generalspeaking

"Corrupt and Illegitimate"

Former Afghan Member of Parliament Malalai Joya is one courageous young woman. Directly confronting her parliamentary colleagues and naming them for what they truly are. "Criminals", "killers", "warlords". In their turn they have raged against her, naming her "prostitute", "infidel", "traitor", and "communist". Oh yes, and just incidentally threatened to rape her, and also engaged in heretofore-unsuccessful attempts to assassinate her.

She is, in their opinion - as tribal, powerful, wealthy and entitled men in a fundamentally patriarchal society - the epitome of all that their traditions abhor. An independent-minded woman who speaks of what she knows, and demands justice. There is no justice for women in traditional, tribal Afghanistan under Islamic sharia law. Women are to be confined to their homes, smothered in burkas when in public, and never without a male escort.

They may not attend institutes of higher learning; young girls may not be exposed to elemental schooling. Nor may women be allowed to take their place in the workforce. Young girls may be taken in marriage by elderly men. And spend the rest of their lives bearing children, preparing meals, cleaning their homes, and silently moving from room to room, eating separately and apart from male family members.

Malalai Joya has become a world traveller. She has a message to disseminate. She was expelled from parliament years ago for insulting her fellow parliamentarians, denouncing them as corrupt criminals. She is committed to her activism on behalf of her country's women. She is also convinced that the United States and all other countries supporting them represent yet another invasion in a long legend of invasions of her country.

"We gave a good lesson to the Russians in the past - a superpower country who faced the resistance of my people. We gave good lessons to the British and we will give good lessons to the U.S. and Canada and NATO, if they do not stop this so-called war on terror, which is war on innocent civilians. It will take time. We must be tireless. We must be more fearless ... I don't fear this. I fear political silence against injustice."

"If they let us have a little bit of peace, we know what to do with our destiny. It's your government that supports the mafia-corrupt system of [Afghanistan President] Hamid Karzai. Canada is just a tool in the hands of the U.S. government. For eight years they followed the wrong policy and it makes a mockery of democracy. It's a mockery, the war on terror; it is a war crime. They have destroyed my country under the banner of human rights."

She is emphatic about her denial of NATO assisting Afghanistan out of its morass of misery, poverty and what is, in effect, civil war. Two political entities, the current, corrupt and ineffective 'moderate', West-supported Government of Afghanistan, and the fanatical Islamist Taliban whose reign Ms. Joya was well familiar with. Under their noses she operated an underground school for girls, while wearing the detested burka.

It's hard to know how to respond to this brave and utterly committed young woman's interpretation of matters as they stand in her country. She claims that those currently in power are little different from the Taliban who tormented Afghanistan before they were ousted when the U.S. and NATO came looking for al-Qaeda, supported by the Taliban. But she is adamant that the presence of foreign troops in her country is criminal.

"Democracy never comes by occupation. You cannot give it with cluster bombs." Can anyone with a conscience deny her assertion? "From the sky, occupation forces bomb and kill civilians and on the ground the Taliban and warlords continue their crimes. It is better that the foreign masters leave my country."

And then, what?

Labels: Human Relations, Traditions, Troublespots, World Crises

posted by Pieface @ Sunday, November 22, 2009