Malalai Joya - Afghanistan

Afghanistan's Conscience - Malalai Joya

by Michelle Goldberg

www.thedailybeast.com/, November 4, 2009

Many Afghan women are against a U.S. pullout, but Malalai Joya, who's been called "the bravest woman in Afghanistan," says the American occupation must end. She tells The Daily Beast's Michelle Goldberg why.

Malalai Joya, a 31-year-old activist and politician, was once called "the bravest woman in Afghanistan" by the BBC. During the Taliban years, she defied her country's rulers by running underground girls' schools. After the Taliban's fall, she helped start an orphanage and a medical clinic, and eventually became the youngest member of Afghanistan's legislature. She has been fearless in taking on the warlords who populate the government of Hamid Karzai-declared the presidential victor Monday after a runoff election was canceled-so much so that in 2007, her political opponents voted to suspend her from parliament on the grounds that she had "insulted" the institution. Calling for her reinstatement, six female Nobel Peace Prize laureates compared her to Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi, describing her as "a model for women everywhere seeking to make the world more just."

The Afghan government is "a group of warlords, criminals, who [waged the] civil war in Afghanistan from '92 to '96. They are photocopies of Taliban, but with suit and tie, talking about democracy."

So when Joya inveighs against the American occupation of her country, we should take her voice seriously.

"My message on behalf of my people to [the] great American people is that democracy never comes by barrel of gun, by cluster bomb, by war," she told me during a recent interview in New York, her words rushing out in an impassioned torrent. "They say war of Iraq is bad war, war of Afghanistan is good war, while both are war. You should raise your voice against the wrong policy of your government."

Joya is touring the United States to promote her new book, A Woman Among the Warlords: The Extraordinary Story of an Afghan Who Dared to Raise Her Voice. The volume is both an autobiography and a damning indictment of the Karzai regime and its American backers. It offers a perspective that's particularly salient right now, as the U.S. debates its future in Afghanistan. Many liberals are turning against the war, but worry that pulling out will abandon Afghans, particularly Afghan women, to the ravages of a Taliban takeover. They may be right-there are plenty of Afghan women speaking out strongly against a pullout. Still, Joya shows that the feminist case for staying in Afghanistan is far from clear-cut.

Joya is barely 5 feet tall-she swims in her pantsuit-but her presence is arresting and authoritative. Educated largely in refugee camps in Iran and Pakistan, she never had the opportunity to go to college, but she's a book-loving autodidact who quotes Bertholt Brecht as often as she cites Afghan proverbs. Her English is slightly broken but still impressive-she has a rich vocabulary of epithets to describe Afghanistan's current government, which, she insists is no better than the Taliban regime it replaced.

After Sept. 11, 2001, she says, when it was clear there would be war, liberal-minded Afghans harbored hopes that the United States and NATO would "bring positive changes, especially [because] they came to Afghanistan under the banner of women's rights, human rights, democracy." Instead, she says, the U.S. and its allies "replaced one fascist regime, Taliban, these misogynist terrorists, with another group of warlords, criminals, who [waged the] civil war in Afghanistan from '92 to '96. They are photocopies of Taliban, but with suit and tie, talking about democracy."

Joya rejects the argument that NATO troops are the only thing standing in the way of a Taliban takeover. In fact, she says, the widespread civilian deaths caused by American bombs are fueling the Taliban's growing grassroots strength. Increasingly, she says, Afghans speculate that the United States is deliberately killing innocent civilians as revenge for the innocent American civilians killed on Sept. 11. "We are between two powerful enemies," she says. "We are fighting against occupation, and also against Taliban and warlords who now negotiate with each other. So with the withdrawal of one enemy, these occupation forces whose government is giving more money and power to these terrorists it's much easier to fight against one enemy instead of two."

To be sure, Joya doesn't speak for all Afghan women. Indeed, many Afghan women's rights activists and their American supporters express terror at what would await them after an American withdrawal. The Afghan human-rights activist Wazhma Frogh recently wrote in The Washington Post, "As an Afghan woman who for many years lived a life deprived of the most basic human rights, I find unbearable the thought of what will happen to the women of my country if it once again falls under the control of the insurgents and militants who now threaten it."

Women for Afghan Women, an NGO that runs counseling centers and domestic-violence shelters in Afghanistan, recently put out a statement saying, "Women for Afghan Women deeply regrets having a position in favor of maintaining, even increasing troops We predict that if Afghanistan falls again to the Taliban, we will once more see on our high-definition TV screens, in the comfort of our American homes, women and girls being hauled into the Kabul football stadium to be beaten and executed for having committed acts that would not be considered criminal by any international human-rights laws, including those signed by Afghanistan."

Sunita Viswanath, one of the board members of Women for Afghan Women, is immensely frustrated by those on the left who are calling for the occupation's end. "I want the answer to [this] question," she says. "What do they think will happen to women and girls?"

Joya's response is to argue that outside parts of Kabul, women's situations are as bad as they ever were, and it's getting worse. "It is as catastrophic as it was under the domination of Taliban," she says.

