It is, unfortunately, not news that Afghani women -- who
once comprised 70 percent of the nation's teachers and 40
percent of its doctors -- are now prisoners of their own homes.
That the Taliban regime, which seized control of most of Afghanistan
in 1996, has ordered all women to shroud every inch of their body
with the "burqa," a ghostly garment with just a small mesh
slit around the eyes. That offenders caught by the Taliban's
"Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice" squad are routinely
beaten, imprisoned or publicly stoned to death. Nor is it news that
Afghani women -- thousands of them war widows with no means
of caring for their families -- are banned from going to
school or work, from going outside their homes without a male
relative, from visiting hospitals or clinics, or from collecting
humanitarian aid. That their children are forbidden to
play music, dance, or fly kites. That many women see
beggary, prostitution or suicide as their only options.
But there is another type of Afghani women, one that
shatters the stereotype of the silent victim. These are the
members of the clandestine Revolutionary Association of the
Women of Afghanistan (RAWA). RAWA <http://www.rawa.org>,
working with scant resources in a stifling atmosphere, runs
secret schools, mobile medical units and income-generating projects
for men, women and children in Afghanistan and refugee camps
in Pakistan. The group has organized thousands of women to
protest fundamentalist activity everywhere from the
United Nations building in Islamabad, Pakistan to the
White House.
They do so at great personal risk. The Taliban and other
fundamentalists regularly threaten RAWA members through
letters and e-mails, promising death by stoning to
anyone associated with the group. In Pakistan, a second home
to the Taliban, RAWA members are often attacked when they
march in the streets or sell their magazines in the markets.
Organizers frequently change their residences, adopt aliases
and limit class sizes to keep the Taliban from sniffing them
out.
This summer, two RAWA organizers based in Pakistan were
invited by the Feminist Majority Foundation
<http://www.feminist.org> on a four-month trip around the U.S.
Sajeda Hayat and Sehar Saba -- not their real names -- spoke
about their work to schools, churches, newsrooms and even
Congressional chambers.
"After two decades of war -- constant fighting, killing,
arresting, torturing -- the people of Afghanistan are really
tired. They just want to be in a peaceful society; that's
all that now they can think about," said the petite, sober
Sehar, speaking to a standing-room-only crowd in downtown San
Francisco.
In Afghanistan, women working to create such a society are a
revolution in and of itself, according to Sajeda.
"The reason we call ourselves revolutionary is very simple.
We are for a democratic government based on freedom of speech,
thought, expression and religion. In a country ruled by
backward fundamentalists, where women are not considered as human
beings, that is a big revolution," said Sajeda, a gentle woman
whose optimism matches her youth. (She is in her early twenties,
but along with their names RAWA members don't want to disclose
their exact ages for security reasons). "We think it may be
the greatest revolution in the world, because we have to start
from a very grassroots level, working with people to change
their mentality."
For most of RAWA's 2,000 members, the journey from learning
to read and write to struggling for women's rights was a
long, hard one. Sajeda said that the first step is teaching
women to value education.
"When we invite women from the villages to our literacy
courses, we must first convince their men to let us speak to
them. The women are often afraid of their husbands, who call
them half-wits. They don't see why they should be educated,"
she said.
RAWA members also go into remote corners of the country to
provide medical necessities like insulin and teach crafts
like carpet weaving, which allow women to earn a living
while remaining confined to their homes. For widows who have
lost their breadwinners to war, the skills and services are
literally lifesaving. As the women start learning more about
the movement, some choose to cross the line into activism,
passing their new skills and courage on to others.
Sajeda and Sehar both went to RAWA-run schools after their
families fled to Pakistani refugee camps during the Russian
occupation of Afghanistan. Now experienced activists, they
remember RAWA teachers as friends who taught them how to
think rather than to obey.
"If I had studied in any other school I wouldn't be like
this today," said Sehar. "When I think of the opportunities
Meena struggled for us to have, I cannot think about
anything else now."
