8/7/2019 pamphllet

1/20

A R I C1 :Z..~. . . . ~.~.

"3' 16 lfl..A ~& ..~ - -l' :

8/7/2019 pamphllet

2/20

Take Our. Words Abroad

M en and wom en in A f gh ;l ni st an aw ak e every da y wonderinq w heth er th ere w ill b e en ou gh foo~ to feed th eirfam ilies and go to sleep thanking G o~ that they an~ their ch ild ren have s u rv ived ano the r day. In a war - sha t te r ed, e co no m y, fam ilies look for w ork that w ill give them som e income or allow them to secure foo~ at the end ofth e day.In H erat an~ M azar unto ld num bers of women toil over carpet loom s. W om en in L aghm an and Nuris tan chopw oo d an d clim b h ills w ith six ty k ilo gram lo ad s. In Hazarajat women take.dwtndlinq num bers of I i ve st oc k t os umm e r p as tu re . In K andahar and B a~akhshan they harvest w heat or opium . K och: women le ad A o ck s in se arc ho f w a te r.

,W om en all over A fg han istan fetch w ater fo r h ou rs on end '" an~ al l women h an dle th e ~ aily w ork o f co ok in g,clean in g an d carin g fo r ch il~ ren , as th ey have fo r thousands of y ears. I /n to ld num bers of women bea r ch il d ren .d te in ch il~ birth , o r w atch th eir ch ild ren d ie b ecau se o f poverty an~ p ro f ound u nd erd ev elo pm en t an d th eaccu mu lated d estru ctio n o f more than tw o decades of w ar.A sm all n um ber o f p ro fessio nal wom en have continued to w ork in A fghanistan . A lthough m ost women areforbi~~en from w ork in g, fem ale d octo rs an ~ n urses have been perm itted to w ork , ca rin g fo r w om en a n~ g irlpatients.TWO D ECAD ES O F CON FL IC T IN A FG HANIS TA NA fg ha nista n h as b ee n in a state of conA ict since 1 979 w hen the S ov ie t U nio n in va de d. A fte r f ig htin g th eMujahi~een fo r a d ecad e, th e Soviets w ith drew , an ~ in tern ecin e w arfare b ro ke o ut am on g various fact ions . In th em i~ -1 99 0s, th e T alib an en tered th e scen e an d cap tu red th e cap ita l, K ab ul, in 1 99 6. T he T alib an n ow c on tro l mos to f th e country.Over th e p ast tw en ty y ears, women a n d c h il dr en have A ed to refugee cam ps w hen they lost their hom es andf am i li es . T h e y have s ou gh t s af ety in cellars to avoid b om bardm ent. M any have been buried as v ictim s of the w ar.T he silen t su fferin g o f m illio ns o f women a nd ch ild ren b eset b y lan dm in es. ro ck ets, lo otin g, rap e, m assacre,m urd er, an ~ fig htin g h as fo r the m ost part gone u nrep orted . T heir ~ aily stru gg le to d eal w ith lo ss o f relatives,lo ss o f lim bs, lo ss o f statu s, l ife in a new environm ent, poverty an ~ lo ss offree~om, has gone largelyunrecorded.

D uring the early y ears of the w ar, women co ntin ued to w ork , w heth er in f ie l ~s o r in hospita ls, to tend to theneeds of their fam ilies, to uphold their cu ltu re , to nurse the sick an~ wounded, T he in te rn atio na l a i~com munity ~ i~ w hat it cou ld in term s of m ateria l ai~ but w as unab le or unw illing to address the w ell-know na n~ e ntre nc he d p atte rn of h um an rig hts Violations.A s A fg han istan --b eset b y co nA ict, earth qu ak es, A oo ~s an ~ now ~rought--contin ues its descent in to an aby ss ofcr ippling poverty, f am il ie s s til l try to fin~ som e so rt o f "normal" life am ong the ru ins. M en, women, an~