"Everyone, they are talking that when these troops leave Afghanistan, civil war will happen," says Joya. "Mainstream media especially try to put more dust in the eyes of the people around the world. But nobody wants to talk about today's civil war." The longer American troops stay, "the worse civil war will be, because [the American] government [is] giving more money and more power to these warlords and also Taliban. That's why, day by day, my people believe [that the U.S.] just waste their taxpayer money and the blood of their soldiers by supporting such a mafia corrupt system of Hamid Karzai."

Joya doesn't want the world to forget about Afghanistan; she is desperate for more humanitarian and educational support. But she rejects entirely the notion that the American military can be a force for good, or a force for feminism. "I believe that women's rights is not a bunch of beautiful flowers that someone gives us," she says. In her book, she writes, "I feel confident that if foreign countries stop meddling in Afghanistan and if we are left free from occupation, then a strong progressive and democratic force will emerge."

That might seem terribly optimistic, even naïve to most Americans. But if we think we're fighting for women like her, we should at least listen when she begs us to stop.

Michelle Goldberg is the author of The Means of Reproduction: Sex, Power and the Future of the World and Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism. She is a senior correspondent for The American Prospect, and her work has appeared in The New Republic, The Nation, the Los Angeles Times, Glamour, and many other publications.

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Interview with Afghan Feminist and MP Malalai Joya - part 2

Democracy Now, July 24, 2007

Afghanistan's most outspoken female lawmaker has been suspended for the rest of her term after she publicly criticized the Afghan parliament. For years Malalai Joya has been a leading critic of her government and the U.S. role in her country. She's faced constant harassment and attempts on her life for her views.

AMY GOODMAN: Our interview with Afghanistan's most outspoken female lawmaker. Malalai Joya has been suspended for the rest of her term after she publicly criticized the Afghan parliament. For years she's been a leading critic of her government and the U.S. role in her country. She has faced constant harassment for her views. The BBC once described her as "the bravest woman of Afghanistan." She recently joined us in our firehouse studio and talked about why she came to the United States.

