces and their warlord hirelings on the other." One wonders about the hopes and goals of the resistance fighters, universally labeled "Taliban" by pro-U.S. media. Are they really identical in outlook to the brutal rulers of the late 1990s? This question remains unexplored.
Joya herself is not a solitary figure. She is a bold spokesperson for a current of opinion in Afghanistan that is silenced by the Karzai regime and its NATO backers. She cites the firm convictions and courageous actions of many of her women co-thinkers in Afghanistan.
Joya is clear on the role of the United States and NATO, which "brought the warlords and druglords to power." She views Obama's insertion of another 30,000 U.S. troops into Afghanistan "as continuance of the Bush policy." As she would say: "same donkey, but with a new saddle."
Her clarion call is for all the foreign troops to leave Afghanistan now.
January 05, 2010 By Suzanne Weiss Source: Socialist Voice Suzanne Weiss's ZSpace Page
http://www.zmag.org/znet/viewArticle/23558
A Woman Among Warlords: The Extraordinary Story of an Afghan Who Dared to Raise Her Voice, by Malalai Joya, with Derrick O'Keefe. Scribner, 2009.
Afghan social activist and writer Malalai Joya is the voice of another, hidden Afghanistan - the partisans of independence, democracy, and human rights who have no voice under the corrupt U.S.-sponsored regime of Hamid Karzai.
She has survived multiple assassination attempts for her outspoken advocacy of women's rights and withdrawal of U.S., Canadian, and other NATO armed forces. She believes the people of Afghanistan, especially the women, can organize the struggle for fundamental rights such as health care, education, control of their bodies and their lives - but only when the foreign occupiers leave their country.
Her book challenges us all to redouble efforts for this goal. Written from the heart and from profound experience, it tells the story of war and warlordism in Afghanistan, and how it has devastated the fabric of life there.
Tradition of resistance
Joya tells us of her background as an inquisitive child in a family and community with a tradition of centuries of resistance to foreign occupiers. She was named after a national hero, Malalai of Maiwand, who rallied Afghan forces to win a decisive victory over British invaders in 1880, sacrificing her life in the famous Battle of Maiwand.
Joya chronicles her family's suffering under the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, which began in 1979 when she was still an infant in her mother's arms. During these years, millions of Afghans fled for their lives to the neighboring countries of Iran and Pakistan. Most refugees settled in detention camps that, Joya says, are like "concentration camps, designed to humiliate and break the Afghan national spirit and pride."
Joya's father, an important influence in her life, insisted that she and her siblings be educated. This led the family to move from Iran to Pakistan, where she was able to attend the Watan School for Afghan refugees in Quetta. It was there that she first got acquainted with the Revolutionary Women's Association of Afghanistan (RAWA) founded by Meena, a social activist who was martyred in 1987. (See www.rawa.org/meena.html)
For women's rights and democracy
Joya, although not a member herself, champions RAWA as waging an "uncompromising struggle for women's rights and democracy." Today the organization operates underground within Afghanistan, for fear of retribution for their outspoken criticism of the Afghan government.
While still a student at the age of 14, Joya dedicated herself to teaching other youth in Pakistan. She received a small stipend to help her family income. She used innovative incentives to encourage women to come to her classes. Later, she became a social activist with the Organization for Promoting Afghan Women's Capabilities (OPAWC), a non-governmental organization seeking to ameliorate the health and education of women and girls.
During her 16 years in exile, Joya came to admire the Palestinian resistance and resolved to "become a Palestinian" in her own country.
Betrayed hopes
The Taliban regime that ruled from 1996 to 2001 was widely hated for institutionalizing anti-women and brutal practices. When the U.S. attacked Afghanistan in 2001, it proclaimed the goal of releasing women from this bondage. Many Afghans hoped that conquest by the U.S. might bring a better future. But that was not to be.
The U.S. hypocritically clothed its invasion in feminist garb. "The purpose of the American invasion [is] to restore women's rights," said "First Lady" Laura Bush. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell claimed, "The rights of women in Afghanistan will not be negotiable."
Joya counters that it was obvious from the very first days of the war that the United States had not the slightest intention of supporting the women of Afghanistan, but aimed instead "to sustain the worst enemies of women in that country."
The U.S. supported the Northern Alliance, a vicious league of anti-Taliban warlords, notorious for the use of torture, as the Taliban before them, used rape as a weapon to dominate and terrorize the people, Joya says. "Men were also subjected to rape ... even children [were] raped, as young as four."
When the Taliban fled under U.S. bombardment, the Northern Alliance occupied Kabul. One of its first actions, in November 2001, was to ban a planned women's march through the streets of the city. Conditions of women did not improve.
If Afghanistan is a failed state today, Joya says, "it is because the warlords who had failed our country before were once again in power."
In 2001, Joya returned to her native western Afghan province of Farah, where she opened and directed the Hamoon Health Care Clinic under the auspices of OPAWC. It had three physicians, half a dozen nurses, and an ambulance service operated through volunteers.
The provincial government warned that they would not guarantee her safety as project director, but at the initial opening, the local people expressed their support, promising to guarantee her security themselves. Joya experienced many acts of solidarity which represent what she describes as the "quiet resistance of people who are risking their lives to rescue their fellow countrymen."
Afghanistan was now dominated by new occupiers - the U.S. and its NATO allies. Joya accuses the new U.S.-sponsored rulers of using the "name of Islam and Jihad to make war on their own people and oppress Afghan women."
Most people in the West believe that the "severe oppression of women there began under the Taliban regime" (1996-2001), Joya notes. "But this is a lie." The main props of the entrenched subjugation of women are the warlords who have dominated Afghanistan both before and after the Taliban and now provide the main support for the government of Hamid Karzai. The "worst atrocities ... were committed during the civil war [in the 1990s] by the men who are now in power," she says.
Hypocrisy and deception
The widely hated burqa, or full body veil, is often seen as a symbol of subjugation linked to the Taliban. However, Joya testifies that even today, "Afghanistan women are obliged to wear the burqa for fear of being kidnapped, raped, and murdered." Joya assures us that "many Afghan men are very sympathetic," and risk their lives to protect women. However, the many women who are raped or abused often become despondent and fall into hopelessness and "self-immolate to escape their misery." Joya cries out, "Afghanistan remains like a bird with one wing-women-clipped. As long as the subjugation of women persists, our society will not be able to take off and move forward."
The U.S. is now sending tens of thousands of additional soldiers to "fight the Taliban." But war and occupation brings only grief to the Afghan people, Joya says. Money flows freely for military expenses and policing, but funds for health care, education, or day care are scarce. Joya's book honors the memory of many women martyred under the NATO occupation because they struggled for social services and education, women's rights and bettering the conditions for children.
"There is nothing in Islamic religion," Joya explains, dictating that women should be subjugated. In fact, women suffer similar religious constraints under some forms of Christianity, Judaism, and Hinduism. The hijab - veil, or headscarf - is not unlike the wigs or scarves worn by women of other religions.
