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Afghan activist denounces warlords
Staff Report - ISLAMABAD: The euphoria of people in Afghanistan after the ouster of the Taliban was short-lived because some warlords have made the lives of Afghans hell.
Malalai Joya, an Afghan peace activist, observed this during an interview with Daily Times. Ms Joya is also an elected representative of Farah province in the Afghan Loya Jirga.
In her mid-20s, Joya is the first woman to have exposed the brutalities of local warlords and demanded President Hamid Karzai and the Jirga to punish them in accordance with international law.
“I was given only one minute to speak during the Loya Jirga. In that brief time I only requested our president to get rid of the criminals, who have gathered around him,” she said recalling the moment that changed her life. After hearing her hard-hitting speech, the warlords and their supporters in Loya Jirga denounced her and labelled her a prostitute. They threatened to kill her. The government provided Joya with six security guards, but she termed the arrangements insufficient.
For openly denouncing the dangerous criminals, she was given “Woman of the Year, 2004” award by an Italy-based organisation.
She said several members of President Karzai’s cabinet were involved in blatant crimes against humanity. “They (warlords) are more brutal than the Taliban. The women and children are the favourite targets of their atrocities.”
The Jirga member, who is also associated with a non-government organisation, Organisation for Promoting Afghan Women’s Capabilities (OPAWC), said the healthcare conditions in the war-ravaged country were extremely poor. These people should be taken to the international court of justice. Every child of Afghanistan recognises those criminals, who currently occupy slots in the cabinet,” she added.
She openly accused Afghan leaders like Abdullah Abdullah, Gulbadin Hikmatyar, Fahim Dostum, Karim Khalili, Burhanuddin Rabbani, Abdul Sayyaf and Younis Qanooni of gruesome crimes against the people of Afghanistan.
The activist claimed the abnormal growth in poppy cultivation was because of these warlords, who wanted to make money by hook or by crook. She said the OPAWC was established in 1999 for empowering Afghan women in the fields of education, healthcare and income-generating activities. She said because of the threat to her life by the warlords she always wore a veil while travelling, meeting and educating women. Asked how Karzai could get rid of the warlords who had huge caches of arms and ammunitions, she said that the president must realise the people of Afghanistan were with him. “Once he gets realises this the warlords, regardless of how strong they are, cannot stop him from cleansing the country of blood-thirsty people.”
She said the warlords did not want to give a respectable place to the women of her country. She said international organisations and civilised governments must take notice of the situation.
The Jirga member claimed that young girls and boys were compelled to commit suicide because of the cruelties of the warlords.
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