--------Take OurWordsAbroad--------

8/7/2019 pamphllet

3/20

children partake o( this q'lily struggle, sometimes with the help o( the internattonal 'l iq community, sometimeswith what me'lgre resourcesthey have left. T'llib'ln authorities continue to issuedecrees.which often tarqet 'lnqrestrict women in order to preserve "tr' lqition" and "morality." Women must not appearin public withouthei'lb (he'lq SC'lr()'lnq~((ull covering). Women 'lre banned (rom working in '111but '1 limited number o(fielqs, 'lnq schools (or girls havebeen closed.RECENTDECREESFURTHER LIMIT WOMEN'S OPPORTUNITIESDecreenumber 8, issuedin J u l y 2000, restricted women's employment in non-qovernrnental orqanisat tons aswell asin Unitec\ Nations aqencies. except in activities related to health. This qecreehastaken 'lW'lyopportunities (or 'l number o( proressiona] women who were engClgeqin UN ClnqNCO work to (eec\their('lmilies, to give their lives a semblance o( normalcy Clnqto try to servevarious sectors o( the A(ghClnpopulation tha+only women can reach.Those protesslonal women working in he'llth care=-doctors 'lnqnurses=-wtll continue to use limiteq resourcesto tackle enormous problems within their country, theircommunities, 'lnq their homes.In the ('1110(2000, representatives ot the Women's Commission (or Re(ugeeWomen 'lnq Children met-withwomen in K'lbul ' lnq intervtewed them about the impact o(qecree nurnber B . Thisgroup ot women W'lScomposedo( women pro(ession'lls, educated women who h'lq spent most of their livesworking in kabu] (or ministries, non-qovernrnental orqanisations or other 'liq 'lgencies. As such, it isnot a scientific, st'ltistic'll survey. However, theinterviews qo reveal'1wide diverstty o( opinion on the decree,on li(e in A(gh'lnist'1n 'lnq its (uture pClth,'lnq on therole o(the Intemationa] community.One or the women askedwhy the asststance community qiq not take women's voices abroad. This publicationattempts to qo iustth'lt-- inall partso(the world where there isaconcern (or the rights otwornen 'lnq girls.We 'lre pleasedto 'lqq this p ub lic an on , b ea rin q the words o( 'l group o(pro(ession'll women in Kabul who continueto struggle and to survive,to other recentpubhcattons (ocusing on A(gh'ln women.SippiAzerb'lii'lni-Mogh'lq'lmTechnical Advisor tor A(gh'lnist'lnWomen's Commission (or Re f uq e e Women ClnqChilqren22.10.2000

This document WClSreparedwith the support ot the o F f i c e ot the UN Co-ordinator (or A(ghClnist'ln. It does not,necessarilyreflect the viewso(the Unitec\ Nations system inA(gh'lnist'ln.

I

Take Our Words Abroad --------

8/7/2019 pamphllet

4/20

Warring parties have not respected women's rights

"W om en 's righ ts w ere destroyed by M 'lssouq , the H azaras 'lnq H ekm aty ar. W e saw girls 'lbq uctec1 from busstops by soldiers 'lnq w e knew what would happen to w om en w e saw being q raggeq in to houses. W hy does th eU niteq Nations recogn ise them ?""U nq er th e C om m un ists educa t i on W 'lS su pe rH ci'l1 'ln q w om en 's rig hts w ere tr'lm ple c1 unde r foo t. W hy q iq theUN accep t the Comm unists w ho destroyed the fou nq 'ltio n o f A fg h'ln is tan ?""Unqedhe Taltban. in the curren t situ 'a-tion , m en 'lnq w om en's righ ts have been tram pled under foot.""M en 's rights are also under attack . They have to w ear beards < lnq clean looking m en 'Ire tarq eted fo r attack ."

