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NEWS & LETTERS, March 2003
Celebrating Meena
On Feb. 4 in Islamabad, Pakistan, the Revolutionary
Association of Women in Afghanistan (RAWA) commemorated the 16th anniversary of
the death of their founder, Meena, by holding a meeting/demonstration and
presenting a play, "Path of Life," which depicted Meena's life and
work. The keynote speaker was Asma Jahangir, who led the UN
human rights investigation in Afghanistan. She pointed out that Afghan people
have suffered repression for 23 years and demanded an international inquiry
commission be established to study this, saying, "A commission...could fix
the responsibility and recommend an exemplary punishment for the culprits." A RAWA speaker, who did not use her real name for fear
of reprisals against her family, stressed democracy without secularism is
incomplete and that "Meena's active social work and effective advocacy
against fundamentalists and the puppet regime acted as a beacon for her
supporters in their struggle for democracy." Another member of RAWA criticized the Karzai government.
She said Afghan women are still facing horrible restrictions; the Karzai
government has failed to provide freedom and even basic human rights to Afghan
people, who are unsafe in their country and have no access to education, health
care, or other necessities. In a critique of U.S. war plans against Iraq and a
condemnation for the U.S. betrayal of the people--most especially the women--of
Afghanistan, RAWA said: "If America wants to introduce Afghanistan-like
'democracy' in Iraq, we will condemn it." --T.M. |
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