کور / بېلابيلي لیکني - پخوانۍ / Afghan woman under the shadow of terror and politics

Afghan woman under the shadow of terror and politics

 The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’do any thing about it. – Albert Einstein


AFGHAN WOMEN:


UNDER THE SHADOW OF TERROR AND POLITICS


By: Alia Rawi Akbar


OnePolitical view, social and cultural experience This book explains the misery, thoughts and struggles of a woman who is an example of a million other Afghan women in tough cultural circumstances. I experienced situations in my native country Afghanistan and US, that bothered me emotionally, and it relieves me to bring these up along with other women’s miseries, even those are in different circumstances and different countries. First I bring up along my political views as an independed and democrat woman,then I talk about my personal life as an example of other ones like me and then about the whole picture of women’s situation in Afghan’s wars, also I talk generally about US policy at time of Bush and before, and Afghan’s politic. I have been the victim of unfairness, and have witnessed much of it toward women in Afghanistan and every where else, in every manner of government and structure of society, in their social and cultural lives, especially that lately for decades they (Afghan women) suffer in environments full of crime, with poor health and uncertain situations, I have witnessed many eyes full of tears but full of wonder as well—wonder about their destiny after my country’s first Russian occupation and war, and up until the present time ,when Afghanistan’s positive culture and traditions have been destroyed, leaving women helpless. I was shocked and saddened by the 9/11 incident in New York, which happened suddenly , without warning from the government, even though Bush himself said that for some time, they had expected that kind of terrorist act… Also I was sad, scared, disappointed and traumatized because I am still a Pashtun, with a Muslim background like millions of others. Because of the positive influence of my culture, I felt cheated when the US instituted policy against the Taliban by war and fully bombardment of the places that Taliban could be, and said that they were looking for Taliban everywhere—behind bushes, in houses and especially in mountainous places, where almost all Pashtuns and baloch are living, even though it is unsafe. A whole nation was affected by the US’ war with Al-Qaida in Afghanistan, and Taliban who they believed to be radicals. After the 1998 bombing of US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya, which Osama did not take responsibility for up until the end of the Taliban’s rule, Taliban officials were asking the US for documentation of his crimes, to justify their turning him over to the US, but the US was not giving them anything. Out of this came a policy of using force, abusing and misusing religions all over the world by both sides, which caused more political conflict between the US and the extremists and made an unpleasant environment for others every where. It also created hate among nations in the East and the West, and caused common people to doubt Muslim citizens or immigrants, who had to face doubt full questions, especially from people in the US, on a daily basis. specially about Women’s destiny in Muslim country which many Muslim women are living happily within there land and region with their own made up mined about their believes as the way for their life, and in some countries widows of war has more honor and privileges in life and they are not on the streets for bagging or hard work as it happens to the widows of Afghanistan during these wars and after that, in time of other’s interferes. I’ve been asked many offensive questions my self in a meeting that I was facing common police in time of other reason that they talked to me, I’ve been asked about the Afghanistan current Government and Taliban if I like any of those, and being Shia or Suni, but now I want to answer them in book trough my thought about the Bush’s actions in the name of democracy. In truth he( Bush) asserted that, there are ties between Al-Qaida and Saddam Hussein, in order to get red of Saddam, who had turned his back on US when for a long time, he was with the US, especially in the ’80s, during their fight with Iran. The CIA had denied in media that Saddam was connected to Al-Qaida, but Bush still used it as ground for war with Iraq, this just goes to show the illegitimacy of the war and the meaning of one person’s judgment over all people that suffer the consequences, either American people or others with them. Aside from Iraq, Bush also had other countries in mind for domination—such as Afghanistan two year before Iraq invasion. He looked at the market of goods like oil and gas pipelines there, and wanted to control them as soon as possible without any headaches from the Taliban, So, he called them “religious extremists” and in doing so, abused the minds of common religious people every where, and caused separations between nations, as well as between Shia and Sunni Muslims in Iraq, and Muslims and non-Muslims through out the world. US policy in Bush’s time has took advantage of or detracted from the cultures of these countries—cultures that have been historically powerful and influential in keeping peace amongst themselves and others. The Afghan nation always wanted to live free, with the freedom