"They have tram pled w om en 's righ ts bu t w e q on 't w ant it to be the w< ly i t W

8/7/2019 pamphllet

5/20

Jan Dago

---------- Take Our Words Abroad

8/7/2019 pamphllet

6/20

Work enhances women's self-esteem

"W e rea lly need '1 sa la ry . Our s 'l l 'l~ g ive u s ~ igh ts w ith in the fum ily .""W e had to pw ve to the T alib an 'lnd to the m en th 'l t w om en can do ad istr ibu tion . B efo~ e , m en used to do the d is tr ibu tion 'lnd the m en tried toconv ince [the boss] th a t w om en cou ld no t do a d is tribu tion . No t on ly can w e doa d istr ibu tion bu t a lso w e can do it be tte r th an m en can because w e are moresen sitiv e to the w om en 's needs 'lnd they have som eone they can te l l th e irp rob lem s to . W om en a~e more sy mpathe tic to each o the r's need s.""I t h as been a good exam ple fo r the T a[ib 'ln th 'l t w e w om en are capab le 'lnd w eare do ing every th ing w ith in the boundaries o t lslam.""W e suppo rt lo ts o f w om en thw ugh ou r w ork and tra in w om en to Cq~~y ou tvo lunteer work in he 'l l th 'lnd l 'lnd m ines . S p i~ itu 'l ily th e decree deq lt u s a b igb low . N ow w e c'ln/t w ork in the com mun ity o r tra in peop le o r superv ise them ."

------- Take Our Words Abroad --------

8/7/2019 pamphllet

7/20

Family and cultural values also impedewomen in claiming their rights

l'The situa tion is not good for tq lk ing abou t w om en 's righ ts. Our fam ily q nd cultural stru ctu res do notsuppor t equal rights for m en q nd w om en.'!"There are no righ ts for w om en in A fghq n is tq n . I have hC ld gender aw areness hC lin ing , I am a doctor,and I c annot im plem ent q ny th ing w ith in m y own hom e. 1 1 m Pushtun and m y fam ily is tradittonal."'/We know our righ ts but w e cqn/t take them . I get invo lved in fqm ily arqurnerrts to p ro tec t the otherwomen from m en but tho se w om en do no t sC 1yC1ny th ing to back m e up. They [us+ look . M y motherasks m e why I invo lve m yse lf in som eone else /s f igh t but I can 't s tand by C1ndwatch ."IIWeVe had gender aw areness h '1 in ing but w e C'1n/t even im plem ent it w ith our o w n c hild re n. IIIlwh'1t good does it do m e to walk around bare f '1 ced! W e are from a ro un d KC 1b ulC 1 nd we n ev erh adfreedom to dress '1Sw e w anted (Jnd go w here w e wanted . W e canno t accept th at freedom '1nywq y . M ym other a lw ay s wore C l~ ." .'T he c ur re nt sltuation has spoilt rrien s m enta lities. W hen m y sis ter sticks her head out of the door ofthe house , m y brothertells her ofF. In our house, w e cannot p ick up the telephone when it ring s. Theytell us a m an should p ick it up first. I f t h ere are no m en C lt hom e we dont answ er the phone ."l'The Taliban don/t le t w om en go to ~ [pilgrim 'lgeJ anym ore. W e are w orry ing '1bout themIi.m iting the num ber of day s tha t w om en can go out of the ir houses ."

-------- Take Our Words Abroad --------

8/7/2019 pamphllet

8/20

When men are unemployed, women work to feed their families"M ;:m y m en are unem ploy ed . M en '1 re ho ld ing dow n severa l job s i( th ey can find them now . It i s d i FF ic u lt(o r m en to be a t hom e. The re is '1 l o t o ( f igh ting a t hom e. O u r m en w ere m ore upse t th an w e w ere w henw e w ere to ld to st'1 y a t hom e."" Liv elih oo d a nd equal r igh ts to w ork are eq u'1 lly im po rtan t bu t th e liv e lihood issue is m ore im po rtan tbecause 50 m any m en are now unem ploy ed ."'T h is is ou r on ly chance to w ork and to suppo rt th e ( '1m ily .""W e need to w ork (o r m oney . O the rw ise , w e w ou Id s tay '1 t hom e. W hy shou Id w e take risk s i( w e 're no tb ei n g P '1id (o r it?""M y husband is an eng ineer '1 nd unem ploy ed . W e have (ou r ch ild ren 1 (1 w ou ld b e unem ploy ed tO Q thenthe situ a tion w ou ld be very bq d . W ork and h '1 v ing equal righ t to w o rk a re im po rtan t (o r u s bu t th e W 'lge sare m ore im po rtan t. O ur husbands '1 reno t w ork ing ."

