October 25, 2009

Malalai Joya, the young woman who the BBC has hailed as the “bravest in Afghanistan,” has published her memoirs, A Woman Among Warlords: The Extraordinary Story of an Afghan Woman Who Dared to Speak Out.

Joya, now 31, was the youngest ever woman elected to the Afghan Parliament in 2005 and is an outspoken critic of the Karzai government and NATO occupation. She will be touring North America between Oct. 23 and Nov. 27 to speak about her new memoir, co-written with Canadian activist and writer Derrick O’Keefe.

Malalai Joya will be traveling through the US for a brief book tour at the following cities: New York, Boston, Cambridge, Washington DC, Los Angeles, Irvine, Berkeley, San Jose, Seattle, and Bellingham.

A Woman Among Warlords: Malalai Joya on Book Tour in the US

October 25, 2009

Known as the “most famous woman in Afghanistan,” dissident parliamentarian Malalai Joya returns to the US, this time to share her new political memoir, A Woman Among Warlords: The Extraordinary Story of an Afghan Who Dared to Raise Her Voice, co-written with Derrick O’Keefe.

Listen to Malalai Joya on NPR’s Talk of the Nation.

“Perhaps the most remarkable feature of this inspiring memoir is that despite the horrors she relates, Malalai Joya leaves us with hope that the tormented people of Afghanistan can take their fate into their own hands if they are released from the grip of foreign powers, and that they can reconstruct a decent society from the wreckage left by decades of intervention and the merciless rule of the Taliban and the warlords who the invaders have imposed upon them. It is hard to find words to capture the incredible courage of this amazing young woman, and of the supporters who have gathered to protect her and carry on her work, particularly the many women ‘protesting with empty hands,’ evidence that ‘we are not only victims, and that women have the power to make changes in their lives and their country.’ She also shows how we can provide a helping hand — not with landmines, bullets, and bombs, but with ‘an invasion of hospitals, clinics and schools for boys and girls.’ Joya is raising an eloquent voice, and we owe to her, and to her people, to listen carefully, to learn, and to act.” – Noam Chomsky

A Woman Among Warlords

October 20, 2009

By Malalai Joya and Derrick O’Keefe “If I could prescribe one book for David Cameron, Barack Obama and every other western leader to read over the summer, this would be it.” – Natalie Bennett Book Description Malalai Joya has been called “the bravest woman in Afghanistan.” At a constitutional assembly in Kabul in 2003, sheRead More…

Afghan Women’s Rights Activist Calls for an End to US Occupation

October 1, 2009

Los Angeles–President Obama’s anticipated deployment of additional troops to Afghanistan is being justified in part by the Taliban threat to Afghan women. To mark the 8th anniversary of the start of Operation Enduring Freedom, a member of a prominent Afghan women’s rights group will tour the United States this month, with a different message to Obama and Congress: liberation can only come from within — end the US occupation.