0. MALALAI JOYA: I'm here to leave the main message for people to the freedom-loving, democratic people and parties of the US and also human rights defenders here that place pressure on those policymakers of US, that they have wrong policies playing in Afghanistan to stop the support of fundamentalist warlords in Afghanistan, this Northern Alliance who are more risky than Taliban and they're brother in creed of Taliban.
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0. And another main message of our people is this, that please try to support freedom-loving, democrat people and parties, men and women in Afghanistan who have no kind of support. And nowadays, right now, all my life, day by day become more risky. Even one MP inside of parliament recently said I will put bomb with myself and kill her and do bomb suicide.
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0. AMY GOODMAN: You mean he would do a suicide bomb inside the parliament just to kill you?
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0. MALALAI JOYA: Yeah. And also I'm changing the houses under burka. I'm moving, and I can't have [inaudible] --
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0. AMY GOODMAN: You go from house to house wearing a burka.
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0. MALALAI JOYA: Yeah. I can't be only in one house, and even I can't have office. And four times they did assassination against me and many more threats like that. Then right now that I'm returning, I don't know how many more threats I will receive and how many more assassination they will do, because they are counting day to kill me. And this is the voice of the voiceless people of Afghanistan. I'm here to tell you if something happen with me, please do not -- please try to make -- give up this voice -- do not say nobody will make it silent, you know, so [inaudible] if they kill me it's easy for them because they are killing lots of democrat, freedom-loving, innocent people of Afghanistan. Especially I am woman, they are against me, but they never can make silence this voice. This is a powerful voice, because this is the voice of the suffering men and women of Afghanistan, and they cannot hide the truth. I am here to telling you please do not forget the men and women of Afghanistan. Try to support them more in this situation. We have no kind of support.
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0. AMY GOODMAN: What gives you this strength? Tell me about your parents?
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0. MALALAI JOYA: Right now, I can't live with my parents, even with my husband and family, because of security reasons, but they support me, because I am telling the truth, like many other Afghanistan freedom-loving people around the world. They also support me and worried about my life, but I understand about the risk, about the hardships, about all of these problems, and I accept because of my people, especially women of Afghanistan, who right now even they don't have human rights and a human life there in Afghanistan. So if something happen with me, once again, I'm telling you the responsible will be these Northern Alliance killers. And try to help us and one day will face them to the national and international courts, because right now every day for our people it's 11 September, if they will continue to their policy to support them more.
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0. AMY GOODMAN: You're saying every day for you is a September 11th?
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0. MALALAI JOYA: Not for me. I'm a person. For me and for my people.
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0. AMY GOODMAN: For Afghanistan.
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0. MALALAI JOYA: Yeah, 11 September. And I have many more examples that a little bit earlier I shared with you, the suffering, the tragedy in Afghanistan that's going on. But if they continue the strong policy to support these fundamentalist warlords in Afghanistan, another 11 September will happen in the world.
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0. AMY GOODMAN: What should the United States do right now?
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0. MALALAI JOYA: Yeah, for example, right now, our people, they need moral and material support. First of all, they should stop the support of these fundamentalist Northern Alliance killers who are brother in creed of Taliban, and they are in power right now and they have high positions in Afghanistan. For example, every crimes that happening, they are saying Taliban did, but right now in the north of Afghanistan there is no Talib. In Jowzjan Province, Rashid Dostum is one of the wanted criminal, and also the governor of this province is Joma Khan Hamdard, a person who is one of the commander and one of the person of [inaudible] one of the Northern Alliance killers, a party that leader is Rabani, who's enjoying in parliament. They're fighting against each other because of their personal issues, because these black parties, they are against each other, but they shed the blood of innocent people in the situation that now they're talking about democracy. And many more examples that these fundamentalist warlords, they are more risky than Taliban, because they are in power. And that's why our people do not support that government and they are getting distanced from this government and they do something against foreign troops in Afghanistan, because they become hopeless from the foreign troops. They support Northern Alliance killers who are friend of US and enemies of our people, and they are saying we are fighting against Taliban, who are anti-US, but both of them are enemies of the people of Afghanistan.
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0. AMY GOODMAN: How will you go back into Afghanistan? Can you just fly in?
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0. MALALAI JOYA: No, I can't go by airplane. Right now, I can't come by airplane from Kabul here, because of security reasons. I came by car to Pakistan under burka, and even I can't talk during the car. And right now I'm going back to Pakistan from there. Under burka, I'm going to Afghanistan, because of security reasons.
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0. AMY GOODMAN: Do you travel with armed guards?
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0. MALALAI JOYA: In Afghanistan, yeah, I have six bodyguards, and the most problem is this: I can't have house and office, that not only far people, around Afghanistan, they support me, they are giving me documents. These warlords now they want to face me to the court. Which kind of court? As you know, there is no justice in Afghanistan in the court of Afghanistan, and three-fourths is in the hands of these warlords, but I am happy at least they don't want to face me to the court as a criminal, as a warlord, as a person who is anti-woman like [inaudible], Jihadi and Talib.
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0. But I am ready to face to a court that will be fair court, natural court, and there will be international officers and also human rights defenders, and as a woman I challenge them that I will face them to the courts, because I trust in my people, and most of them, they are with me, giving me documents of the crimes of these criminals. And also freedom-loving people around the world and the human rights organizations, for example, now Human Rights Watch supported and they invited me here. They are with me, and this is the voice of the people and the only voice of them.
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0. AMY GOODMAN: What are the greatest challenges women face in Afghanistan now?
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0. MALALAI JOYA: The biggest challenge is this right now security. Men and women of Afghanistan, both of them, do not have security, and when we don't have security, how we can talk about democracy, women rights, human rights? And also another biggest challenges that non-government -- non-democratic government, because these Northern Alliance killers, they are in power with the mask of democracy, and they do crimes against women and men in Afghanistan.
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0. And another biggest challenge is education. This is the most important factor, because women and girls, they wants to go to school. In this situation, they are going in school and they are killing. Recently in Logar Province, they killed two students in a day in a school, and six of them has been in jail. And they are burning these schools. If women get education, they play their role very well. For example, now in every parts of Afghanistan, women under burka, they are going outside that most of them don't have education, they are doing demonstration in support of me. For example, if they get education, they will play their role better and defend their rights, because women rights is not something that someone gave them. And many more examples like that, that another important factor in [inaudible] education.
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0. AMY GOODMAN: The effect of the air strikes? The Red Cross just criticized NATO last week, saying they're not taking enough precautions to protect civilians. I think on Monday there were seven children who were bombed.
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0. MALALAI JOYA: Yeah, yeah. Yeah, recently. Many more examples like that and many more will happening after that, 'til they do not change the strong policy. That's why people of Afghanistan do not support foreign troops. Enemies like Northern Alliance killers and also Taliban and other al-Qaeda terrorists, even other countries who are playing a wrong role in Afghanistan, like Iran, like Pakistan, they have bloody and black hands in Afghanistan, the posts also they have, so they use from the situation.
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0. AMY GOODMAN: Do you think the US should withdraw?
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0. MALALAI JOYA: Here is two ways for the people of Afghanistan and for US. For example, they -- OK, they destroyed Taliban government, but unfortunately they brought in power brother in creed of Taliban, and they in situation tragedy of Afghanistan you are looking that day by day getting worse for men and women right now. And if they continue this wrong policy, the situation will be more worse and even another 11 September will happen, I mention, more.
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0. And also here is another way also. If they go, for example, these troops from Afghanistan, the situation that people of Afghanistan, they have nothing, and therefore most of monies went in the pockets of these warlords. And many more problems that they have. Even Mr. Karzai recently in a meeting --
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0. AMY GOODMAN: President Karzai.
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0. MALALAI JOYA: Yeah, President Karzai. He said to people when had meeting in Shindand Province with them, said that if foreign troops go out from Afghanistan, once again civil war will start and fundamentalism will improve. Who are the fundamentalism? They are those fundamentalism that they made amnesty them. The criminals forgive themselves inside of parliament. And also there are those fundamentalism that they made national front that right now Mr. Karzai have lots of problem with them. Even he is saying in the back of this national front that these Northern Alliance killers, they become together as in the hands of foreign countries, means they are puppet of foreign countries. So why Mr. Karzai do not make powerless these puppets who are even some of them are advisors of Mr. Karzai and assistants of Mr. Karzai, like Zia Masood, like Ismail Khan, like Sarwar Danesh, like Karim Khalili, and many more other of them. They are enjoying in parliament. Why he do not make them powerless? Why he has compromise with them? Why when Human Rights Watch published the name of the criminals that about 9% of them who are very dangerous and they are in power, they are Northern Alliance killers, that I said earlier their names? Why Mr. Karzai refuse this list that people of Afghanistan want to face them to the court?
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0. AMY GOODMAN: Will you run for President of Afghanistan?
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0. MALALAI JOYA: Right now, I am even not sure about my life, and I just want to serve our people, especially women of Afghanistan, who have no kind of life right now, even human life right now. I am not struggling because of chair, because of position right now. You are looking -- even they kicked me out from parliament, and just while I am telling the truth, they threaten me to death there. If my people they want one day, of course, because of them, I will be president, but right now, for example, they asked me to be member of parliament. I'm a member of the parliament because I was sure when the entire nation is living under the shadow of gun and warlords, and how we will have democratic election? I'm there to expose the mask of these fundamentalist warlords in parliament.
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0. AMY GOODMAN: Do women parliamentarians support you?
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0. MALALAI JOYA: Right now, 68 members of the parliament, they are women, but unfortunately most of them they are like [inaudible], because even some women, some of these women, they threaten me to death. And one of them shouted, "Prostitute! I will do something against you" --
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0. AMY GOODMAN: They shouted "prostitute" at you.
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0. MALALAI JOYA: Yeah. "I will do something against you that no man dare to do." And many more examples like that, they threaten me to death. They are fundamentalist women, most of them. These warlords that campaign for them, as they wish they do. Even they beated me on 7th of May. Also these woman, in my opinion, they are victims, but we have some democrat women also in parliament, but, as I said, democrat men and women are very less, that I support them. They also support me. There together we wanted to work, and even they beated them also, these fundamentalist warlords, but they are very less, unfortunately.
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AMY GOODMAN: Malalai Joya, suspended by the Afghan parliament for criticizing the body. She returned to Afghanistan.