--------Take OurWordsbroad--------

8/7/2019 pamphllet

9/20

---------- Take Our Words Abroad ----------

8/7/2019 pamphllet

10/20

Women strive for creative ways towork in a restrictive environment

"W e w ork w ith ru les and (o llow them .""W e have '1 11been obey ing the Sh 'lriq law to the le tte r . .. ""I be lieve it is irnpo rtan t th at w om en w ork 'ln q w ork acco rd inq to w hat is w ritten in .th e Ouran. Ih ave b een wearinq 'l~ q nq I have been engq geq in re lig iou s teachinqs w ith m y o ther sistershere since C om mun ist tim es, No th ing m uch bas ch 'lngeq except th 'lt th e con tro ls 'Ire n ow tig hte ra bo ut w eq rin g '1 . l2 .m $._ 'ln q w om en 's m o bility ,""W om en sit righ t 'I t th e back o r buses . W hen the bus com es, m en push to the (ron t and take 'I I Ith e sea ts so som etim es there 'I re no sea ts (or w om en , W om en cannot take tax is a lone , 2 or 3w om en have to be in the tax i- - o therw ise it'l l b e stopped and the tax i d river m igh t be (orceQ toge t engq geq to the passenq er.""S ho pk eepers are F rig hten eq to serve us in case there 'Ire T 'l lib q n around , They panic q nq beg us togo 'lW 'ly q nq leave them alone .""We're w orrie d, e sp ecia llv w he n we're 'I lon e q nq esp ec ia l ly w hen p 'lssin g Vice ' lnq Virtue vehic les ,Vice q nq V irtu e 'Ire ve ry ac tiv e in th e even ing s, to wards pr'lyer tim e so tha+ 's th e tim e when w eq on 't m ove ."" I a m q is 'lb leq , I l o st one arm 'lnq one leg q uring the w ar. I c annot w e 'l l ' 'I ~ so the T alib ssom etim es w hip m e. I c ry ou t thq t I a m q is 'lb leq 'lnq they shou t "50 what . it 's y ou r p ro ble m,""W e used to trave l [(or ou I' w ork] .in the o rg 'ln isa tion 's A yi n g coach but now we q on 't go ou tand abou t m uch, W e have m eetings 'I t hom e, W e som etim es m ove around by tax i, in groups andone o( us ca tches the bus,"'T hey (ounq USq car w ithou t insignia so thq t w e cou ld sta rt trave ll ing to w ork again ,""W e trave l by tax i and w e q on 't sa y w e work (o r an NGO . W e have been us ing tax is (o r three y ears

,;now"W om en shou ldn 't trave l w ith m ahram s (male ( ' lmily member ac ting as '1 c haperone). I t isunnecessary 'ln q the o rq an tsation s do not pay (o r the m ah rgm , H e cou ld be q o ing som eth ing e lse'lnq earninq m oney in tha+ tim e,"

-------- Take Our Words Abroad ---------

8/7/2019 pamphllet

11/20

8/7/2019 pamphllet

12/20

8/7/2019 pamphllet

13/20

Male colleagues are not always supportive

"T he m ale em ploy ees we~eh 'lppy to see the back of us. T hey s'l iq m en shou ld w ork in ste 'ld ofwomen . "" I su spec t th a t w ith m ale A Fgh 'ln s t'lFF i F th ey could f ind a W 'ly of continu ing the w ork w ithou tA Fgh 'ln w om en , they w ou ld ju st get on w ith it. . . AFgh 'll l m en , y oung and o lq , don 't ~e 'l ily care iF thew om en w ork or not. I t 's q u ite worryinq."'T he~e 'l~e som e conserva tive elem en ts w ith in som e of our F 'lm ilies 'lnd at w ork . S om e m en don 'tlik e to see us go ing to w ork bu t w e ignore them .""K abu l m en q on 't care . AFte~ a ll th ese y ears oFh 'lv ing I slam ic g roups ru ling , th ey have becom econservative."

