The famed Afghan activist, former parliamentarian and author of A Woman Among Warlords, Malalai Joya, recorded this brief message on August 28th.
Read More...20 Years of U.S. Occupation Was Brutal in Afghanistan—And So Will Be the Exit
July 17, 2021
By Sonali Kolhatkar
There has long been a deliberate effort to downplay the U.S.’s failures and paint a rosy picture of a war whose victory has always been just around the corner. But there is no happy ending for Afghans, and there was never meant to be. Afghans, already weary of never-ending war in 2001, were promised democracy, women’s rights, and peace. But instead, the U.S. offered elections, a theoretical liberation of women, and an absence of justicewhile championing corrupt armed warlords and their militias. In trying to end the debacle, American diplomats refused to involve the (admittedly flawed) Afghan government that they had helped to build as a bulwark against fundamentalism, and instead engaged in peace talks with the Taliban—the same “enemy” of democracy, women, and peace that the U.S. had spent nearly two decades fighting. Now, as the fundamentalist fighters claim more territory than they have controlled in decades, and the Taliban have predictably begun reimposing medieval-era restrictions on women, ordinary Afghans, including women, are taking up arms to fight them. Was this the liberation that the U.S. promised Afghan women?
Acclaimed Afghan women’s rights activist, former Member of Parliament and author of A Woman Among Warlords, Malalai Joya, recently appeared on Democracy Now to comment on the Afghanistan war.
“As I was saying in the past, as well, and repeating again, that catastrophic situation of the women of Afghanistan was a very good excuse for U.S. and NATO to occupy our country. Unfortunately, they pushed us from the frying pan into the fire as they replaced the barbaric regime of the Taliban with the misogynist warlords, who are — their nature seem like the Taliban. They physically changed, imposed on the destiny of Afghan people. That’s why today millions of Afghans are suffering from insecurity, corruption, joblessness, poverty. And still most of Afghan women are the victim.”
Read More...The War Cannot be Won with Weapons Afghanistan is a fearful place to be a child, especially a girl. Violence continues to be the norm, and Afghan women continue to suffer. According to a recent Guardian story, in Helmand province “adult women are almost entirely invisible, even in the city” of Lashkar Gah, the provincialRead More…
Read More...Huffington Post: A Woman Among Warlords: An Interview With Malalai Joya
October 27, 2013
By Suzanne Persard Published in Huffington Post on 10/25/2013 Most publications incorrectly report the number of assassination attempts Malalai Joya has received — the number is seven, not six; and these are only the number of plots that have been counted. In 2007, Joya, the youngest elected member to the Afghan parliament, was expelled fromRead More…
Read More...Originally published on Truthdig.com on Oct 10, 2013 By Sonali Kolhatkar Contrary to her small stature, Afghan activist Malalai Joya is a towering figure among ordinary Afghans. At the tender age of 25, she openly challenged her country’s notorious U.S.-backed criminal warlords at the 2003 Constitutional Loya Jirga (popular assembly) in Kabul. She thundered, “ItRead More…
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On October 15, 2012, Afghan Women’s Mission Co-Director Sonali Kolhatkar was a featured guest on Huffpost Live hosted by Ahmed Shihab-Eldin. The program focused on the on-going attacks against women in Afghanistan. Other panelists included Manizha Naderi, Executive Director of Women for Afghan Women, Jean MacKenzie, correspondent with the Global Post, and Jennifer Hunt, an Army Reservist who served in Afghanistan.
The panelists were asked the following question:
Violence against women spiked to its highest level since the Taliban’s fall. Will a U.S. troop withdrawal contribute to an increase in the region’s assault on women?
Watch the video below:
By Jeff Gottlieb, Los Angeles Times
February 14, 2012
More than 200 nonprofit groups, from animals rights organizations to political activists, said most of their donated funds appear to have vanished after the organization that watched over the money suddenly ceased operations last month.
The International Humanities Center closed its offices, took down its Web page and informed its clients by email that it has ceased operation. The center served as an umbrella organization for small nonprofit groups, handling their donations and performing administrative duties.
Read More...By GARETH PORTER Inter Press Service WASHINGTON – General David Petraeus wrote in his 2006 counter-insurgency manual that the United States command headquarters should establish a “narrative” for the counter-insurgency war – a simple storyline that provides a framework for understanding events, both for the population of the country in question and for international audiences.Read More…
Read More...San Francisco Chronicle
By Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
A prominent Afghan feminist and war critic was granted a visa to enter the United States on Thursday – by the same State Department office that turned her down last week – and belatedly started on a speaking tour that is scheduled to wind up in San Francisco. The case of Malalai Joya is the latest of several in which the Obama administration, after at first refusing entry, has allowed a visit by a foreigner who has criticized policies of the United States or its allies.
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So Cal Events |
Events and Announcements
- Malalai Joya’s Defense Committee’s Campaign for Internally Displaced Afghans
- Malalai Joya Sends a Message to the World
- RAWA Responds to the Taliban Takeover
- AWM Thanks the Lisa Akbari Foundation
- One Young Man’s Holiday Wish: Raise Funds for RAWA
- RAWA Statement on 12th Anniversary of US War
>> Read More...
Afghanistan News Wire
- Malalai Joya Sends a Message to the World
- 20 Years of U.S. Occupation Was Brutal in Afghanistan—And So Will Be the Exit
- Malalai Joya on Democracy Now!
- Girls School in Danger of Closing
- Huffington Post: A Woman Among Warlords: An Interview With Malalai Joya
- The Cost of Courage: Malalai Joya’s Life-Risking Activism
>> Read More...
Press Releases
- Tenth Anniversary of Afghanistan War: RAWA Member Available for Interviews
- U.S. Responds to Broad Public Campaign, Grants Malalai Joya Visa!
- US government denies entry visa to Afghan women’s rights activist and author Malalai Joya
- Leading Afghan Feminist Urges Immediate end to U.S. War
- A Woman Among Warlords – Malalai Joya Available for Interviews
- Afghan Women’s Rights Activist Calls for an End to US Occupation
>> Read More...