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NEWS & LETTERS, December 2001

RAWA in Chicago

Chicago - On Nov. 9, Tahmeena Faryal of the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) spoke in downtown Chicago at a meeting organized by News and Letters Committees and co-sponsored by dozens of feminist and human rights groups.  Over 500 people, mostly women, packed into the Hothouse, a jazz club that regularly hosts progressive events; over 200 had to be turned away at the door.  Tahmeena Faryal spoke movingly about the history of Afghanistan, stressing RAWA's opposition to all fundamentalists, including those in the Northern Alliance.

The following afternoon, Faryal spoke on another panel organized by News and Letters at the Harold Washington Library.  The panel was entitled "The Struggle for Women's Emancipation in South Asia and the Middle East," and on the panel with Faryal were an Iranian feminist and a South Asian feminist.  Close to 200 mostly women packed the room and lingered in the hallways to hear the talks and participate in the lively discussion that followed.

Both events drew large numbers of women out onto the Chicago anti-war scene.  This shows that a more profound and principled opposition to the war is desired by women and needed if we want to build a genuine movement.

Maya Jhansi

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