to practice any kind of religion, including Hinduism, Islam and others in ethnic forms in their own land,they always wanted republic governmen as it was before the wars with social equality and justice for all. Presently, the Afghan people want this, and want their country to be in peace; also they want to be compensated for damages by the responsible countries. Remember that during the Afghan-Soviet fight, the Soviets gave arms, money and other support to the Communists and US give arms , money and other support to Mujahedeen Afghans, causing ninety percent of the destruction within the country. The Soviet Union also bombed Afghanistan, ruining the whole country and its way of life, and growing opium in big amount started by mujahedeen militia from that time and now the country is under bombard of US with killing innocents. Yet recently, on Saturday, August 4, 2007, the financial Minister of Afghanistan under the Karzai administration signed an agreement, the details are noted in the below essay by Bruce G. Richardson. It is not a legal and genuine agreement, however, because the common Afghans do not consent to or agrees with it.   Afghanistan: Economic Sophistry   We first fought…in the name of religion, then Communism, and now in the name of drugs and terrorism… Our excuses for global domination always change. —Seraj Tankian   Moscow has adapted to the times. Coming to the realization that their Soviet-era allies in the United Front are under scrutiny, ideologically spent and bankrupt, the Russian Federation, it seems, has adopted a new subversive Afghanistan strategy. The pretext (debt) and substance of this new policy centers on Afghanistan’s alleged Soviet-era financial obligations to the Russian Federation. The debt, as cited by Moscow, amounts to ten billion dollars, seventy percent of which was for military expenditures accrued during the occupational (1979–1989) period. On its face, Moscow’s specious accounting practice seeking repayment for weapons deployed against and to destroy the Afghan people and the Afghan nation is ludicrous. Reason to propaganda clearly articulates contracts drafted between the various Communist regimes and the Soviet Union and enforced through force of arms are illegal (and constitute war crimes) under international law. It would be unprecedented for any [impartial] court to adjudicate on Moscow’s behalf in any demand for repayment. Moscow understands that contracts signed with and by their puppets are without currency. In addition, such contracts are illegal and only enforceable by resorting to unjustified military action. Military action by Moscow in pursuit of debt settlement at this time of US presence in Afghanistan remains impossible.   So what is Moscow up to? When former Afghan president Burhanuddin Rabbani trekked to Moscow and attempted to trade away Afghanistan’s right to sue for war reparations in exchange for Russia’s support against would-be contenders to the throne, the issue of war reparations became an international issue. Moscow, however, was not willing to accept or address any claim for reparations, claiming that this was not the responsibility of the Russian Federation as successor state, but the debt of the USSR, itself dissolved into bankruptcy and the dustbin of history. As Rabbani’s historic sellout of the Afghan people was viewed as transparent and unenforceable, Moscow strategy shifted to ignore international inquiry and vigorously refute responsibility. To stifle debate and mitigate criticism, Moscow has endeavored to shift responsibility back to Afghanistan.   At the Paris Club in 2005, Afghanistan’s finance minister, Anwar ul-Haq Ahadi, held discussions with Russia’s finance minister, Alexi Kudrin. As the summit concluded, Afghanistan had gained no concessions from Russia in regards to the question of war reparations but an agreement from which to consider several repayment schemes to settle the purported debt to Russia. Under normal circumstances this might not seem unusual. As history warrants, relations between Russia and Afghanistan have been anything but normal.   A cloud of suspicion now hovers over these and other deliberations, many of which have transpired in secret, and as Lord Acton maintained centuries ago, “everything in secret degenerates.”   The finance minister, Dr. Ahadi, has been observed meeting secretly with the Russians in Moscow, Europe and the United States. He has been holding clandestine discussions with certain members (Qanooni) of the so-called United Front, Russia’s back channel in Afghanistan. To some, perhaps, the meetings seem benign, but members of Parliament have been continually and aggressively lobbied (with Russian encouragement) by Mr. Ahadi to forego the issue of war reparations with Russia. Then, too, it is well known that Dr. Ahadi, Afghanistan’s finance minister, has covetous designs on the presidency of Afghanistan, and sources in Russia and Afghanistan have indicated that in this endeavor he has the full support of Russia. Could it be that Afghanistan’s finance minister has, like Rabbani, exchanged Afghanistan’s right to war reparations for political gain? This is a question that demands an investigation by the Karzai government. Stay tuned.   Bruce G. Richardson      Some of the mujahedeen, the Communist Afghans, are also responsible for ruining our cities and killing innocents in whole country.                                            