Voice of resistance
Malalai Joya does not stand alone. The people of her province elected her in 2005 to the Wolesi Jirga, the lower house of the Afghan parliament. She received the second-highest number of votes in Farah province. Joya aimed to find a way to put an end to the rule of "the warlords and fundamentalists," she tells us. "I knew the great majority of Afghan men and women shared this aim," she writes. "My mission would be to expose the true nature of the Jirga from within it."
Inside the parliament, she boldly challenged leading politicians who were drug lords and criminals of the Northern Alliance. In response, she was undemocratically suspended from the Wolesi Jirga in 2007 and threatened with sexual violence by members of that body.
Many people demonstrated against her suspension, in the streets in Kabul and other towns and cities across the country. But often the police prevented peaceful protest on the pretext that they were protecting demonstrators from potential violence. In Jalalabad, women and men marched to the UN office to demand her reinstatement. Joya found that many women had defied the odds and voted for her at tremendous personal risk. Joya recalls the words of Meena, the martyred founder of RAWA, "Afghan women are like sleeping lions who when awakened ... [they] will play a tremendous role in any Afghan social revolution."
Joya lashes out at these rulers and spits out their names like poison off her tongue, bearing witness to the anger of her people who know each one of these politicians and their crimes. These men shamefully "use the name of Islam and jihad to make war on their own people and oppress Afghan women," she declares. They received millions from the American CIA and the Pakistani ISI [security force]. Joya also denounces the women who have been appointed to the Wolesi Jirga to rubber stamp the repression of the government, although she concedes that these women, are "themselves victims of the system."
Joya sees the Afghans today as "trapped between two enemies: the Taliban on one side and U.S./NATO forces and their warlord hirelings on the other." One wonders about the hopes and goals of the resistance fighters, universally labeled "Taliban" by pro-U.S. media. Are they really identical in outlook to the brutal rulers of the late 1990s? This question remains unexplored.
Joya herself is not a solitary figure. She is a bold spokesperson for a current of opinion in Afghanistan that is silenced by the Karzai regime and its NATO backers. She cites the firm convictions and courageous actions of many of her women co-thinkers in Afghanistan.
Joya is clear on the role of the United States and NATO, which "brought the warlords and druglords to power." She views Obama's insertion of another 30,000 U.S. troops into Afghanistan "as continuance of the Bush policy." As she would say: "same donkey, but with a new saddle."
Her clarion call is for all the foreign troops to leave Afghanistan now.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Afghan women writing for change project
Andrew Wander, "Afghan women writing for change," Aljazeera, December 6, 2009
http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/12/2009126756888150.html
"The man sitting in front of me was my country's president, but the only thing I could feel towards him was anger," writes Meena, describing a meeting with Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president.
"I lost respect for him because of his policies towards women's rights, his stance on negotiating with the Taliban, and his alliance with Dostum, a warlord and criminal."
In a country where women's voices are rarely heard, Meena's publications on a pioneering blog, the Afghan Women's Writing Project (AWWP), represent a tentative step forward in addressing the lack of female voices in the public sphere in Afghanistan.
Meena and her fellow contributors take enormous risks in writing - publishing anonymously to avoid being identified.
Many of their own families do not know what they are doing, and if found, they could face serious reprisals from those who believe that Afghan women should be neither seen nor heard.
One contributor, Roya, explains the constraints under which she works. "No one knows I am writing for this project and it stays a secret," she says. "I can't tell my family I am writing. There are security risks for us."
Worth the risk
In the volatile political and security climate of Afghanistan, no-one is taking any chances."Recently I received a death threat from Taliban," one anonymous poster writes, in a piece entitled Being a Woman: My Only Sin.
But for the contributors, having their voices heard is worth the risk.
"I grew up being told by the society that I was mentally unequal to men and incapable of doing anything but giving birth and raising children," Meena says. "Writing for the blog has enabled me to take the tears, the pain and the horror of Afghan women to my Afghan brothers and to the world."
The project was set up by American novelist Masha Hamilton as a way for Afghan women to share their experiences directly with the rest of the world, rather than being spoken for by men.
"There are many cases of women feeling that this is a lifeline for them"
Masha Hamilton, the founder of the Afghan Women's Writing Project "It's about developing their voices," Hamilton says. "We don't just put anything up. It's a dialogue and a communication. We want to help them express their stories, and their writing often becomes more personal as time goes on."
The project has been an enormous success. It attracts submissions on topics ranging from contemporary politics to considerations of the burqa, offering a unique insight into a world ordinarily kept hidden from public gaze.
A network of volunteer teachers in the US use secure online classrooms to set writing prompts for the 36 women who participate from across Afghanistan.
"We have some women writing from the most conservative provinces of Afghanistan," Hamilton says. "There are many cases of women feeling that this is a lifeline for them."
Catalyst for change
As well as giving English language readers a chance to understand more about the lives of Afghan women, the project also represents an educational opportunity for the women who take part.
For some, it is the only opportunity they have to practice their English, although organisers say that the development of creative skills is prioritised over improving the technical aspects of their language.
Either way, the women clearly enjoy the interactive nature of the project.Elay has been taking part for the past two months. "I have wonderful teachers," she says."They correct my essays and I learn from my mistakes, and the way they explain the mistakes."
But with Afghanistan rocked by spreading instability and large swathes of the country falling under Taliban control, the writers are well aware that the relative freedom that allows them to take part in the project is not guaranteed to last.
Hamilton says that the deteriorating security situation has had an impact on the way the women see their futures.
"In 2004, I went to Afghanistan for the first time," she says. "I could see that there was a long way for women to go, but there was hope. When I went back in November 2008, a lot of that had gone."
The prospect of the government cutting a deal with the Taliban is of particular concern and the organisers are making contingency plans in case conservative elements are politically empowered by any potential deal.
"We want to get them all laptops, in case things get worse again," Hamilton says. "Then they could write at home."
Meanwhile, the women who risk everything to make their voices heard hope their writing can be a catalyst for positive change."I believe words are stronger than guns," Meena says. "It is words that start revolutions and changes."
To read the work of the Afghan Women's Writing Project, visit http://awwproject.wordpress.com/
Source: Al Jazeera
http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/12/2009126756888150.html
"The man sitting in front of me was my country's president, but the only thing I could feel towards him was anger," writes Meena, describing a meeting with Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president.
"I lost respect for him because of his policies towards women's rights, his stance on negotiating with the Taliban, and his alliance with Dostum, a warlord and criminal."
In a country where women's voices are rarely heard, Meena's publications on a pioneering blog, the Afghan Women's Writing Project (AWWP), represent a tentative step forward in addressing the lack of female voices in the public sphere in Afghanistan.
Meena and her fellow contributors take enormous risks in writing - publishing anonymously to avoid being identified.
Many of their own families do not know what they are doing, and if found, they could face serious reprisals from those who believe that Afghan women should be neither seen nor heard.