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Interview with Afghan Feminist and MP Malalai Joya - part 1

Democracy Now, July 19, 2007

Afghanistan's most outspoken female lawmaker has been suspended for the rest of her term after she publicly criticized the Afghan parliament. For years Malalai Joya has been a leading critic of her government and the U.S. role in her country. She's faced constant harassment and attempts on her life for her views.

We turn now to Afghanistan. Afghanistan's most outspoken female lawmaker has been suspended for the rest of her term after she publicly criticized the Afghan parliament. For years Malalai Joya has been a leading critic of her government and the U.S. role in her country. She's faced constant harassment for her views.

Malalai has come to the United States for a screening of a new documentary about her struggle. The film is called "Enemies of Happiness", premiering at the Human Rights Watch film festival here in New York. We'll speak with Malalai in a minute, but first an excerpt. The film begins in December 2003 at a meeting of Afghanistan's newly elected constitutional assembly, the loya jirga. A then-unknown twenty-four year old woman steps to the microphone to deliver a speech that will make international headlines and draw threats on her life.

0. Enemies of Happiness
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That was an excerpt of "Enemies of Happiness", about the Afghan parliamentarian Malalai Joya. Malalai joins me now in the firehouse studio.

0. Malalai Joya, suspended Afghan MP
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AMY GOODMAN: Afghanistan's most outspoken female lawmaker has been suspended for the rest of her term after she publicly criticized the Afghan government. For years, Malalai Joya has been a leading critic of her parliament and the US role in her country. She has faced constant harassment for her views.

Malalai has come to the United States for a screening of a new documentary about her struggle. It's called Enemies of Happiness, premiering at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival here in New York. We'll speak with Malalai Joya in a minute, but first an excerpt. The film begins in December 2003 in a meeting of Afghanistan's newly elected constitutional assembly, the Loya Jirga. A then-unknown twenty-four-year-old woman steps to the microphone to deliver a speech that will make international headlines and draw threats on her life.

0. CHAIRMAN: [translated] What are you saying?
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0. MALALAI JOYA: [translated] We kids can't get a word in. I would like to say a few words, Mr. Chairman.
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0. CHAIRMAN: [translated] Wait a minute. Stay in your seats. One sister says that she has traveled far. She insists that we haven't given the kids enough speaking time. You have three minutes, please.
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0. MALALAI JOYA: [translated] My name is Malalai Joya from the Farah province. With the permission of all those present and in respect of the martyrs who were killed, I would like to speak. I wish to criticize my compatriots in this room. Why would you allow criminals to be present at this Loya Jirga, warlords responsible for our country's situation? Afghanistan is the center for national and international conflicts. They oppressed women and have ruined our country. They should be prosecuted. They might be forgiven by the Afghan people, but not by history.
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0. CHAIRMAN: [translated] Sit down! Sit down! The sister has crossed the line of what is considered common courtesy. She is banished from this assembly and cannot return. Send her out! Guards, throw her out! She doesn't deserve to be here.
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AMY GOODMAN: An excerpt of Enemies of Happiness, about the Afghan parliamentarian Malalai Joya. She joins me now in our firehouse studio. If she needs help with translation, Shaded Diani is with us. Though we listen to you being translated, Malalai Joya, you also speak English.