Meena is the feminist poet who started RAWA in 1977 when she
was only 20 and her country was innocent to the decades of
wanton destruction that lay ahead. Women were earning PhDs
and establishing careers in law, science and art. A
progressive political movement cultivated by university
students thrived in Kabul, the capital. Meena, whose last
name is never used, was part of that movement, working to
reverse centuries of inequality and establish a secular
democratic government.
Then came the Soviet invasion of 1979. Afghanistan's dozen
ethnic tribes united against the Russians under the banner
of Islam. While the U.S. massively armed these so-called
freedom fighters, Meena was organizing a non-violent
campaign to resist the occupation. Her group opened schools,
hostels and a hospital for the refugees the war was quickly
churning out. Like thousands of other Afghan intellectuals,
Meena paid for her protests with her life. She was
assassinated in 1987, reputedly by KGB agents. Meena warned
her people of mayhem if the militants ever secured power in
Afghanistan. If Meena had lived a few more years, she would
have seen her prophecy come true. In 1989, the Soviets
withdrew their forces, leaving a vacuum of power, which
seven fundamentalist factions viciously battled to occupy.
By the time the Taliban -- "religious students" -- took over
Kabul in 1996, the country was already thoroughly destroyed.
RAWA distinguishes itself from other Afghani groups who
provide social services to women in one major way: the
women aim to eliminate all fundamentalists from
Afghanistan's political scene.
"When we say fundamentalists, we mean anyone who is against
women, democracy and civilization," Sajeda explained.
"Other groups are afraid to call themselves a political
organization. Only talking about human rights or democracy
in Afghanistan without struggling against these
fundamentalists is meaningless."
The group has a long wish list to present to the world's
governments, such as sending UN peace-keeping forces to
Afghanistan, cutting off financial and political support to
all fundamentalist parties, and imposing sanctions on
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Iran and other countries that
support the Taliban.
"If the UN can send their peacekeeping forces to East Timor,
why can't they do the same in Afghanistan?" said Sajeda.
"Why has there been so much media coverage about Kosovo, but
not about us?"
RAWA relies solely on foreign contributions and proceeds
from the sale of pro-freedom posters and cassettes as well
as handicrafts from its work projects. But inadequate funds
forced RAWA to shut down its free hospital in Quetta,
Pakistan, and several schools are on the verge of closure.
The group's politics have kept RAWA from getting the kind of
financial support available to other human rights
organizations, Sehar asserts.
Now after two decades of working underground, RAWA is
finally receiving international support and recognition. The
turning point was in July 1999 when the association put up
its provocative website documenting the Taliban's crimes. A
RAWA member in Kabul smuggled a camcorder under her "burqa"
to tape the first public execution of a woman. Others have
since risked their lives to photograph beheadings, film
stonings and interview victims -- horrifying material now
available to anyone with an Internet connection The website
has opened a virtual door to groups and individuals
worldwide.
RAWA's networking efforts now seem to be reaching people in
the right places. The organization was recently featured in
the highly popular American television talk show, "Oprah,"
which resulted in 3,500 signatures for their petition within
24 hours and an overwhelming increase in the number of
visitors to the website. "The New York Times" and "CNN"
have profiled the group. With the help of Calif. Rep. Lynn
Woolsey, Sajeda and Sehar circulated a letter supporting
RAWA through Congress, collecting the signatures of 44
bipartisan representatives. Given the success of their
bi-coastal tour, RAWA may try to open a U.S. branch.
"Meena used to say that 'the women of Afghanistan are like
sleeping lions. When they wake up, they will play a very
important role in society,'" Sehar said. "When we think
about the suffering of our women, our children and our men
how can we stray from her way?"
Donations to RAWA can be sent to the Afghan Women's Mission,
260 S. Lake Ave., PMB 165, Pasadena, CA 91101 [NOTE: the address has been changed now]. $25 will
provide one month's salary and board for a teacher in an
underground school; $100 will cover a month's living
expenses for a mobile health team.