One contributor, Roya, explains the constraints under which she works. "No one knows I am writing for this project and it stays a secret," she says. "I can't tell my family I am writing. There are security risks for us."
Worth the risk
In the volatile political and security climate of Afghanistan, no-one is taking any chances."Recently I received a death threat from Taliban," one anonymous poster writes, in a piece entitled Being a Woman: My Only Sin.
But for the contributors, having their voices heard is worth the risk.
"I grew up being told by the society that I was mentally unequal to men and incapable of doing anything but giving birth and raising children," Meena says. "Writing for the blog has enabled me to take the tears, the pain and the horror of Afghan women to my Afghan brothers and to the world."
The project was set up by American novelist Masha Hamilton as a way for Afghan women to share their experiences directly with the rest of the world, rather than being spoken for by men.
"There are many cases of women feeling that this is a lifeline for them"
Masha Hamilton, the founder of the Afghan Women's Writing Project "It's about developing their voices," Hamilton says. "We don't just put anything up. It's a dialogue and a communication. We want to help them express their stories, and their writing often becomes more personal as time goes on."
The project has been an enormous success. It attracts submissions on topics ranging from contemporary politics to considerations of the burqa, offering a unique insight into a world ordinarily kept hidden from public gaze.
A network of volunteer teachers in the US use secure online classrooms to set writing prompts for the 36 women who participate from across Afghanistan.
"We have some women writing from the most conservative provinces of Afghanistan," Hamilton says. "There are many cases of women feeling that this is a lifeline for them."
Catalyst for change
As well as giving English language readers a chance to understand more about the lives of Afghan women, the project also represents an educational opportunity for the women who take part.
For some, it is the only opportunity they have to practice their English, although organisers say that the development of creative skills is prioritised over improving the technical aspects of their language.
Either way, the women clearly enjoy the interactive nature of the project.Elay has been taking part for the past two months. "I have wonderful teachers," she says."They correct my essays and I learn from my mistakes, and the way they explain the mistakes."
But with Afghanistan rocked by spreading instability and large swathes of the country falling under Taliban control, the writers are well aware that the relative freedom that allows them to take part in the project is not guaranteed to last.
Hamilton says that the deteriorating security situation has had an impact on the way the women see their futures.
"In 2004, I went to Afghanistan for the first time," she says. "I could see that there was a long way for women to go, but there was hope. When I went back in November 2008, a lot of that had gone."
The prospect of the government cutting a deal with the Taliban is of particular concern and the organisers are making contingency plans in case conservative elements are politically empowered by any potential deal.
"We want to get them all laptops, in case things get worse again," Hamilton says. "Then they could write at home."
Meanwhile, the women who risk everything to make their voices heard hope their writing can be a catalyst for positive change."I believe words are stronger than guns," Meena says. "It is words that start revolutions and changes."
To read the work of the Afghan Women's Writing Project, visit http://awwproject.wordpress.com/
Source: Al Jazeera
Friday, December 4, 2009
The Afghan Women's Mission
Sonali Kolhatkar appears several times on the video Rethink Afghanistan. She is a board member of The Aftan Women's Mission. This is another organization of women who oppose the surge in troops by the Obama administration. See AWM's mission statement and other facts below.
Bob
-------------------------------
Who We AreThe Afghan Women's Mission is a group of people moved to action by the plight of Afghan refugees, especially the women and children. The Mission was founded in January 2000 and continues to support many programs run by Afghan women including Malalai Clinic, schools, orphanages, agricultural programs, demonstrations and functions in support of women's and human rights. The Mission is run by an active board of volunteer directors as well as by a number of dedicated volunteers.
The Afghan Women's MissionThe Afghan Women's Mission was founded in response to the compelling need for adequate hospital facilities near Afghan refugee camps in Pakistan. Our first undertaking was the re-opening of the Malalai Hospital in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. This flagship project was effectively started in late 2001. In 2005, Malalai Hospital was transitioned into Malalai Clinic in Khewa refugee camp.
Broadly speaking, the objectives of the Afghan Women's mission fall into three categories:
Health Care: establish and operate free health centers serving primarily Afghan women and children.
Education and Empowerment: support schools and other programs for Afghan refugees to alleviate emotional suffering and decrease illiteracy and joblessness; and to empower Afghan women to build sustainable livelihoods.
Awareness: conduct campaigns to increase public awareness on women's and human rights and related issues in Afghanistan and Afghan refugee camps. Board of DirectorsSonali Kolhatkar Sonali is host and co-producer of a one hour daily radio show called Uprising on KPFK (90.7 fm in Los Angeles and 98.7 fm in Santa Barbara), a listener-sponsored community radio station, which is part of the Pacifica network. Sonali's radio show airs from 8 am to 9 am weekdays and is a public affairs political news magazine. Sonali is also a spokesperson for the Afghan Women's Mission and speaks widely on college campuses, community fora, and conferences. She also pursues social, activist and artistic endeavors which include web design, political writing and organizing, song writing and singing, painting and cooking. Her most recent articles can be found on her web site.
James Ingalls Jim is a staff scientist at Caltech's Spitzer Space Telescope Science Center. He manages AWM's monthly pledge program. As a graduate student, he spent four months at the South Pole, and he returned with a greater appreciation for humanity. Jim has written on a number of political issues. His latest articles can be found on his web site.
Martha J. Heil Martha Heil, the press manager for the Afghan Women's Mission, is intent on supporting the continuing fight for women's rights. She has spoken at Los Angeles-area colleges on behalf of RAWA. An aspiring science writer, Heil likes nature and books. She currently resides in Washington, DC.
Management
Heather Schreck Community Relations Manager Heather began volunteering for AWM, driven by her passion for social activism and women's rights. Heather currently works for HBO and loves every minute of it. But, her ultimate dream is to create independent film projects on different social issues. In her spare time she picks up and opens AWM mail, sorts donations and helps with donor outreach. She also volunteers her time tabling for AWM at local events.
(NOTE NEW ADDRESS)The Afghan Women's MissionPO Box 40846, Pasadena, CA 91114-7846, USACopyright © 2000-2009, IHC/Afghan Women's Mission, All Rights Reserved WorldwideLast Updated 02/09/06
Bob
-------------------------------
Who We AreThe Afghan Women's Mission is a group of people moved to action by the plight of Afghan refugees, especially the women and children. The Mission was founded in January 2000 and continues to support many programs run by Afghan women including Malalai Clinic, schools, orphanages, agricultural programs, demonstrations and functions in support of women's and human rights. The Mission is run by an active board of volunteer directors as well as by a number of dedicated volunteers.
The Afghan Women's MissionThe Afghan Women's Mission was founded in response to the compelling need for adequate hospital facilities near Afghan refugee camps in Pakistan. Our first undertaking was the re-opening of the Malalai Hospital in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. This flagship project was effectively started in late 2001. In 2005, Malalai Hospital was transitioned into Malalai Clinic in Khewa refugee camp.