MALALAI JOYA: Yeah. Thank you very much.

AMY GOODMAN: It's very good to have you with us. The BBC called you "the bravest woman of Afghanistan." That was 2003. What caused you to speak out then?

MALALAI JOYA: First of all, thanks a lot that on behalf of suffering men and women of Afghanistan, you want to have interview with me, who do not have liberation at all right now. And the reason that I stand up against these fundamentalist warlords and I expose their mask, because, unfortunately, they were in power and they control Loya Jirga, and they are those people that after 9/11, they -- mentally they are same like Taliban, but physically they changed. By mask of democracy and support of US and its allies, they come in power.

They were those criminals that from '92 to '96, when they were in power, they killed only, in the capital of Afghanistan, 65,000 innocent people, just because of power in the civil war. And also they raped even a seventy-year-old grandmother and also a seven-year-old baby, and many more violence against women. And also they are those criminals that they destroyed completely our country, and they were a puppet of foreign countries. And they fought against each other just because of power. Even they destroyed our national unity.

And many more crimes they did, that right now you're looking at the crisis in Afghanistan. The main reason is this, because brother and creed of Taliban, they are in power, means these Northern Alliance killers, who they were in Loya Jirga, like Sayyaf, Rabbani, Mohaqiq, Fahim, Dostum, Khalili, also [inaudible], Golabzoi, Olumi, and this list should be prolonged, that right now most of them they are enjoying in the parliament of Afghanistan.

AMY GOODMAN: You are not afraid to name names.

MALALAI JOYA: I am telling the truth, so why afraid? And right now that they have mask of democracy, they learn how to talk about democracy, women rights, human rights, and just they deceive people around the world, but they do not believe in. And our history know about them. Our people know about them. And even they are world-known killers in the world. Even Human Rights Watch published the name of these criminals recently, that they must face to the national and international courts. But, unfortunately, right now they control Afghanistan. Some of them are MP, minister, governor, commanders, chief district, ambassador. And they control Afghanistan. Our people are like hostage in the hands of them.

AMY GOODMAN: You were thrown out of the Loya Jirga in 2003. You were reelected to the Afghanistan parliament. You got the second-highest number of votes in your province in Farah. Now you've been thrown out again. Why?

MALALAI JOYA: This action of the parliament for a thousand times, more, showed that this is -- showed to the world that this is non-democratic parliament -- warlords and drug lords in parliament -- because I said more than 70% members of the parliament are drug lords, warlords, criminals, that they --

AMY GOODMAN: You say more than 70% of the parliament is drug lords, warlords, criminals?

MALALAI JOYA: Yeah, even I compared with some nice animals. I said that they are even worse than animal stables. They are like zoo -- some of them like dangerous criminals in the -- sorry, animals in the zoo. But --

AMY GOODMAN: You called the parliament a zoo.

MALALAI JOYA: Yeah, I said most of member, not some democrat member we have, that there are few men and women that they are real representatives, because most of these fundamentalist warlords, they did cheating, they used guns, they were in power and they had foreign support. When the entire nation is living under the shadow of gun and warlords, then how we will have democratic election?

And even inside of parliament, there's completely non-democratic parliament. For example, this act that recently they did, this is completely an illegal act, first of all, and it's completely against freedom of speech and also because I am a woman. And also, even last year --

AMY GOODMAN: This act of throwing you out?

MALALAI JOYA: Yeah, of course, because I am an elected member, and also they can't -- under the name of suspension, they kicked me out from the parliament, since the end of the parliament. I can't go, for example, right now. But you are looking -- most of the people of Afghanistan, they are doing demonstration, for example, around Afghanistan, in Kabul, in Jalalabad, [inaudible], and many more support.

AMY GOODMAN: What is the role of the United States in Afghanistan?

MALALAI JOYA: Unfortunately, under the nose of US and eyes of troops right now, you are looking, and the most problem that people of Afghanistan they have is a security, more important than food and water. And also, for example, they are throwing bombs aside in a place that we are killing Taliban; most of innocent people has been killing. Even right now, one member of the parliament is Talib. Another is spokesman of Taliban right now enjoying in the Yale University, who his name was Rahmatullah Hashemi. He was a spokesman of Taliban when they destroyed our Buddha statues.

Right now, more than 90% people are poor, and more than 40% are jobless. And also under the nose of US and eyes of troops, Afghanistan is one of the biggest producer of the opium right now. And many more violence against women.

And under the nose of US and eyes of troops, five-year-old baby, few months before, has been kidnapped and raped. Same like these criminal jihadis who are always doing crimes under the name of Islam and jihad, and right now is with the mask of democracy. They are in power. They did in the past from '92 to '96. And this situation nowadays they are talking about women right, democracy. Eleven-year-old Sanober, she has been kidnapped by these local warlords, Northern Alliance, in Kunduz province, then raped, then exchanged with a dog.

