Malalai Joya's message to the Gwangju award ceremony

This is the 3rd award Malalai Joya has won. She has also received the Malalai of Maiwand 2001 (Afghanistan) and Women of the Year 2004 (Italy) awards.

In the name of freedom and democracy and in the name of the martyrs of Gwangju uprising!

Dear friends,

First of all, I would like to thank the May 18 Memorial Foundation for awarding me "The Gwangju Prize for Human Rights”. I am very much sorry that I could not personally attend the ceremony. I am so honored to receive the award on behalf of suffering Afghan women and men. The award you've given me has a really huge moral value to me; in fact it belongs to all Afghan people who fight for their very basic rights under oppressive regimes. By awarding me, you are supporting anti-fundamentalist and pro-democracy movement of Afghan people. Therefore I convey the sincere and deep thanks and regard of all Afghan women to you and through you to the great people of Korea.

This award has a very special meaning to me, it links me to a shining history page of the Korean people for liberation, democracy and justice, it links me with the heroic May 18 Gwangju Uprising which is always a source of inspiration to me. By giving me this award, you motivate me to fight with the same determination and steadfastness against enemies of humanity in my ill-fated country, which was demonstrated by freedom-loving people of Korea in Gwangju. It connects me to the sprit of May 18 victims who bravely fought the criminals enemies to establish democracy.

Respected friends,

I come from a land where the Taliban have gone but even according to UN rights expert, cycle of violence and abuses are not over under the US domination, where depleted uranium and clustered bombs were used by the US troops against my innocent people, where according to Human Rights Watch, Northern Alliance warlords emerged more powerful than ever and the same warlords and known criminals dominate the new parliament, judiciary and the cabinet. A country where widespread abuse and restriction on freedom continues, where women are attacked with acids if seen not fully covered. A country as UN put it, is going to become a Norco-State under the "Northern Alliance” drug mafia.

As you all know, Afghanistan has been a playground for world powers in the past 25 years, Afghan people and especially women have been the prime victims throughout these bloody years.

After the terrorist attack of 9/11, the Bush administration bombed Afghanistan to topple the Taliban, but it brought to the scene the Northern Alliance fundamentalists who are much more brutal than the Taliban terrorists.

You all may expect that I list the achievements especially in the conditions of Afghan women after the US occupation. But I am sorry to tell you that unfortunately there has been no fundamental change in the plight of Afghan people. When the entire nation is living under the shadow of gun and warlordism, how can its women enjoy very basic freedoms? Unlike the propaganda raised by certain Western media, Afghan women and man are not "liberated” at all.

The recent incident in Afghan parliament speaks for itself, for speaking the truth against warlords; I am recording constant death threats. I exposed them in a place that no one dared to say a word against them. In return they threatened me, abused me and tried to silence my voice by calling me a "prostitute”, "infidel” and "communist”, "RAWA member” and even tried to force me to apologize, but I was ready to die before I took back my words.

For the US government, the brutal warlords are not terrorists, as their acts of terrorism are not against US interests; therefore the US has joined hands with them and have installed the bloody enemies of our nation in the key positions in the Afghan government.

This is the main reason that Afghan people are suspicious about the US ‘war on terror' and think that the US government continues the same unforgivable mistake it did in 80's by arming and supporting the most disgusting enemies of humanity in Afghanistan from which the germ of Osama Bin Laden and Taliban emerged and ended up to be the most horrible act of terrorism in the history of the US.

In fact, by bringing the religious criminals back to power, the US has replaced one reactionary fundamentalist regime with another while our poor people fall victims to the different actions by US troops.

Another shock to the world community is that Afghanistan under the US occupation, once again has become the world's largest opium producer. The powerful warlords are engaged in the dirty trade under the very nose of the US troops.

Dear Friends,

The situation in Afghanistan and conditions of its ill-fated women will never change positively, until the warlords are disarmed and both the pro-US and anti-US terrorists are removed from the political scene of Afghanistan. And this is the responsibility of the Afghan people to accomplish this goal.

I think that no nation can donate liberation to another nation. Liberation should be achieved in a country by the people themselves. The ongoing developments in Afghanistan and Iraq prove this claim. I strongly believe that Afghanistan will not be liberated from the dirt of terrorism and fundamentalism, and achieve democracy until our people sacrifice have shed their blood. This is in my opinion the biggest lesson of Gwangju uprising.

The US "war on terrorism” will never be succeeded, because it has some hidden objectives behind it. The results of this war brought no essential result to the people of Afghanistan and Iraq but killing of tens of thousands of innocent people in both countries.

I am well aware of the hardships, challenges, and death from anti-democracy forces, threats but I trust my people. One day they may kill me as they have gun and power and support of the US government, but they can never silence my voice and hide the truth.

Afghanistan is still a land of tragedies under the US control, we need a May 18 in our land too, great people of Korea set a shining example for all of those who care for real democracy and freedom, I am really proud and honored to become part of the May 18 uprising and would like to once again assure you that by giving me this award, you put another extra responsibility on me to scarifies my life for achievement of the great values that Korean freedom-loving people fought and continue to fight for. I pay my utmost tributes to victims of this uprising and will not rest for a moment till realization of their marvelous and humane objectives in my benighted country.

Heartfelt thanks once again for giving me the prestigious prize.

Malalai Joya
Member of the Afghan Parliament