Broadly speaking, the objectives of the Afghan Women's mission fall into three categories:
Health Care: establish and operate free health centers serving primarily Afghan women and children.
Education and Empowerment: support schools and other programs for Afghan refugees to alleviate emotional suffering and decrease illiteracy and joblessness; and to empower Afghan women to build sustainable livelihoods.
Awareness: conduct campaigns to increase public awareness on women's and human rights and related issues in Afghanistan and Afghan refugee camps. Board of DirectorsSonali Kolhatkar Sonali is host and co-producer of a one hour daily radio show called Uprising on KPFK (90.7 fm in Los Angeles and 98.7 fm in Santa Barbara), a listener-sponsored community radio station, which is part of the Pacifica network. Sonali's radio show airs from 8 am to 9 am weekdays and is a public affairs political news magazine. Sonali is also a spokesperson for the Afghan Women's Mission and speaks widely on college campuses, community fora, and conferences. She also pursues social, activist and artistic endeavors which include web design, political writing and organizing, song writing and singing, painting and cooking. Her most recent articles can be found on her web site.
James Ingalls Jim is a staff scientist at Caltech's Spitzer Space Telescope Science Center. He manages AWM's monthly pledge program. As a graduate student, he spent four months at the South Pole, and he returned with a greater appreciation for humanity. Jim has written on a number of political issues. His latest articles can be found on his web site.
Martha J. Heil Martha Heil, the press manager for the Afghan Women's Mission, is intent on supporting the continuing fight for women's rights. She has spoken at Los Angeles-area colleges on behalf of RAWA. An aspiring science writer, Heil likes nature and books. She currently resides in Washington, DC.
Management
Heather Schreck Community Relations Manager Heather began volunteering for AWM, driven by her passion for social activism and women's rights. Heather currently works for HBO and loves every minute of it. But, her ultimate dream is to create independent film projects on different social issues. In her spare time she picks up and opens AWM mail, sorts donations and helps with donor outreach. She also volunteers her time tabling for AWM at local events.
(NOTE NEW ADDRESS)The Afghan Women's MissionPO Box 40846, Pasadena, CA 91114-7846, USACopyright © 2000-2009, IHC/Afghan Women's Mission, All Rights Reserved WorldwideLast Updated 02/09/06
The Afghan Women's Network, represented on video Rethink Afghanistan
The Afghan Women's Network is one of the organizations of women that oppose the Obama administration's surge and the US/NATO military occupation. The following information on AWN comes from their website and focuses on basic facts, including (at the end) the names of the organization's board of directors, including their emails.
In 1995, seven Afghan women who participated in the of the fourth United Nations World Conference on Women in Beijing-China, along with other Afghan women decided to establish the Afghan Women's Network (AWN). A year later, in 1996, this informal initiative was developed into a formal structure in 1996.
AWN was operating out of Peshawar-Pakistan since its inception back in 1995 until they were shifted to Kabul in 2002.
AWN main office is based in Kabul with regional offices in Jalalabad and Herat. It has a liaison office in Peshawar-Pakistan that provides logistical support and outreach to the Afghan refugees still living in Pakistan.
Today, AWN is considered the only umbrella entity for women/gender-based organizations in Afghanistan. At present, AWN has 72 organizations and 3000 individuals as its members both in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Mission Statement AWN is a non-partisan Network of women and women’s NGOs working to empower Afghan women and ensure their equal participation in Afghan society. The members of the Network also recognize the value and role of children as the future of Afghanistan and, as such, regard the empowerment and protection of children as fundamental to their work. The Network seeks to enhance the effectiveness of its members by fostering partnership and collaboration between members, undertaking advocacy and lobbying, and building their individual capacities.
Vision
The Afghan Women’s Network envisions an Afghanistan in which all members – women, children, and men – participate equally. Furthermore, the members aspire to create an Afghan community which values, respects, and encourages the tremendous capacities of women and their contributions to Afghan culture and society.
Objectives:
To collect and disseminate information among members
To encourage coordination and facilitate dialogue and consultation on issues of concern amongst members and women organizations
To establish and maintain networks and relationships with key stakeholders and like-minded organizations
To facilitate research and analysis on issues of concern
To advocate with the Afghan Government, UN agencies and other relevant authorities on issues of concern
To represent the views of members and Afghan women organizations to the Afghan Government, UN agencies and other relevant authorities
To facilitate capacity building programs for members
Main Course of ActivitiesIn general, AWN is striving to achieve its mission by staying active in three major fields namely: Networking & Coordination, Advocacy and Capacity Building.
Organizational Structure
Board of Directors (BoD)
AWN is governed by its Board of Directors, who are selected once each year by popular votes of General Assembly Members.
Secretariat (Head Office)
Based in Kabul, AWN Secretariat (or Head Office) is answerable to the BoD. Meanwhile, it is responsible for the implementation of the strategies and plans that are endorsed by the Board of Directors. The Secretariat is led by the one Director, supported by one Deputy Director, Line Managers and Regional Office Directors.
Regional & Liaison Offices
We have regional offices in Jalalabad and Heart that cover neighboring provinces as well. In addition, we have a liaison office in Peshawar-Pakistan that provides logistical support and outreach to the Afghan refugees still living in Pakistan.
MembershipsAt present, AWN has 56 organizations and 3000 individuals registered as its members both in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
AWN Board of Directors Members
Malika Qanih
Orzala Ashraf
Nafisa Khatibi
Mary Akrami
Sabrina Saqib
Makai Siawash
Hangama Anwari
Name: Malika Qanih
Educational Qualifications: Social Education Course in Germany (6 months), Social Education Institute Kabul (6 months), High school in Kunduz Province-Afghanistan
Current Position: Executive Director of Educational training Center for poor Women and girls of Afghanistan (ECW)
Other Memberships: FEFA, and Parliamentary Women’s Network (PWN), ACSNOP
Telephone: +93(0)70276065 / +93(0)7772012421
Email: ecw_afghanistan@yahoo.com
Name: Orzala Ashraf
Educational Qualifications: Masters in Development Studies and Planning from London University, UK
Current Position: Consultant at UNDP
Email: orzala.an@googlemail.com
Name: Nafisa Khatibi
Educational Qualifications: Graduated from Literature Faculty of Kabul University
Current Position: Director, Afghan Women Cultural Association (AWCA)
Telephone: (091) 5862051 / 0301-8895968
Email: Rashidmodarrisi@hotmail.com
Name: Mary Akrami
Educational Qualifications: BBA on Administration and Economy, Peshawar, Pakistan
Current Position: Director Afghan Women Skills Development Center (AWSDC)
Telephone: +93 (0) 70 287587 / +93 (0)799 337460
Email: mary.akrami@gmail.com / awsdckabul@hotmail.com
Name: Sabrina Saqieb
Educational Qualifications: University Graduation from Azad English Translation University. (Iran)
Current Position: Member of the Afghanistan Parliament
Telephone: +93(0)70159837 / +93 (0)799311577
Email: sabrina_sagheb@yahoo.com / sabrina_sagheb@hotmail.com
Name:Gul Maky Siawash
Educational Qualifications: Diploma from (Pedagogy Institute in Chemistry and Biology Section, Kabul Afghanistan.