--------Take OurWordsbroad--------

8/7/2019 pamphllet

14/20

Women agonise about losing their jobs

I IW om en 'l~ e [ealous o f u s b ecau se w e are workinq. They w q tch u s go ou tto w o rk w ith envy in the ir e y e s , q nd w ere sca red 'I bou t the ir il l w ill ."I IW e h eard a ru rnour that the m en w ou ld take over om jobs q nd w e w ereup se t. I t's true the re ~ re m qny unem ploy ed m en .""W e w ere up se t abou t the wordinq Iot the decree], w e w ere hope less q ndup se t q nd w orn ed abou t how w e cou ld m ake ends m ee t. W e w ere w o rriedabou t our sala ries . w e w ere w orried abou t our ch ild ren '1 nd w e w erew orried 'I b ou t the f peop le w e help in ] our proqrarnrne.""W e 'I re ' w orried 'I bou t th e T ahban send ing heq lth stq ffhom e too .""I f th e T q lib q n fo rce q gencies to em ploy the ir w om en then the q genc iesshou ld pu ll o u tto d efend our righ ts. T hen m en and w om en w ou ld beunem ploy ed '1 nd w e w ou ld r e ' 1 l 1 y b e e qu q ll"-------- Take Our Words Abroad --------

8/7/2019 pamphllet

15/20

Children's education is a priority for all women"D or/t th ink about w omen '1 nd our righ ts. T hink '1bout our children , th ink about the F ( 1 C t th '1 t th ey don 'tknow the diFFerence betw een the ir righ t h '1 nd and their le ft h '1 nd .""W e F e e l p '1 in for our children C lnd F orthe Fu ture of our na tion liFe goes on w ith the chadari and w ith hei'O lbbut no t w ithou t educa tion Econom ics and education are the foundations o f any country . W e have bravew om en who w ill F ight Fo r their r igh ts once the econom ic and education situ ation has been sorted out. O urpeople have been cow ed.""W e w ant educa tion to be availab le . l ik e it w as before but accord ing to Islam ic p rincip les. E ven if you iustprovide a room w here kids can study .""O ur ch ildren know m o r e aboutrelig ion than w e do 'lnd tha ts not '1 b '1 dth ing . They te ll us about lslamic l awsand ideas T hey t'lught our k id s '1 trelig ious school to respec t paren ts '1 ndto '1 dd ress u s '1 S 'shom g' [th e eq uiva len to f "vous" in F rench]. W e w ere schooledduring the C ommunist period and w ewere never tauq h+ to be polite to ourparents.""E ven b oy s '1re s uF fe rin g f ro m e du ca tio nproblem s. In the boy s schoo l, the boy scom e in and tum ble '1 1 1over e ac h o th er.No one listens to the teacher H e re '1 dsthe reg iste r '1nd then at 10.30 h e sa ys.'W ell , boy s I have to go and push m ycart in D eh A Fgh '1 n '1 n , so go hom e,' '1 ndtha ts because no one can P i l Y h iss a l a r y . ""W om en 's righ ts com e out o f girls!schoo ls even iF girls '1re ta uq h t re lig io us C I!subjects, acco rd inq to the T alib an 's ru les ~'1 nd regu l'1 tions. W e are not a fr'1 id of ~. the ~ '1 nd un til soc ie ty is re 'ldy Fo r gwomen to be uncovered , w e w ill w ear it ~O ur ch ildren 's righ ts '1 nd educ'1 tion ot:sh ould be taken in to consideratio n." Q, )

~

-------- Take Our Words Abroad --------

8/7/2019 pamphllet

16/20

Loss of work for women is a family issue

""People c \a not live '1S m d r v i d u a l s in A fgh '1 n society . People live '1 nd react tothe outside world .hom w ith in the f1m ily .""S ince the men have lost their jobs q nd a re sitting q t hom e, it's becom e hopelessq nc\ they n