And also in this situation, they are talking about women rights. Two activist women recently, they has been killed in their houses. They were journalists: Shakiba Amaj and also Zakia Zaki. And most of people they have education problem, health problem. That how much education is important. Billions dollars the government of Afghanistan that corrupt warlords and drug lords received, but most of money is going in the pockets of these warlords. And most are examples like that.

AMY GOODMAN: Malalai Joya, you are returning now to Afghanistan. You have been threatened with death time and time again. What gives you the courage to go back?

MALALAI JOYA: Yeah, I want to go back in Afghanistan. I want to struggle inside Afghanistan and outside. The support of the innocent people of Afghanistan who do not have power, who do not have money, who are very suffering people, this gives me courage, determination. And I understand how much I am right, day by day. And also the support of freedom-loving democrat people and human rights organizations gives me hope, courage. And also, in another hint, inside of parliament, they threatened me to rape from.

AMY GOODMAN: They threatened to rape you?

MALALAI JOYA: To rape. And even they are saying, "Prostitute! Take and rape her!" on 7th of May. Physically they beat me by throwing bottles of water. And this parliament --

AMY GOODMAN: They threw bottles of water at you in the parliament?

MALALAI JOYA: On 7th of May you can see on my website. And also, this parliament completely was like torture for me. But I was there just to use from the tribune of the parliament to clear their mask, because many times they stand up against constitution inside of parliament. Especially they are anti-women. Three times they beat the journalists inside of the parliament.

And recently, media is telling that five member of parliament they are thieves, that before they were minister, and right now one is Qanooni, who is head of the parliament, and he stole $25 million when he was minister of education.

AMY GOODMAN: We're going to have to leave it there. Malalai's website is malalaijoya.com.

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The U.S. Has Returned Fundamentalism To Afghanistan

by Malalai Joya

www.zmag.org, April 13,2007

[The following is a transcript of the speech given by Malalai Joya, member of the Afghan Parliament, given at the University of Los Angeles on April, 10th, 2007]

In the name of Democracy and Peace -

Dear friends, first of all I extend my deep regards and thanks to the friends in the University of California to provide the opportunity for me to be here and share my point of view with you and inform you about the ongoing tragedy in my crying Afghanistan.

While the pro-democracy and anti-fundamentalists groups and individuals of Afghanistan are being marginalized, suppressed and silenced, you give a helping hand to me as a small voice of my suffering people to speak about the crisis in Afghanistan and terrible conditions of its people. You in fact play your role in raising awareness on what is going on in my devastated country.

Respected friends, over five years passed since the US-led attack on Afghanistan. Probably many of you are not well aware of the current conditions of my country and expect me to list the positive outcomes of the past years since the US invasion. But I am sorry to tell you that Afghanistan is still chained in the fetters of the fundamentalist warlords and is like an unconscious body taking its last breath.

The US government removed the ultra-reactionary and brutal regime of Taliban, but instead of relying on Afghan people, pushed us from the frying pan into the fire and selected its friends from among the most dirty and infamous criminals of the "Northern Alliance", which is made up of the sworn enemies of democracy and human rights, and are as dark-minded, evil, and cruel as the Taliban.

The Western media talks about democracy and the liberation of Afghanistan, but the US and its allies are engaged in the warlordization, criminalization and drug-lordization of our wounded land.

Today the Northern alliance leaders are the key power holders and our people are hostage in the hands of these ruthless gangs of killers. Many of them are responsible for butchering tens of thousands of innocent people in the past 2 decades but are in power and hold key positions in the government.

Let me list few of the key power-holders of Afghanistan:

- Karim Khalili, the vice-president, is leader of a pro-Iran party called Wahdat, responsible for killing thousands of innocent people, and named by Human Rights Watch as a war criminal.

- Ismael Khan, another killer warlord and lackey of the Iranian regime is the minister of water and power.

- Izzatullah Wasifi, Afghanistan's anti-corruption chief has been a convicted drug trafficker who has spent around 4 years in a Nevada state prison in the US.

- General Mohammed Daoud, Afghanistan's deputy interior minister in charge of the anti-drug effort, is a former warlord and famous drug-trafficker.

- Rashid Dostum, the chief of staff of the Afghan army, is a heartless killer and warlord, named by Human Rights Watch as a war criminal.

- Qasim Fahim, former defense minister and now a Senator and adviser to Mr. Karzai is the most powerful warlord of the Northern Alliance, and accused of war crimes.

And this list has hundreds of men on it, including Sayyaf, Ulomi, Golabzoi, Rabbani, Qanooni, Mohaqiq, Mullah Rocketi, etc. They should all be removed from power and put on trial for war crimes. In fact all the major institutions in Afghanistan are occupied by warlords and drug-lords. How can we talk about democracy when our legislative, judicial and executive bodies are infected with the viruses of fundamentalism and drug mafia?