Current Position: Director of Kabul Orthopedic Organization (KOO), Kabul-Afghanistan
Telephone: (0799)318220 / 0700210868
Email: maky_siawash@yahoo.com
Bob
-----------------------------
About Us [The Afghan Women's Network]
In 1995, seven Afghan women who participated in the of the fourth United Nations World Conference on Women in Beijing-China, along with other Afghan women decided to establish the Afghan Women's Network (AWN). A year later, in 1996, this informal initiative was developed into a formal structure in 1996.
AWN was operating out of Peshawar-Pakistan since its inception back in 1995 until they were shifted to Kabul in 2002.
AWN main office is based in Kabul with regional offices in Jalalabad and Herat. It has a liaison office in Peshawar-Pakistan that provides logistical support and outreach to the Afghan refugees still living in Pakistan.
Today, AWN is considered the only umbrella entity for women/gender-based organizations in Afghanistan. At present, AWN has 72 organizations and 3000 individuals as its members both in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Mission Statement AWN is a non-partisan Network of women and women’s NGOs working to empower Afghan women and ensure their equal participation in Afghan society. The members of the Network also recognize the value and role of children as the future of Afghanistan and, as such, regard the empowerment and protection of children as fundamental to their work. The Network seeks to enhance the effectiveness of its members by fostering partnership and collaboration between members, undertaking advocacy and lobbying, and building their individual capacities.
Vision
The Afghan Women’s Network envisions an Afghanistan in which all members – women, children, and men – participate equally. Furthermore, the members aspire to create an Afghan community which values, respects, and encourages the tremendous capacities of women and their contributions to Afghan culture and society.
Objectives:
To collect and disseminate information among members
To encourage coordination and facilitate dialogue and consultation on issues of concern amongst members and women organizations
To establish and maintain networks and relationships with key stakeholders and like-minded organizations
To facilitate research and analysis on issues of concern
To advocate with the Afghan Government, UN agencies and other relevant authorities on issues of concern
To represent the views of members and Afghan women organizations to the Afghan Government, UN agencies and other relevant authorities
To facilitate capacity building programs for members
Main Course of ActivitiesIn general, AWN is striving to achieve its mission by staying active in three major fields namely: Networking & Coordination, Advocacy and Capacity Building.
Organizational Structure
Board of Directors (BoD)
AWN is governed by its Board of Directors, who are selected once each year by popular votes of General Assembly Members.
Secretariat (Head Office)
Based in Kabul, AWN Secretariat (or Head Office) is answerable to the BoD. Meanwhile, it is responsible for the implementation of the strategies and plans that are endorsed by the Board of Directors. The Secretariat is led by the one Director, supported by one Deputy Director, Line Managers and Regional Office Directors.
Regional & Liaison Offices
We have regional offices in Jalalabad and Heart that cover neighboring provinces as well. In addition, we have a liaison office in Peshawar-Pakistan that provides logistical support and outreach to the Afghan refugees still living in Pakistan.
MembershipsAt present, AWN has 56 organizations and 3000 individuals registered as its members both in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
AWN Board of Directors Members
Malika Qanih
Orzala Ashraf
Nafisa Khatibi
Mary Akrami
Sabrina Saqib
Makai Siawash
Hangama Anwari
Name: Malika Qanih
Educational Qualifications: Social Education Course in Germany (6 months), Social Education Institute Kabul (6 months), High school in Kunduz Province-Afghanistan
Current Position: Executive Director of Educational training Center for poor Women and girls of Afghanistan (ECW)
Other Memberships: FEFA, and Parliamentary Women’s Network (PWN), ACSNOP
Telephone: +93(0)70276065 / +93(0)7772012421
Email: ecw_afghanistan@yahoo.com
Name: Orzala Ashraf
Educational Qualifications: Masters in Development Studies and Planning from London University, UK
Current Position: Consultant at UNDP
Email: orzala.an@googlemail.com
Name: Nafisa Khatibi
Educational Qualifications: Graduated from Literature Faculty of Kabul University
Current Position: Director, Afghan Women Cultural Association (AWCA)
Telephone: (091) 5862051 / 0301-8895968
Email: Rashidmodarrisi@hotmail.com
Name: Mary Akrami
Educational Qualifications: BBA on Administration and Economy, Peshawar, Pakistan
Current Position: Director Afghan Women Skills Development Center (AWSDC)
Telephone: +93 (0) 70 287587 / +93 (0)799 337460
Email: mary.akrami@gmail.com / awsdckabul@hotmail.com
Name: Sabrina Saqieb
Educational Qualifications: University Graduation from Azad English Translation University. (Iran)
Current Position: Member of the Afghanistan Parliament
Telephone: +93(0)70159837 / +93 (0)799311577
Email: sabrina_sagheb@yahoo.com / sabrina_sagheb@hotmail.com
Name:Gul Maky Siawash
Educational Qualifications: Diploma from (Pedagogy Institute in Chemistry and Biology Section, Kabul Afghanistan.
Current Position: Director of Kabul Orthopedic Organization (KOO), Kabul-Afghanistan
Telephone: (0799)318220 / 0700210868
Email: maky_siawash@yahoo.com
Madre, another women's org, opposes Obama's focus on military solutions in Afghanistan
The following article comes from Madre, an organization demanding rights, resources, and results for women worldwide. You can have access to Madre's website by going to http://www.madre.org/.
Madre opposes Obama's policy of increasing US troop levels in Afghanistan, and, along with 80% of Afghans, wants US troops out of the country. Alternatively, Madre wants assistance in reconstruction in many sectors of the Afghan economy, in basic services to the population, especially to women and girls, and in the advancement of women's and all human rights. There should be an end to US cooperation with warlords and armed groups. Reconstruction should be led and implemented by Afghans. And the US and its allies "should support and facilitate diplomacy and peace," while leaving decisions about what happens in the country to the Afghans themselves.
Madre's proposals are far different than those just proposed by President Obama. But they echo closely those proposed by RAWA and Malalai Joya and reflect a desire for an indigenous democratic process instead of onging military occupation and domination by warlords that mainly enrich themselves.