The young, inexperienced mujahedeen militia and communist Afghans were hired by US and USSR to be their allies in war trough their authority, from the Imperialism or Capitalism  fight against Communism in Afghanistan to the last Afghan ethnic war, wherein a minority group, using the name “Taliban,” fought against the Pashtun majority. In this conflict, the Taliban fought for their position by using the Pashtun struggle for ethnic recognition. Every other country around this conflict was looking out for it self. Russia and India helped opposition (Northern Alliance) of Taliban and Pashtun with war supplies, technicians and helicopters; they killed the Taliban, but they killed the Pashtuns too, because Pashtuns were in the war for ethnic defense, the helicopters that bombarded Talibans and Pashtuns were flying from Tajikistan and Uzbekistan air bases. Israel helped the Afghan Northern Alliance with sophisticated electronic monitors, state-of-the-art devices and anti-tank rockets—not to mention their financial help. Iran had its own interest in the Afghan ethnic war and was helping Northern Alliance, militarily and financially, at the same time, that US had its agents involved with Northern Alliance for help; the US was negotiating with the Taliban about its oil and Gas Pip line business. too(a claim made in Forbidden Truth by Jean-Charles Brisard and Guillaume Dasquie—a book full of comprehensive research on the Northern Alliance, the (Taliban-Pashtun war and the involvement of other countries). Afghan history has shown that Iran had an interest in any war that would influence the Persian Talkers or Tajiks of Afghanistan (Northern Allience since 1992) to create a tri-state in the north—and allso Turkey was for Northern Allience, the US and France and some others in business with US were all for the Northern Alliance, in the same time Taliban were supported by US indirectly. The Taliban also were getting support from Pakistan and Saudi Arabia two friends of US in that ethnic war, in the first Soviet-Afghan war these two countries helped to create different groups of fundamentalists and militia on the border of Pakistan by order of US. The Fighter by the name of land and culture Most were Pashtuns and the wars most were answered to enemy of their land and people, Pashtuns followed their leaders, even if the leaders were from a different tribe for deferent political aim and game, in final when the leaders got to power of government or other sectors, those leaders did betray the Pashtuns as a result of US affiliation with the Northern Alliance during a period wherein ethnic war was very severe. When every day there was report by opposition about groups killing of Pashtun under name of Taliban without any judgment, Rabani took the leadership of opposed minority and turned back to Pashtuns,that followed him for many years in fight against communism.  In 2006 Bush said that we are in a fight with fascist Islam, the world thought that most pashtun are fascist Taliban, conservative Muslim or pro-Taliban, which was not true. The Taliban’s new strict Ideology in Islam by some radicals did not draw most Pashtuns into the Ideological war; they were only there for ethnic reasons, or because they were under attack from the Northern Alliance because of a tribal brawl since 1992. Most, almost all Pashtuns who are not Taliban have their own democracy within their culture in national matters and have no prejudice against any religion or people in the country; it is easy for them to follow those who fight for true and genuine causes. These Pashtuns were tired of what was going on in Afghanistan, so yes, they fought together with Taliban. They fought against the warlords who committed heinous crimes against people specially women and promoted anarchy in different cities and checkpoints, the ones who wanted to divide Afghanistan in neighborhood or regions for the benefit of other countries. But the Afghan’s native culture was working fine, it kept ordinary people together within and outside of Afghanistan, Pashtuns and others—especially those who strongly cared about their tradition and history. Yes, the culture had some weaknesses, such as the unfair destiny of its women because democracy in Islam has been weakening trough the centuries, especially last century while politic has intered in Islam (a way of life) seriously. Religion give enough freedom to women compare to women situation in history of burying female alive in Arabs society, but in the twenty-first century these women with their children or alone, are and were always the subject and excuse for the demand of man and authorities completely, they lived up to the men’s and authority’s desires and whishes in Muslim countries because their right their honor and dignity are not ignored by religion but by some Ignorant religious or without Islam religion.Those who wanted to build their firms and gather money, tried a lot in the matter of culture but unfortunately that those all struggle most were for politic since I remember in this three decades in afghan and other communities, in reality, no one would have a choice in the matter of women’s right until the women are not really ready to change the general attitude toward themselves through their own unified effort and voice any where most in war hit country like Afghanistan, and other countries, that they can do it easier, and I say that “women can change their and other people’s attitude to wards them self… and demand their right”. And this time, the last time, both side,the US and its surface opposition, Osama and the Taliban (who are only Wahabies who fight for Arabic ideology and  trained in Pakistan) misused the sentiments of Pashtuns towards there land and punished and disgraced Pashtuns politically, because of their own  way of believe and agenda… Taliban leaders are mostly Pashtuns in Afghanistan and Pakistan border, but it should not be forgotten that Pakistanis and others, including Arabs, are involved seriously in the war against Americans in Afghanistan border and other places as well, since US announced war against extremists by the name of terrorists, this is well-known by common Afghans. Pashtuns are living in the country’s mountainous places fearfully waiting every minute for American airplanes to ruin their lives because of some Taliban who live among them due to cultural ties. For me, that kind of fight is acceptable that common people get involved and People really, politically and verbally should have the right to fight against any wrong authority like Karzai’s government in loya jirga and wara jirga (the “big assembly” and “small assembly” that have been part of Afghan culture for thousands of years) for its faults in general and for its wrong economic agreements arranged by sales people and technocrats from country that have their own aims, and still the presence of very disturbance there. In this way, Karzai has given away the freedom of the Afghan people for the sake of some countries like US that see their benefit in the Afghan’s bloody and wounded hands under the stone of power. Also people can fight Taliban by Jergas to send them the message of opposition to their Ideology. And the women destiny is the same uncertain as it was before in deferent democratic governments or in Radicals Muslim time that made subjects of women around the world with there prejudice ,by the improper excuses to real and fair philosophy of Islam about women.  The people well fight this kind of administration that should have been strong and should have managed the war and war hit people better and shouldn’t let innocent people are killed in the middle, the administration that allows briberies and theft attitudes in offices and businesses. Some times I ask my self this: When will Afghanistan be able to get rid of the mess on every level—politically, economically, socially and culturally? When will its people be free and live in peace with each other from deferent tribes and religions, and be able to say proudly, “US, go home!” when will not be the Afghan women dishonored and insecure by the authorities in country and outside of country, in family, and in society.