Many freedom-loving individuals and groups in Afghanistan had long ago warned that bringing the criminal "Northern Alliance" back into power by the US government will pose a danger to Afghanistan. But today, most governments and world institutions accept that Afghanistan is a failed state which is heading toward disaster.

Afghans are deeply fed-up with the current situation and every day that passes they turn against the government, the foreign troops and the warlords. And the Taliban make use of it to increase their influence and acts of terror. Countries like Pakistan, Iran, Russia etc. are also meddling in Afghanistan for their own interests.

The U.S.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies wrote in a recent report: "Afghans are frustrated with their economic situation They suffer from unsteady employment and economic insecurity, and are turning to illicit and illegal activity, such as corruption and opium productionthe Taliban has become an alternative source of employment, recruiting the jobless as foot soldiers in the insurgency."

In such a situation when a bunch of killers are in power, life cannot be easy for our unfortunate people. I would like to describe the tip of the iceberg on the reality of life in my bleeding Afghanistan:

Seven hundred children and 50-70 women die on a daily basis because of a lack of health services. Infant and maternal mortality rates are still very high - 1,600 to 1,900 women among each 100,000 die during childbirth. Life expectancy is less than 45 years.

The number of suicide cases by Afghan women was never as high as it is today: A month ago eighteen year old Samiya, hung herself by a rope because she was to be sold to a sixty year old man. Another woman called Bibi Gul locked herself up in the animals' stable and burned herself to death. Later her family found nothing except her bones.

The study by the governmental agency Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission shows a marked increase in reported cases: Two years ago in Farah province, there were 15 cases of women burning themselves reported, but the number jumped to 36 in the first six months of 2006. Kandahar province had 74 cases two years ago and 77 cases in the first six months of the past year. But the real numbers are much higher.

According to a UNIFEM survey, 65% of the 50,000 widows in Kabul see suicide as the only option to get rid of their misery. UNIFEM estimates that at least one out of three Afghan women has been beaten, forced into sex or otherwise abused.

The gang-rape of young girls and women by warlords belonging to the "Northern Alliance" still continues especially in the northern provinces of Afghanistan. People have staged mass protests a number of times but no one cares about their sorrow and tears. Only a few of the rape cases find their way into the media. One shocking case was that of 11 year old Sanobar, the only daughter of an unfortunate widow who was abducted, raped and then exchanged for a dog by a warlord. In a land where human dignity has no price, the vicious rapist of a poor girl still acts as district chief.

The Taliban continue their fascism in the eastern parts of Afghanistan where the government has no control. They carry out public executions and kidnappings. When some days ago an Italian journalist and his Afghan translator and driver were kidnapped, the Afghan government made a deal with them and released five Taliban leaders from prison so the Italian journalist was freed. But no one cared for the fate of the two innocent Afghans and both of them were beheaded by the Taliban.

A report by Human Rights Watch about war criminals in Afghanistan and the hanging of Saddam Hussein scared many Afghan criminals and now they are trying to block any efforts for their prosecution. Last month the warlord MPs, under the name of "national reconciliation" passed a bill in the parliament based on which no one can file a case or prosecute anyone for committing war crimes in the past 25 years.

I and a few other MPs raised our voices against it but as the fundamentalist warlords hold over 80% of the seats, the bill was easily approved. This bill will now provide amnesty to all criminals.

But Afghan people who have suffered terribly in the past 3 decades consider this bill an abuse against them. According to a survey conducted by the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission over 80% of Afghan people want to prosecute those responsible for past crimes and brutalities and see it as the only way to experience a bright future in Afghanistan.

Even Mr. Karzai signed this disgusting bill which is regarded as a joke and abuse to the millions of Afghans who have suffered and lost their loved ones and were waiting for the day of justice. Meanwhile the killers forgave their own crimes and live without fear. Such bills officially sanction further brutalities and human rights violations against our defenseless people.

The story of Afghanistan's reconstruction is painful: After 5 years you cannot see any serious reconstruction projects. Billions of dollars of aid has been looted by the warlords, corrupt NGOs, the UN and government officials. Afghanistan still stands 175th out of 177 countries in the UN Human Development Index and the rate of unemployment is over 40%.

The so-called "freedom of speech" in Afghanistan is another joke with our people. Let me describe my own recent experience: In early February this year, during the passage of the infamous bill of amnesty for war criminals in the parliament, I had an interview with a local TV channel; they had interviewed some other people including Sayyaf, who is a wanted criminal and member of the parliament.

The TV station broadcast an advertisement for the program a number of times in which they showed some parts of my interview. After this Sayyaf himself called the TV station and threatened them that if Joya's interview was broadcast the consequences would be dangerous for the director. So they resorted to censorship and excluded me from the program. And this is not the first time that I have been censored in the media. Many journalists are too afraid to report my comments.

Last year the UN announced that Afghanistan under US troops could become a narco-state but today no one has any doubt that it has been changed into a mafia-state when Afghanistan produces 92 per cent of the world's supply of opium. High-ranking officials like ministers and deputy ministers etc. have links to the drugs mafia. And all of it happens under the very noses of the thousands of foreign troops.