Bob Sheak
----------------------------------
MADRE News
Six Alternatives to a Troop Surge in Afghanistan
Posted on: Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Keywords: Afghanistan, Peace Building, US Foreign Policy
Tonight, President Obama will tell us that he must expand the war on Afghanistan in order to end it. He will say that another troop surge is necessary to prevent al-Qaeda from using Afghanistan as a base. What he won’t say is that al-Qaeda is no longer in Afghanistan. He probably won’t point out that international forces already outnumber the Taliban twelve to one. And he’s not likely to remind us that throughout history, from the American Revolution to the Vietnam War, home-grown insurgencies like the Taliban’s ultimately ended when foreign troops withdrew. More than 80 percent of Afghans don’t want more US troops in their country. One reason is that the US presence is strengthening the Taliban, which most Afghans oppose. As the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace has found, “The mere presence of foreign soldiers fighting a war in Afghanistan is probably the single most important factor in the resurgence of the Taliban.” Afghanistan’s crisis is in part the result of 30 years of US intervention in the region, including the covert CIA campaign that created the Taliban (and al-Qaeda). Having unleashed this violence, the US has a legal and ethical obligation to the people of Afghanistan. That obligation will not be met by putting more boots on the ground. Instead, we need policies that address the grinding poverty, mass violence against women, predatory government and ongoing warfare that plague Afghanistan. Here are six things the Obama Administration must do to further the prospects for peace in Afghanistan:
1. Protect civilians from attacks
This will be the third US troop surge in Afghanistan; the first two killed record numbers of civilians.
In 2007, US/NATO troops were expanded by 45 percent and more civilians were killed than in the previous four years combined. In the first 10 months of Obama’s 2009 surge, more than 2000 civilians were killed—at a faster rate than any time since the war began.
The Taliban is known to attack villages where US soldiers have been. More US troops will make more civilians vulnerable to reprisal attacks.
President Obama’s expansion of the war into Pakistan has further endangered civilian lives. He has authorized as many drone strikes in less than ten months as George Bush did in his last three years in office.The US should stop constructing military bases and waging air strikes in or near civilian areas. President Obama must put a stop to drone attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
2. Uphold Afghan women’s rights
George Bush’s lie—that the US is in Afghanistan to defend women’s rights—is now driving the idea that more US forces are needed to protect Afghan women from the Taliban.
The problem with this argument is that the US has never prioritized women’s rights—or anyone’s rights—in Afghanistan.
From 2001 to the present, the US has allied itself with warlords and fanatical fundamentalists whose track record on women’s rights is virtually the same as the Taliban’s. In the creation of Afghanistan’s Parliament, constitution and judiciary, the US has consistently traded women’s rights for allegiance from warlords and reactionary clerics.
The choice in Afghanistan is not between “winning the war” or “abandoning Afghan women.” Upholding women’s rights in Afghanistan is not some idealistic mission: the US is legally obligated to protect internationally recognized human rights, including women’s rights, in every policy, foreign and domestic. Military force is about the least suited instrument for securing human rights in any context.
Rampant abuses of Afghan women’s rights cannot be eliminated by force. Ultimately, an end to the armed conflict is a precondition for Afghan women to create an environment in which they themselves can successfully assert their rights. The US should declare women’s rights—and all human rights—non-negotiable and end the US pattern of trading Afghan women’s rights for cooperation from warlords and armed groups. US economic and political support to Afghanistan should be tied to human rights improvements, including women’s rights to healthcare, education, employment, political participation and freedom from violence.
3. Prioritize development and meet humanitarian needs
Proponents of a troop surge argue that development cannot be pursued without security; but the inverse is equally true. In a country with the world’s highest infant mortality rate, there can be no security without development.
The US is undermining development by militarizing humanitarian aid. The army’s “Provincial Reconstruction Teams” blur the line between combat operations and aid delivery. They use humanitarian aid as a bargaining chip to extort information from civilians. The practice turns urgently-needed aid into a weapon of war and endangers recipients by associating them with the US military. The US should demilitarize aid operations and fund community-based, Afghan-led reconstruction efforts to enable access to food, clean water, health care and primary education. Aid should be channeled through Afghan organizations to ensure that funds reach those most in need instead of reverting back to private US-based contractors.
4. Address the underlying reasons for the resurgence of the Taliban
Grinding poverty and a 40 percent unemployment rate are root causes of the insurgency. Most Taliban recruits join because they are paid a daily wage.
The Taliban is also strengthened by popular outrage and fear of US attacks, the illegitimacy of the Karzai government and the support of Pakistan.
These problems will not be solved with more troops. They are social and political problems that must be addressed with development and diplomacy.The US should allocate funding for job training and creation programs for Afghans. Currently, only 10 percent of US funding in Afghanistan is earmarked for development; the rest is for military purposes. Allocating more funds to combating poverty in Afghanistan will weaken the Taliban without endangering civilians and help build long-term security.
5. Support Afghan civil society
Civil society, including the Afghan women’s movement, is the country’s most moderating force and a vital resource for rebuilding Afghanistan, advancing human rights and fostering peace in the region.
The political spaces where civil society can flourish—including a free press, progressive civic institutions, non-governmental organizations, and schools and universities—are debilitated by an atmosphere of war and militarism. The US should hold consultations with Afghan civil society, particularly women’s organizations, to determine policies that can support civil society as a critical counter-force to warlords, armed groups and corrupt officials.
6. Advance diplomacy and peace building
Ultimately, this war, like other armed conflicts, will end through negotiations. Yet, compared to the resources poured into the fighting, the US has barely begun to lay the groundwork for peace talks.
Negotiations need to include local processes of reconciliation and peace building and address key grievances of the Taliban without legitimizing their cause.
A regional process should include Afghanistan’s neighbors and address disputes between India and Pakistan, which are fueling violence in Afghanistan. The US should support and facilitate diplomacy and peace building while recognizing that ultimately, decisions about what happens in Afghanistan must be made in Afghanistan and not in Washington.
URL for this article: http://www.madre.org/index.php?s=4&news=247
Related articles:
Recommitting to Peace on 9/11
MADRE Talking Points on Women in Afghanistan: Confronting the Legacy of US-Supported Extremism
War on Afghanistan: Eight Years Too Long
World Refugee Day 2009
MADRE Commends the Suspension of US Military Aid to Honduras
Madre opposes Obama's policy of increasing US troop levels in Afghanistan, and, along with 80% of Afghans, wants US troops out of the country. Alternatively, Madre wants assistance in reconstruction in many sectors of the Afghan economy, in basic services to the population, especially to women and girls, and in the advancement of women's and all human rights. There should be an end to US cooperation with warlords and armed groups. Reconstruction should be led and implemented by Afghans. And the US and its allies "should support and facilitate diplomacy and peace," while leaving decisions about what happens in the country to the Afghans themselves.
Madre's proposals are far different than those just proposed by President Obama. But they echo closely those proposed by RAWA and Malalai Joya and reflect a desire for an indigenous democratic process instead of onging military occupation and domination by warlords that mainly enrich themselves.
