Statement on the Attack Against 14-Year-Old Malala Yousafzai
by Malalai Joya

Once again we see a crime against women by dark-minded and brutal fundamentalists. Malala Yousafzai was shot by Pakistani Taliban because she did not remain silent about the ongoing crimes and brutalities against women; because, despite her young age, she had the consciousness to stand for her rights and say ‘no’ to the terrorism and misogyny of the creatures of the Stone Age.

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Dear friends and supporters,

As may know, in December 2011, IHC, our former fiscal sponsor, lost more than $400,000 worth of donations ear-marked for RAWA’s amazing projects (for the full story, click here). Although we have found a new and wonderful fiscal sponsor, SEE, we are still reeling from this devastating blow. We are trying to rebuild, move forward, and continue our support for RAWA’s work.

Help us rebuild this Women’s History Month!

For every online donation of $100 made in March 2012, we will mail a copy of the remarkable book by Malalai Joya, A Woman Among Warlords, as our “thank you gift” to you.

This book, by one of Afghanistan’s most famous women, chronicles the history of Afghanistan, and its current precarious position, through the eyes of one courageous woman. Every $100 donation will be used toward RAWA’s life saving projects that benefit Afghan women.

Click here to donate.

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ABC Channel 7 in Los Angeles interviewed AWM Co-Director Sonali Kolhatkar about the devastating loss of funds.

Click here to watch the news story.

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Dear friends and supporters of Afghan Women’s Mission and RAWA,

We are deeply saddened to inform you of a devastating incident that has affected our operations.

We were informed in mid-December 2011 that International Humanities Center (IHC), the non-profit group that we had hired to manage our funds since 2003, has lost all of our donations. All of the nearly 200 organizations that had accounts with IHC are the victims of this theft. Altogether, about $400,000 donated to Afghan Women’s Mission to fund RAWA’s projects were lost.

Nothing prepared us for this. We were, and still are, in shock.

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Holiday bazaarWHEN: Saturday December 10th, from 11 am to 4 pm
WHERE: Immanuel Presbyterian Church, 3300 Wilshire Blvd, LA CA 90005 (Geneva Room – wheelchair accessible)

Don’t spend your hard earned dollars at the mall, buying overpriced gifts made in countries with no labor or environmental protections!

Shop with a clear conscience at our 6th Annual Fair Trade and Conscious Gifts Holiday Bazaar.

Browse through a wide selection of hand-made goods made either internationally with fair-trade standards, or locally by LA-based artists.

There will be jewelry, purses, pillow covers, and more from Afghanistan, as well as books, T-shirts, candles, soaps, oils, handicrafts, and much much more!

Click here to view our new inventory of hand-made gifts from Afghanistan, made in RAWA’s income generation projects

Download the flyer here.

Entrance is Free. There will be complementary hot coffee and tea plus delectable cookies and pastries!

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Our event last Friday was a great success! The Skype connection with Afghanistan was impeccable, with excellent sound and video quality. Thanks to our friends at Keycode Media, we were able to stream the event live and capture a full recording, which we now present (after minor edits to clean up dead time and fix some graphics).

For those who missed our live webcast with Reena of RAWA, here it is:

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On the 10th Anniversary of the U.S. war, an underground activist tells the real story of the Occupation & Afghan Resistance

Reena, a member of the Revolutionary Association of the women of Afghanistan (RAWA), will address American audiences via live video stream.

RSVP for the event on Facebook.

Download the flyer here.

AWM Co-Director and KPFK’s Uprising host Sonali Kolhatkar will lead the conversation with Reena via video streaming in front of a live audience. The event will be webcast live on AWM’s website. Questions will be drawn from the in-person audience, and the online audience via Facebook.

WHEN: Friday Oct 7 2011 7pm PST / 10 PM EST
WHERE: Creveling Lounge (CC bld, 2nd floor) PCC campus, Pasadena California or @afghanwomensmission.org.

Open to the public. Entrance is free. There will be books and crafts available for sale.

If you are unable to attend this event, you can watch a live webcast of the entire event on this website! Click here to find out the time of the webcast in your city.

Organized in collaboration with PCC’s Students for Social Justice. KPFK is a media sponsor.

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Former Afghan MP, Human Rights Activist and Author of “A Woman Among Warlords,” Malalai Joya, recorded this message on the Tenth Anniversary of the War and Occupation of Afghanistan:

Transcript of Joya’s message:

Hi everyone, I would like to thank all supporters and anti-war movements around the world who are marking the dark day of occupation of U.S. and NATO in Afghanistan.

Respected friends – 10 years ago the U.S. and NATO invaded my country under the fake banners of women’s rights, human rights, and democracy. But after a decade, Afghanistan still remains the most uncivil, most corrupt, and most war torn country in the world. The consequences of the so-called war on terror has only been more bloodshed, crimes, barbarism, human rights, and women’s rights violations, which has doubled the miseries and sorrows of our people.

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Ten years ago, when the terrorist attacks took place on September 11th, 2001, my colleagues and I in the Afghan Women’s Mission watched in shock and horror as thousands of innocent people lost their lives. We knew right away however, that retaliation would be aimed at Afghanistan and that all Afghans, including the women of the underground organization RAWA who we worked in solidarity with, would become targets of American bombs.

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Vote for JoyaMalalai Joya, former Afghan MP and author of A Woman Among Warlords, has been nominated for the 9th Annual Global Exchange Human Rights Award, as part of the People’s Choice Contest.

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