Afghanistan Now

Threatened Afghan Assemblywoman Malalai Joya implores the U.S. not to forget her country

It’s not hard to hear why Malalai Joya is one of the most powerful women in Afghanistan, even with her tiny voice and polite-but-limited English crackling over an international cell phone connection. The 27-year-old lawmaker is direct, businesslike, and pulls no punches. One learns to speak this way, perhaps, after surviving attacks on her home and office and almost daily condemnation as one of the few women elected to Afghanistan’s new National Assembly.

In Joya’s lifetime, Afghanistan has seen two full-scale military invasions, a bloody civil war, and the rise and fall of the Taliban. Leader of a feminist organization and health clinic, she was elected to serve on the country’s 2003 Loya Jirga, or grand council, to form a new government. There she shocked everyone with a short floor speech decrying other elected representatives – some of whom were the most powerful men in the country – as war criminals who should be tried for crimes against humanity. Death threats erupted, but Joya’s constituents loved it and elected her to the National Assembly, where those same men bristle at her presence. A few are said to have very bloody pasts, including a militia leader accused of war crimes by Human Rights Watch, which reports warlords as having undue influence over and access to government affairs, and a former Taliban militia commander.

“They made our country the center of national and international fighting,” she said to the council, a place where young women were traditionally banned. “They were the people who put our country in its current condition, and want to again. Even if our people forgive them, history will not.”

It’s an alarming statement, not only for the Afghans who have to live with it, but also for Americans who bear some responsibility for that country’s future. Joya has now taken the extraordinary step of bringing her campaign for gender equality, human rights, and democracy directly to the American people, as part of a nationwide tour sponsored by the Afghan Women’s Mission, an advocacy group founded by KPFK 90.7 FM radio personality and Pasadena resident Sonali Kolhatkar. Sometimes relying on a translator, she spoke to CityBeat on Friday from Canada.

CityBeat: Being a female member of the Afghani National Assembly is a dangerous job.

Malalai Joya: Several times I have received death threats. After my speech at the Loya Jirga, my life completely changed. When people became aware I was one of the candidates for parliament [National Assembly], they started threatening me more. Before my election to parliament they attacked my office and my house. I do not feel secure, especially when I come to Kabul.

Why are former warlords back in power?

Because they have two faces. They deceive people. Some think if we vote for this person they will help once again. [Many “warlords” are credited with the defeat of Soviet invaders.] They have the support of foreign countries, lots of money. That is the reason they found their way into the parliament. Now they have a mask of democracy but … they do not believe in democracy. They do not believe in women’s rights, human rights. And those people destroyed our country. This is the reason we are now really worried about the situation in our country, and the main reason most people in Afghanistan didn’t attend the parliamentary election. They want to vote for a person who doesn’t have blood on their hands.

What can the government hope to achieve?

There is no fundamental change in the situation in Afghanistan. You should not see only Kabul; you should see the faraway provinces. Not only does the situation of women become worse day by day, there is no security. All of the people are very poor. They do not have health and education facilities. Instead of the Taliban, now [leaders] are brothers of Taliban. But I do not want to say all of them; some of them are good people.

Have women’s rights improved since the government changed?

Unfortunately, there is no fundamental change in the situation of women. Women, even in Kabul, they do not feel real security, and women do not have real liberation. You should see faraway provinces. In the western provinces of Afghanistan, women, day by day, they are killing themselves. They prefer to die than be alive.

What’s the role of the United States?

On one hand, I am really happy that the democracy loving, freedom-loving people support us. We need their support and we’re proud. On the other hand, the [Afghan] people really have suspicion about the help from the government of the United States. There are those people who did lots of crimes on our innocent people. My message to the United States: Do not forget the people of Afghanistan. V

Malalai Joya speaks Mon. at Immanuel Presbyterian Church, 663 S. Berendo St., L.A., at 7 p.m. Reservations: (626) 676-7884. Also Tue. at Caltech’s Avery Hall, 332 S. Michigan Ave., Pasadena, at noon. Reservations: (626) 395-3221.