Bob Sheak
----------------------------------
MADRE News
Six Alternatives to a Troop Surge in Afghanistan
Posted on: Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Keywords: Afghanistan, Peace Building, US Foreign Policy
Tonight, President Obama will tell us that he must expand the war on Afghanistan in order to end it. He will say that another troop surge is necessary to prevent al-Qaeda from using Afghanistan as a base. What he won’t say is that al-Qaeda is no longer in Afghanistan. He probably won’t point out that international forces already outnumber the Taliban twelve to one. And he’s not likely to remind us that throughout history, from the American Revolution to the Vietnam War, home-grown insurgencies like the Taliban’s ultimately ended when foreign troops withdrew. More than 80 percent of Afghans don’t want more US troops in their country. One reason is that the US presence is strengthening the Taliban, which most Afghans oppose. As the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace has found, “The mere presence of foreign soldiers fighting a war in Afghanistan is probably the single most important factor in the resurgence of the Taliban.” Afghanistan’s crisis is in part the result of 30 years of US intervention in the region, including the covert CIA campaign that created the Taliban (and al-Qaeda). Having unleashed this violence, the US has a legal and ethical obligation to the people of Afghanistan. That obligation will not be met by putting more boots on the ground. Instead, we need policies that address the grinding poverty, mass violence against women, predatory government and ongoing warfare that plague Afghanistan. Here are six things the Obama Administration must do to further the prospects for peace in Afghanistan:
1. Protect civilians from attacks
This will be the third US troop surge in Afghanistan; the first two killed record numbers of civilians.
In 2007, US/NATO troops were expanded by 45 percent and more civilians were killed than in the previous four years combined. In the first 10 months of Obama’s 2009 surge, more than 2000 civilians were killed—at a faster rate than any time since the war began.
The Taliban is known to attack villages where US soldiers have been. More US troops will make more civilians vulnerable to reprisal attacks.
President Obama’s expansion of the war into Pakistan has further endangered civilian lives. He has authorized as many drone strikes in less than ten months as George Bush did in his last three years in office.The US should stop constructing military bases and waging air strikes in or near civilian areas. President Obama must put a stop to drone attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
2. Uphold Afghan women’s rights
George Bush’s lie—that the US is in Afghanistan to defend women’s rights—is now driving the idea that more US forces are needed to protect Afghan women from the Taliban.
The problem with this argument is that the US has never prioritized women’s rights—or anyone’s rights—in Afghanistan.
From 2001 to the present, the US has allied itself with warlords and fanatical fundamentalists whose track record on women’s rights is virtually the same as the Taliban’s. In the creation of Afghanistan’s Parliament, constitution and judiciary, the US has consistently traded women’s rights for allegiance from warlords and reactionary clerics.
The choice in Afghanistan is not between “winning the war” or “abandoning Afghan women.” Upholding women’s rights in Afghanistan is not some idealistic mission: the US is legally obligated to protect internationally recognized human rights, including women’s rights, in every policy, foreign and domestic. Military force is about the least suited instrument for securing human rights in any context.
Rampant abuses of Afghan women’s rights cannot be eliminated by force. Ultimately, an end to the armed conflict is a precondition for Afghan women to create an environment in which they themselves can successfully assert their rights. The US should declare women’s rights—and all human rights—non-negotiable and end the US pattern of trading Afghan women’s rights for cooperation from warlords and armed groups. US economic and political support to Afghanistan should be tied to human rights improvements, including women’s rights to healthcare, education, employment, political participation and freedom from violence.
3. Prioritize development and meet humanitarian needs
Proponents of a troop surge argue that development cannot be pursued without security; but the inverse is equally true. In a country with the world’s highest infant mortality rate, there can be no security without development.
The US is undermining development by militarizing humanitarian aid. The army’s “Provincial Reconstruction Teams” blur the line between combat operations and aid delivery. They use humanitarian aid as a bargaining chip to extort information from civilians. The practice turns urgently-needed aid into a weapon of war and endangers recipients by associating them with the US military. The US should demilitarize aid operations and fund community-based, Afghan-led reconstruction efforts to enable access to food, clean water, health care and primary education. Aid should be channeled through Afghan organizations to ensure that funds reach those most in need instead of reverting back to private US-based contractors.
4. Address the underlying reasons for the resurgence of the Taliban
Grinding poverty and a 40 percent unemployment rate are root causes of the insurgency. Most Taliban recruits join because they are paid a daily wage.
The Taliban is also strengthened by popular outrage and fear of US attacks, the illegitimacy of the Karzai government and the support of Pakistan.
These problems will not be solved with more troops. They are social and political problems that must be addressed with development and diplomacy.The US should allocate funding for job training and creation programs for Afghans. Currently, only 10 percent of US funding in Afghanistan is earmarked for development; the rest is for military purposes. Allocating more funds to combating poverty in Afghanistan will weaken the Taliban without endangering civilians and help build long-term security.
5. Support Afghan civil society
Civil society, including the Afghan women’s movement, is the country’s most moderating force and a vital resource for rebuilding Afghanistan, advancing human rights and fostering peace in the region.
The political spaces where civil society can flourish—including a free press, progressive civic institutions, non-governmental organizations, and schools and universities—are debilitated by an atmosphere of war and militarism. The US should hold consultations with Afghan civil society, particularly women’s organizations, to determine policies that can support civil society as a critical counter-force to warlords, armed groups and corrupt officials.
6. Advance diplomacy and peace building
Ultimately, this war, like other armed conflicts, will end through negotiations. Yet, compared to the resources poured into the fighting, the US has barely begun to lay the groundwork for peace talks.
Negotiations need to include local processes of reconciliation and peace building and address key grievances of the Taliban without legitimizing their cause.
A regional process should include Afghanistan’s neighbors and address disputes between India and Pakistan, which are fueling violence in Afghanistan. The US should support and facilitate diplomacy and peace building while recognizing that ultimately, decisions about what happens in Afghanistan must be made in Afghanistan and not in Washington.
URL for this article: http://www.madre.org/index.php?s=4&news=247
Related articles:
Recommitting to Peace on 9/11
MADRE Talking Points on Women in Afghanistan: Confronting the Legacy of US-Supported Extremism
War on Afghanistan: Eight Years Too Long
World Refugee Day 2009
MADRE Commends the Suspension of US Military Aid to Honduras
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Conditions of Afghan women/girls getting worse, according to UN report
President Obama did not address the increasing oppression of women and girls in Afghanistan in his speech at West Point on December 1, 2009. These disturbing trends are documented in a recent UN report and reported on the online website, RAWA News (Revolutionary Association of the Women of Aghanistan). (See article below.)
These trends have unfolded at a time when the US/NATO occupation forces, plus private contractors, were already over 100,000. While President Obama and his administration advance the idea that a military solution must take priority in what we do in Afghanistan, they overlook the hardening of patriarchal traditions and laws not only in Taliban-controlled areas but also in parts of the country controlled by warlords, some of whom occupy important positions in the Karzai cabinet and national parliament. Many of the articles posted on this blog take the position that conditions would improve if the occupation and the misuse of US funds ended. Malalai Joya and RAWA are among the Afghan women who taken this position.
Bob Sheak
----------------------------------
RAWA News
IRIN, December 2, 2009
Public space “shrinking” for Afghan women - UN official
Afghan courts and police are considered corrupt, male-dominated and incompetent by many women who have suffered violence, according to rights groups
Eight years after the formal end of Taliban rule in Afghanistan, women are facing growing challenges in public life and have limited access to justice, according to the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).