8/7/2019 pamphllet

17/20

Most--but not all--think that aidagencies should stay, no matter what

" I f 'lg enc ies pu llou t it w on It hurt th e T 'll ibs Poor people need the UN 'lnd NG Os. There is a drough tPu ll ing out w ill hurt people. T he Tahban he lve sa id on the radio m any tim es: 'G od w ill h elp . W e don 'tneed the NGO s,' T he agencies should keep their relation s w ith the T alib 'ln and try to help people .Look at the UN sanc tion s and their e ffect. They [ust h it the people. The best m edic ines used to beA ow n in f rom Indie l T he resu lts of laboratory tests were Aown in and patien ts could be cured moreeasily . T he sanc tions hit th e people. D on 't cu t the help--it w on 't bo ther the governm en t"'The w idow s would be in an even worse situa tion than w e are. W e have ou r husbands a t least They donot even have tha t. W e are happy to leave our houses and to w ork . W e are happy to he lp the W idow s.""Aqencies shouldn 't pu llou t. The Taliban w ill w in and poor people w ill d ie . T he UN i s 'I n o r q an is a ti ontha t is supposed to w ork fo r the peop le , no t fo r the T aliban . They should continue . A qencies pu ll ingou t w ould affec t the people much more than it w ou ld affect the T ahban .

--------Take OurWordsbroad--------

8/7/2019 pamphllet

18/20

"W e love w eilring the~ , Even itth e T 'l lib 'ln leave , I w ill w ea r th e ~ be c'lu se I am covered 'lnd I havem o re fre ed om now, Befme , I h 'ld to w ear m odern c lo thes to be accepted . I WqS' l lw ' lYs worrvinq abou t m ylegs or m y arm s M en w ere q lw 'lY s leering , W e [ust w ant educa tion 'lnd w ork . W e w ant the sam e condition sas in S 'lud i A rab ia 'I t least. T he ~ does not kil l u s, W hy spend so m uch tim e 'lnd ef fo rt hy ing toel trnmate it! W hy do w om en in the W est spend s,o m uch tim e w mry ing about superF ici'l l ities?"'T he w om en in New York don 't care abou t A fgh 'ln w om en 's righ ts, C an they com e here 'lnd burn in thef ires o fhell l ike us? T hey have found the w ily ou t. W om en in P akistan don 't care abou t us e ith er,""W om en ab road shou ld com e here 'lnd F igh t, T here are few educated w om en le ft in K abul. Ru r'l l peop lehave com e to live in kabul.""L et's have ac tion 'lnd no t w ords , C om e here and ta lk f 'lce to f 'lce w ith the T 'l l ib 'ln ,"

------- Take Our Words Abroad --------

8/7/2019 pamphllet

19/20

"In K abul around 50% of the peop le are som ehow makinq ends m eet. T hefo reign '1 gencies are help ing ano tbe r 1 5% perhaps. W ithou t assistarxe fromou tside those 1 5% w ould su re ly su ffer '1 ne! d ie '1 ncl1 5% is better th '1 n no th ing .T he '1 ic laqencies a re no t w ork ing for the T '1 lib '1 n '1 nc l fo r the governm en tsab road . They are work ing fo r the A fgh '1n peop le '1 nq m ust f incl w ay s to stay ."" If t he aqenc i e s pu ll ou t, the peop le w ho w il l su ffer the m ost are the w om enbu t the T aliban clon/t care . I t is '1 11abou t po litics . I f the econom ic srtuationdeterio rate s, then the A fgh '1 ni w i)1 go clow n '1 ncl the T '1 lib '1 n rnav su ffer."IThe T '1 l ib '1 n w ou ld be h '1 ppy if '1 genc ies pu ll ou t. Th is sm all th ing w e havewith women here w ou ld be fin ishec l. T he T '1 lib '1 n do no t care '1bou t thepeop le . D o not p ull y ou r aqencies ou t. B ring m ore '1 gencies in . W e m '1 y ge tso desperate th '1 t w e m '1y kill ou rselves . P eop le from M uslim coun tries shou ldcom e '1 ncl pu t p ressu re on them ."'The in ternational com munity shou ld cu t '1 1 1heir he lp , e spec ia l ly to theTa liban . A ll p ro jects in K '1 nq '1 h '1 r s hou ld be shu t c lown . A ll he lp shou ld bepu llecl ou t. The peop le w ill su ffer and the governm en t shou ld suffe r. There is '1clw ugh t th is y ear so trrternational orqanisa+ions shou ld stop the ir w ork . II

-------- TakeOurWordsAbroad--------

8/7/2019 pamphllet

20/20

-'------ -~-

,' .. ;: