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<font size=3>Interview with the Revolutionary Association of the Women of
Afghanistan <br><br>
<a href="http://www.zcommunications.org/znet/viewArticle/21306" eudora="autourl">
http://www.zcommunications.org/znet/viewArticle/21306<br>
</a>May 06, 2009 By Ian Sinclair <br>
Source:
<a href="http://www.peacenews.info/issues/2509/25091608.html">Peace
News</a> <br><br>
Established in 1977, the Revolutionary Association of the Women of
Afghanistan (RAWA) is an independent women's organisation fighting for
human rights and social justice in Afghanistan. RAWA opposed the
Soviet invasion and occupation of Afghanistan from 1979-89, as well as
the subsequent Mujahaden and Taliban governments, running underground
schools for Afghan girls, publishing a journal and setting up
humanitarian projects.<br>
<br>
Mariam Rawi a member of RAWA's foreign relations committee, answer's
Peace News's questions about the current US-led occupation of
Afghanistan.<br>
<br>
1) In 2001 President Bush claimed the United States invaded Afghanistan
to fight for "progress and pluralism, tolerance and
freedom". Why does RAWA think the United States invaded and
continues to occupy Afghanistan?<br>
<br>
The US invaded Afghanistan to fulfill its geo-political, economic and
regional strategic interests and to change Afghanistan into a strong
military base in the region. Since Afghanistan is the heart of Asia, it
would serve as a strong base for controlling surrounding countries like
Pakistan, China, Iran and above all the Central. Additionally, as a
superpower, it continues to occupy Afghanistan to combat rising powers
like Russia and China, who are becoming greater rivals for the US in the
economic, military and political fields. Asian Republics<br>
<br>
Many argue today that the 2001 invasion was planned before 9/11, but it
gave the war-mongers in the White House and Pentagon a golden opportunity
to advance its agenda in the region. In the words of Tony Blair "to
be truthful about it, there was no way we could have got the public
consent to have suddenly launched a campaign on Afghanistan but for what
happened on September 11..."<br>
<br>
Getting hold of the multi-billions drug business was another reason for
invading Afghanistan and in the past few years we clearly see that the US
and its allies changed Afghanistan into the opium capital of the
world. Opium production increased more than 4400%, with 93% of
world illegal opium produced in Afghanistan. Narcotics is said to be the
third greatest trade commodity in cash terms after oil and weapons. There
are large financial institutions behind this business and the control of
the routes of narcotics was important for the US government and now they
have reached their goal.<br>
<br>
Furthermore, Afghanistan holds a rich source of gas, copper, iron and
other minerals and precious stones and the big powers are of course
interested in looting it the way they are doing in poor African
countries. In the past few years there have been exploration efforts of
our natural resources. The United States Geological Survey (USGS)
estimates there are about 700 billion cubic meters of gas and 300 million
tonnes of oil across several Northern provinces of Afghanistan. Also the
world's second-biggest unexploited copper deposit is located in our
country with an estimated 11 million tonnes of copper. So besides routing
the oil and gas from the Central Asian Republics through Afghanistan, the
US is interested in exploiting Afghanistan's resources too.<br>
<br>
The "war on terror" and "liberation of Afghan women"
were mere lies to cover the above and many other hidden agendas of the US
in Afghanistan. Our peoples' dreams for liberation were shattered in the
very first days after the invasion when they witnessed that the war
criminals and Northern Alliance murderers and rapists who destroyed
Afghanistan, were backed and brought back to power by the US and its
allies after the fall of the Taliban regime. When infamous criminals like
Burhanuddin Rabbani, Abdul Rasul Sayyaf, Karim Khalili, Mohammad Mohaqiq,
Yunus Qanooni, Mullah Rakiti, Atta Muhammad, Rashid Dostum, Ismail Khan,
Haji Almas, Hazrat Ali and many more were decorated by the US as
champions of freedom and were installed in power, everyone knew that
Afghanistan had once again become the centre of a chess game of the US
and its allies who made the slogans of "democracy" and
"human rights" into painful jokes for our nation.<br>
<br>
2) Can you describe what life is like for women in Afghanistan
today? Is it better or worse than life under the Taliban
Government?<br>
<br>
Despite many a hue and cry about "women's rights" and the
"liberation of Afghan women", Afghanistan still faces a women's
rights catastrophe. <br>
<br>
There is no tangible change in the conditions of Afghan women; in certain
parts of the country the life is worse than under the Taliban. The
rate of kidnappings, rapes, selling of girls, forced marriages, acid
attacks, prostitution and self-immolation by young girls and women has
reached a record high, even compared to the Taliban regime. <br>
<br>
Due to forced marriages and domestic violence, self-immolation by women
aged between 18 and 35 is becoming an epidemic in Afghanistan. There have
been hundreds of such cases reported mostly in the provinces of Herat,
Farah, Ghor and Badghis. Where there is non-existent rule of law and
legal support for women, they have no other option but to get rid of
their misery by burning themselves.<br>
<br>
Due to severe poverty which affects over 80 percent of Afghanistan's
population, life for hundreds of thousands of war widows and poor women
is disastrous and in many parts of Afghanistan the level of prostitution
and begging in the streets has risen to an unprecedented level. There
have been many reports of parents being forced to sell their children as
they can't feed them. In the western province alone 150 cases of the
selling of children, especially girls, were officially reported in 2008
-- the actual numbers are much higher. of Herat<br>
<br>
There are many more that are not reflected in the news as the media is
strongly stifled under the shadow of guns and threats of the warlords.
<br>
<br>
In the past few years only some cosmetic changes were made in regard to
women's rights. For example, the Women's Ministry and 68 women
members of parliament was trumpeted as a big success. Meanwhile the
Ministry has done nothing for women and is just a showcase. The majority
of women in the parliament are pro-warlord and cannot represent Afghan
women as they themselves are part of the problem.<br>
<br>
Afghan women have been badly betrayed in the past seven years under the
US occupation. Their plight was used to justify the occupation of
Afghanistan, but not only were no steps taken to heal their wounds,
rather the worst enemies of women's rights were empowered, supported and
installed in key posts. <br>
<br>
When the entire nation lives under the shadow of warlords, Taliban,
drug-lords, occupation forces and a corrupt, puppet and mafia government,
how can its women enjoy the most basic rights?<br>
<br>
3) Barack Obama, the new President of the United States, has pledged to
institute a "surge" in Afghanistan, increasing American troop
levels by 30,000. Does RAWA support this?<br>
<br>
Considering Obama's plans for Afghanistan, we can clearly see that there
is no difference between Obama and Bush for our country. Both are
following a wrong and devastating strategy which has so far pushed
Afghanistan and the region towards disaster and deeper conflicts.<br>
<br>
Even if the US deployed hundreds of thousands of troops in Afghanistan,
they will not be here to bring "peace", "freedom" and
"democracy" for the people of Afghanistan. They will only serve
the US's regional interests and help the warlords, drug-lords and other
US agents who are in power in our country; but for our suffering and
war-stricken people, it will have a ruinous outcome. <br>
<br>
Freedom, democracy and justice cannot be enforced at gunpoint by a
foreign country; they are the values that can be achieved only by our
people and democracy-loving forces through a hard, decisive and long
struggle. Those who claim to donate these values to Afghan people through
force will only push our country to slavery. <br>
<br>
The very first outcome of the "surge" for Afghan people will be
an increase in the number of civilian casualties which have already
sparked protests and opposition from Afghan people. In the past seven
years thousands of innocent people have been killed or wounded by the
US/NATO bombardments. In the past few weeks under Obama's rule, around
100 Afghan civilians have been killed. <br>
<br>
Today many people in Afghanistan ask for the withdrawal of troops and
regard them as useless to do any good for Afghanistan. The surge in
troops will result in a surge in protests against the US/NATO in
Afghanistan and it will also push more people towards the Taliban and
other terrorist groups as a reaction to occupation forces and their
mistreatment of people.<br>
<br>
The troop surge will also give reasons for the insurgency to increase
their operations and attacks which in return will intensify the conflict
in Afghanistan.<br>
<br>
We think the 30,000 extra troops will only serve the US regional strategy
in changing Afghanistan into its military base -- it will do nothing to
the fight with terrorist groups as they claim. The US and allies are
playing a two-faced game in Afghanistan: on the one hand they are
increasing troops, and on the other hand, they are supporting the
fundamentalist terrorists of the Northern Alliance, and initiating talks
with the Taliban and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar to share power with these brutal
and criminal forces. <br>
<br>
So now it is an open secret that the US is not interested in fighting
terrorists. In fact no one can believe that a superpower is really
incapable of defeating a small, medieval-minded and ignorant force such
as the Taliban. Actually the US government needs an excuse to stay in
Afghanistan for longer, so the presence of the Taliban and other
terrorist groups give them an excuse for the Tom and Jerry game to
continue for years -- the UK have already announced that it will stay in
Afghanistan for over three decades.<br>
<br>
There are even some suspicions that the foreign troops provide some
supplies and arms to the Taliban. Last March the Afghan media and local
authorities in Arghandab district of Zabul province reported that NATO
helicopters dropped three large containers full of supplies and
ammunitions to a Taliban commander. In another move, a Taliban criminal
commander named Mullah Abdul Salam, responsible for a massacre in 1998,
was appointed as the governor of Musa Qala district in the Helmand
province, the world's largest opium poppy growing region.<br>
<br>
A few months ago, an infamous terrorist from Gubuddin Hekmatyar's party
called Ghairat Baheer was released from the US prison at Bagram
airbase. Recently media reports uncovered that he is engaged in
secret talks to pave the way for a sharing of power with Hekmatyar who is
on the US's terrorist list. According to information revealed to Al
Jazeera, Hekmatyar would be offered asylum in Saudi Arabia, after which
he would be allowed to return to Afghanistan with immunity from
prosecution.<br>
<br>
These are just few of the examples that show the US's double standards
towards dangerous terrorist bands: whenever the terrorists are ready to
work in accordance with its policies, they are regarded as friends of the
US, no matter how many crimes and brutalities they have committed and
continue to commit against Afghan people.<br>
<br>
4) What solutions does RAWA propose to end the fighting in
Afghanistan?<br>
<br>
RAWA strongly believes that the withdrawal of foreign troops should be
the first step, because today, with the presence of thousands of foreign
troops from many countries in Afghanistan, the majority of our people are
suffering from insecurity, killings, kidnapping, unemployment, rape, acid
throwing on schoolgirls, hunger, lawlessness, lack of freedom of speech
and many more awful disasters. Peace, security, democracy and
independence can only be achieved by our own people. It is our
responsibility to become united as an alternative against the occupation,
to rise up, to resist and to organize our people. <br>
<br>
Right now our people are sandwiched between three enemies. From one side
we have the Taliban, from the other side are the US air strikes, and from
another side are the Northern Alliance warlords in different provinces.
With the troop withdrawal our people will at least get rid of one of
these enemies. <br>
<br>
The justice-loving people of the US and its democratic-minded allies
should continue to pressure their government to change its
fundamentalists-fostering policy and work for the disarmament of armed
groups who are in the pay of the US.<br>
<br>
We think the peace-loving people around the world should support
democratic-minded individuals and forces of Afghanistan who are being
suppressed and weakened by the US and its fundamentalist stooges. Only
the emergence of a powerful democratic movement can lead Afghanistan
towards independence and democracy.<br>
<br>
Afghan people are deeply fed up with their current conditions and are on
the verge of rising up against it. We have already seen protests and
rising up of people in the face of threats and terror in a number of
provinces of Afghanistan. In the future this wave will without a doubt
gain momentum. With the emergence of a third front whose slogan is
"Neither Occupation Nor Taliban - Freedom and Democracy,"
Afghans will rise up to get their rights with their own power. This is a
long and painful process, but the only option to lead Afghanistan toward
peace and prosperity.<br>
<br>
*An edited version of this interview recently appeared in Peace
News. <a href="mailto:ian_js@hotmail.com">ian_js@hotmail.com</a>.
<br>
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