RAWA: Samia, a 14-year-old Afghan girl victim of gang-rape by warlords in Sar-e-Pul province in Northern Afghanistan. She told to an Afghan TV Channel on November 24, 2009, that the warlords not only raped but also imprisoned her father and brother when they publicized the issue and asked for justice.
"The space for women in public life is shrinking," warned Norah Niland, head of UNAMA's human rights unit and a representative of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Under the Taliban, women had few rights, and though efforts have been made since then to boost them, progress has been inhibited by armed conflict, weak political commitment, corruption, and strong patriarchal traditions. The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) is concerned that initial gains made after 2001 are being lost.
The number of women working in the government is "steadily decreasing" and their participation in other decision-making processes such as voting in elections has also gone down, according to the UNAMA.
Compared to 2005 fewer women participated in this year's elections and there is only one cabinet minister now (the minister of women's affairs) compared to three in 2003-2005.
"It is unrealistic to anticipate significant socio-economic progress when half the population is denied, or unable to participate in, poverty reduction, reconstruction or development projects," said Niland, adding that the space for advocacy campaigns for women's rights had also diminished in recent years.
Gender violence
UNAMA says gender-based violence is still widespread and deeply rooted in society.
Women face physical and mental abuse in their own homes but have little or no access to justice, according to rights watchdogs.
Human rights activists have noted a large-scale growth in violence toward Afghan women, hundreds of whom are beaten, intimidated or sexually assaulted by men daily. According to figures from an Afghan independent committee on human rights published on Wednesday, 1,700 cases of violence toward women were officially registered since the end of March 2009. Last year, a total of more than 2,000 incidents were officially recorded.
The FINANCIAL, Nov. 25, 2009
Over 1,000 cases of violence against women were recorded in the Violence Against Women Primary Database (maintained by the government and women's rights groups in 21 of the country's 34 provinces from March 2006 to October 2007). Incidents recorded included rape, forced prostitution, forced marriage, physical attack, polygamy and harassment.
"Some women are even sold and exchanged as commodities," said Zia Moballegh, acting country director for the International Center for Human Rights and Democratic Development, a Canadian organization.
"Violence against women thrives in socio-economic conditions that see women as inferior and, somehow, less entitled to the full respect of their human rights," said UNAMA's Niland.
Impunity
"Impunity is one of the biggest problems in Afghanistan from a rule of law and human rights perspective," Niland told IRIN.
Afghan courts and police are considered corrupt, male-dominated and incompetent by many women who have suffered violence, according to rights groups.
Some victims of gender-based violence who lack access to justice and support turn to self-harm, elopement and/or other extreme actions, according to the above-mentioned database.
Afghan women have one of the lowest literacy rates in the world: UNAMA says 90 percent of women in rural areas cannot read or write and the overall literacy rate among women is 12.6 percent.
URL for news «Public space “shrinking” for Afghan women - UN official»
http://www.rawa.org/temp/runews/2009/12/02/public-space-shrinking-for-women-un-official.html
News Archive of the «Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan» (RAWA)
These trends have unfolded at a time when the US/NATO occupation forces, plus private contractors, were already over 100,000. While President Obama and his administration advance the idea that a military solution must take priority in what we do in Afghanistan, they overlook the hardening of patriarchal traditions and laws not only in Taliban-controlled areas but also in parts of the country controlled by warlords, some of whom occupy important positions in the Karzai cabinet and national parliament. Many of the articles posted on this blog take the position that conditions would improve if the occupation and the misuse of US funds ended. Malalai Joya and RAWA are among the Afghan women who taken this position.
Bob Sheak
----------------------------------
RAWA News
IRIN, December 2, 2009
Public space “shrinking” for Afghan women - UN official
Afghan courts and police are considered corrupt, male-dominated and incompetent by many women who have suffered violence, according to rights groups
Eight years after the formal end of Taliban rule in Afghanistan, women are facing growing challenges in public life and have limited access to justice, according to the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).
RAWA: Samia, a 14-year-old Afghan girl victim of gang-rape by warlords in Sar-e-Pul province in Northern Afghanistan. She told to an Afghan TV Channel on November 24, 2009, that the warlords not only raped but also imprisoned her father and brother when they publicized the issue and asked for justice.
"The space for women in public life is shrinking," warned Norah Niland, head of UNAMA's human rights unit and a representative of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Under the Taliban, women had few rights, and though efforts have been made since then to boost them, progress has been inhibited by armed conflict, weak political commitment, corruption, and strong patriarchal traditions. The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) is concerned that initial gains made after 2001 are being lost.
The number of women working in the government is "steadily decreasing" and their participation in other decision-making processes such as voting in elections has also gone down, according to the UNAMA.
Compared to 2005 fewer women participated in this year's elections and there is only one cabinet minister now (the minister of women's affairs) compared to three in 2003-2005.
"It is unrealistic to anticipate significant socio-economic progress when half the population is denied, or unable to participate in, poverty reduction, reconstruction or development projects," said Niland, adding that the space for advocacy campaigns for women's rights had also diminished in recent years.
Gender violence
UNAMA says gender-based violence is still widespread and deeply rooted in society.
Women face physical and mental abuse in their own homes but have little or no access to justice, according to rights watchdogs.
Human rights activists have noted a large-scale growth in violence toward Afghan women, hundreds of whom are beaten, intimidated or sexually assaulted by men daily. According to figures from an Afghan independent committee on human rights published on Wednesday, 1,700 cases of violence toward women were officially registered since the end of March 2009. Last year, a total of more than 2,000 incidents were officially recorded.
The FINANCIAL, Nov. 25, 2009
Over 1,000 cases of violence against women were recorded in the Violence Against Women Primary Database (maintained by the government and women's rights groups in 21 of the country's 34 provinces from March 2006 to October 2007). Incidents recorded included rape, forced prostitution, forced marriage, physical attack, polygamy and harassment.
"Some women are even sold and exchanged as commodities," said Zia Moballegh, acting country director for the International Center for Human Rights and Democratic Development, a Canadian organization.
"Violence against women thrives in socio-economic conditions that see women as inferior and, somehow, less entitled to the full respect of their human rights," said UNAMA's Niland.
Impunity
"Impunity is one of the biggest problems in Afghanistan from a rule of law and human rights perspective," Niland told IRIN.
Afghan courts and police are considered corrupt, male-dominated and incompetent by many women who have suffered violence, according to rights groups.
Some victims of gender-based violence who lack access to justice and support turn to self-harm, elopement and/or other extreme actions, according to the above-mentioned database.
Afghan women have one of the lowest literacy rates in the world: UNAMA says 90 percent of women in rural areas cannot read or write and the overall literacy rate among women is 12.6 percent.
URL for news «Public space “shrinking” for Afghan women - UN official»
http://www.rawa.org/temp/runews/2009/12/02/public-space-shrinking-for-women-un-official.html
News Archive of the «Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan» (RAWA)
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