Enough War. Fund RAWA!
Wow, the war in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan must be going just swell, because things for women have gotten so much better!
A growing number of Afghan women are attempting to escape a life of abuse by setting themselves on fire, a study by a human rights group has found.
This is not a new story, though I'm glad to see some MSM coverage here. They even mention that a proposal for a women's shelter in Kandahar was made to the Canadian Provincial Reconstruction team, but "...it was reluctant to act because there was no operating plan."
So Canada and NATO are doing what there, exactly? Because things for women in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, as it is formally named these days, have gone from bad to worse. Whatever we're doing, IT AIN'T WORKING.
Please read this article by Christina Lamb:
For all the talk of girls' education, only 5% of those of secondary school age are enrolled. More than 300 schools have been burnt down this year or shut after threats from militants, leaving 200,000 pupils with nowhere to go.
Two weeks ago I drove on the other new road from Jalalabad to Kabul, wearing a burqa because of warnings of foreigners being kidnapped. I was stopped at three checkpoints set up by police to extract bribes. As for the much-heralded parliament, it has more warlords and people charged with human rights abuses than women MPs. It has yet to create any legislation, though it has voted in pay rises for its members.
"Parliament is just a showpiece for the West," complains Malalai Joya, one of the female MPs. "Women do not have liberation at all. People in power, whether in government, parliament or governors, are warlords and jihadis who are no different in their outlook from Taliban."
If the name Malalai Joya sounds familiar, it's because she was recently kicked out of the parliament after the outspoken MP claimed it was "worse than a stable", and she is the subject of the documentary "Ememies of Happiness". She has been called "The bravest woman in Afghanistan". For a transcript of an interview with Amy Goodman on Democracy Now, go here. Read for yourself what is really going on in Afghanistan. A future journal will be dedicated solely to her.
In a nutshell, the US, NATO, and yes, Canada is in there too, are NOT HELPING THE WOMEN OF AFGHANISTAN. Who is? Well, Malalai Joya, for one. RAWA for two.
The Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan, or RAWA, needs your help. From their website, rawa.org, "RAWA is the oldest political/social organization of Afghan women struggling for peace, freedom, democracy and women's rights in fundamentalism-blighted Afghanistan since 1977. If you are freedom-loving and anti-Fundamentalist, you are with RAWA. Support and help us."
What does RAWA do? Besides the incredibly brave action of simply organizing, they demonstrate and hold social and political functions. They educate, providing literacy courses for women and operating schools for children. They heal, running Malalai Hospital in Pakistan and a health center in Farah, which desperately need help with operating costs. They provide care, shelter, and education for over 400 orphans in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Read here for RAWA's urgent appeal for help in these areas.
While our countries (the US and Canada) are pouring billions of dollars and buckets of blood in a misguided attempt to "democratize" the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, RAWA and revolutionary, heroic women such as Malalai Joya are actually "winning hearts and minds" over to a more democratic and free way of thinking, especially for the 1/2 of the population that is comprised of women. They need our support, and they need our help. They damn well deserve both. Please contribute what you can. That's the way to really help the women of Afghanistan. Freedom for them is not going to come from the barrel of a gun - it's going to come from the next several generations, if we can help them plant enough seeds.
Setting themselves on fire
For basic rights.
Women and children are the real victims during a war, or in this case an occupation.
They didnt make the decisions that got them there in the first place, and they are always the ones getting the brunt of it.
need a button the the front page there.....working on it.
Something wicked this way comes....
Yep.
I know my first marriage was a disaster, but never at any point did I consider setting myself on fire to get out of it. But I might have if I didn't have any other option. Can you imagine being given to some old man as a bride to settle a debt? They GIVE WOMEN AWAY!
War is not going to change this fundamental attitude - that women are property, probably less important than a goat. From another page at rawa.org:
There is an improvement for women in certain limited parts of big cities—girls go to school and some women are allowed to work outside the home in the capital, Kabul. But the situation for women is worsening in the rest of the country. In most areas, rape and forced marriage are on the rise, women continue to wear the burqa out of fear, and are being traded in the settlement of debts. Women face discrimination from all society. Violence against women is accepted by the community and not addressed by the government.
My heart breaks for these women. And my soul is fucking enraged.