A mafia system is in place in Afghanistan. The US backed president Karzai and his westernized intellectuals have joined hands with fundamentalists of all brands to impose this mafia system on our people. This is the main reason for today's problems in the deadlocked Afghanistan. Those who speak for justice are threatened with death.

My voice is always being silenced even inside the parliament and once I was physically attacked by pro-warlord and drug-lord MPs in the parliament just for speaking the truth. One of them even shouted "prostitute, take her and rape her!" Despite hating guns, I need to live under the protection of armed bodyguards to survive.

President Hamid Karzai, instead of relying on people to bring the criminal warlords to trial, appoints these criminals to higher posts. Due to his criminal-fostering policies, the people of Afghanistan hate him as someone equally responsible for the current catastrophe. Even the CIA admitted in its report recently that he has lost the people's support and has no control outside of Kabul.

The Afghan government is the most corrupt and unpopular in the world. In a March 2007 survey conducted by Integrity Watch Afghanistan, it was revealed that about 60 percent of Afghans think the current administration is more corrupt than any other in the past two decades.

It is due to this tragic situation that returning to Afghanistan is still an unattractive option for the 4 million Afghan refugees living in Iran and Pakistan and many more still trying to flee the country.

Dear friends, in 2001 the US government announced that it has learned from its past mistakes of supporting the fundamentalists in Afghanistan and will not repeat them. But the agonizing truth is that the US is committing the same mistakes. It is generously supporting the fundamentalists more than ever.

Besides supporting the bands of the Northern Alliance, underground efforts are going on to include some elements of the Taliban and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar in the government. The US included Gulbuddin Hekmatyar on its list of most wanted terrorists, yet his party was allowed to have 34 members in the Afghan parliament, which was elected in an un-democratic and fraudulent election. I have announced a number of times that the US administration has no problem working with pro-American terrorists, but oppose only anti-American terrorists. This is the reason that our people make a mockery of the "war on terror".

I fully agree with Kathy Gannon, an expert in Afghanistan, that "the US is not interested in peace in Afghanistan. The people who killed thousands, who patronized the drug business are in charge of the country."

Dear friends, the US is not concerned with the suffering and disastrous conditions of our people; it is in the US's strategic and economic interests to put our people in danger as long as its own regional interests are met. That is why our people do not consider the US a "liberator" of our country. The US invaded Afghanistan under the name of human rights and democracy but today we are as far from these values as were 5 years ago. However, since 2001 the death toll of innocent civilians as a result of the so-called "war on terror" is five times the number killed in the 9/11 tragedy.

I hope you have realized from the small taste of the problems that I just shared, that my country is still in the chains of bloody and terrorist fundamentalists. The situation in Afghanistan and the conditions of its ill-fated women will never change positively, as long as the warlords are not disarmed and both the pro-US and anti-US terrorists are not removed from the political scene of Afghanistan.

It is a clear and proven fact that no nation can donate liberation to another nation. Liberation is not money to be donated; it should be achieved in a country by the people themselves. The ongoing developments in Afghanistan and Iraq prove this claim. People of other countries only can give us a helping hand and support.

I think that the people of the US can play a great role to put pressure on their policy-makers to stop its wrong policies in Afghanistan and value the wishes of our people. I should say that unlike its government, the people of the US are great, caring and peace-loving, so the democratic-minded elements of Afghanistan can count on your support and solidarity.

The people of the US must help poor Afghan people and its democratic-minded individuals and groups, who are currently defeated and under much pressure. This is the only correct policy that can help Afghan people and guarantee a bright future for us. Unlike the US administration, the true friends of Afghan people must care about the voices of our men and women for justice; they should realize that the existence of fundamentalist groups of any brand as political and military forces, is the main cause of all the problems in Afghanistan. They should know that bringing the Northern Alliance to power was the key to all the disasters that we are experiencing today.

I am well aware of the hardships, challenges, and prospects of death from anti-democratic forces. But I trust my people and enjoy their full support and encouragement. The enemies of my people have weapons, political power and the support of the US government to suppress me. But they can never silence my voice and hide the truth. I am proud to be a beacon of hope for my people and enjoy strong support from them in my mission for democracy and freedom.

Your show of solidarity and support gives me more power and determination to fight the enemies of democracy and humanity in my devastated Afghanistan. You can give me a helping hand by providing moral support and your generous donations so that I can continue and expand my work for the benefit of the desperate and sorrowful women of Afghanistan.

The fundamentalists are counting their days to kill me, but I believe in and follow the noble saying of the freedom-loving Iranian writer Samad Behrangi:

"Death could very easily come now, but I should not be the one to seek it. Of course if I should meet it and that is inevitable, it would not matter. What matters is whether my living or dying has had any effect on the lives of others"

Thank you. ---

Malalai Joya is Afghanistan's youngest and most out-spoken parliamentarian. She has openly criticized the US-backed warlords that dominate the Afghan parliament. In return, she has received a continuous stream of death threats. At the age of 28, Malalai has survived 4 assassination attempts. Recently a documentary profiling her, Enemies of Happiness, won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. Malalai Joya is on a brief US speaking tour. For more information about Malalai Joya, please visit www.malalaijoya.com.

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