Thank you Steven. I knew they were in existence before that, but didn't know for how long. :-)
srobin262000 wrote: > --- In [email protected], Linda Ghaliyaa Richard > <taliba.qu...@...> wrote: > >> I'm not too sure it represents the Afghani women, either, and I have to >> say I've always wondered, even from the beginning. Seems to be that >> RAWA suddenly became popular just after the US invasion so....... >> >> > > It became more widely KNOWN at that time, it has been in existence since 1977. > > http://www.rawa.org/rawa.html > > About Rawa > > > RAWA, the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan, was > established in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 1977 as an independent political/social > organization of Afghan women fighting for human rights and for social justice > in Afghanistan. The founders were a number of Afghan woman intellectuals > under the sagacious leadership of Meena who in 1987 was assassinated in > Quetta, Pakistan, by Afghan agents of the then KGB in connivance with > fundamentalist band of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar . RAWA's objective was to involve > an increasing number of Afghan women in social and political activities aimed > at acquiring women's human rights and contributing to the struggle for the > establishment of a government based on democratic and secular values in > Afghanistan. Despite the suffocating political atmosphere, RAWA very soon > became involved in widespread activities in different socio-political arenas > including education, health and income generation as well as political > agitation. > > Before the Moscow-directed coup d'état of April 1978 in Afghanistan, RAWA's > activities were confined to agitation for women's rights and democracy, but > after the coup and particularly after the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in > December 1979, RAWA became directly involved in the war of resistance. In > contradistinction to the absolute majority of the vaunted Islamic > fundamentalist "freedom fighters" of the anti-Soviet war of resistance, RAWA > from the outset advocated democracy and secularism. Despite the horrors and > the political oppression, RAWA's appeal and influence grew in the years of > the Soviet occupation and a growing number of RAWA activists were sent to > work among refugee women in Pakistan. For the purpose of addressing the > immediate needs of refugee women and children, RAWA established schools with > hostels for boys and girls, a hospital for refugee Afghan women and children > in Quetta, Pakistan with mobile teams. In addition, it conducted nursing > courses, literacy courses and vocational training courses for women. > > Demonstrations against the Soviet invaders and their stooges and later on > against the fundamentalists, and unrelenting exposure of their treason and > heinous crimes has been a hallmark of RAWA's political activities. It was in > consequence of its anti-Soviet occupationist struggle and agitation that RAWA > was marked for annihilation by the Soviets and their cronies, while the > Islamic fundamentalists vented their wrath on our organisation for our > pro-democracy, pro-secularist and anti-fundamentalist stance. Our > uncompromising attitude against these two enemies of our people has cost us > dear, as witnessed by the martyrdom of our founding leader and a large number > of our key activists, but we have unswervingly stood, and continue to stand, > by our principles despite the deadly blows that we have been dealt. > > For the purpose of propagating our views, aims and objectives, and to give > Afghan women social and political awareness in regard to their rights and > potentialities, RAWA launched a bilingual (Persian/Pashtu) magazine, > Payam-e-Zan (Woman's Message) in 1981. Publication of this magazine is > on-going and by-issues in Urdu and English for non-Persian/Pashtu speakers. > > Since the overthrow of the Soviet-installed puppet regime in 1992 the focus > of RAWA's political struggle has been against the fundamentalists' and the > ultra-fundamentalist Taliban's criminal policies and atrocities against the > people of Afghanistan in general and their incredibly ultra-male-chauvinistic > and anti-woman orientation in particular. Apart from the political challenges > facing RAWA, tremendous social and relief work amongst unimaginably > traumatised women and children lie ahead of us, but unfortunately we do not > at the moment enjoy any support from international NGOs or governments, > therefore we can't run our humanitarian projects as effective as we wish due > to lack of funds.. > > The US "War on terrorism" removed the Taliban regime in October 2001, but it > has not removed religious fundamentalism which is the main cause of all our > miseries. In fact, by reinstalling the warlords in power in Afghanistan, the > US administration is replacing one fundamentalist regime with another. The US > government and Mr.Karzai mostly rely on Northern Alliance criminal leaders > who are as brutal and misogynist as the Taliban. > > RAWA believes that freedom and democracy can't be donated; it is the duty of > the people of a country to fight and achieve these values. Under the > US-supported government, the sworn enemies of human rights, democracy and > secularism have gripped their claws over our country and attempt to restore > their religious fascism on our people. > > Whenever fundamentalists exist as a military and political force in our > injured land, the problem of Afghanistan will not be solved. Today RAWA's > mission for women's rights is far from over and we have to work hard for > establishment of an independent, free, democratic and secular Afghanistan. We > need the solidarity and support of all people around the world. > > > > > > > > ------------------------------------ > > Related links : > www.afterdowningstreet.org/bangladesh ; > www.mytown.ca/banglavision & > groups.msn.com/banglavision > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > -- Linda *http://freedetainees.org <http://freedetainees.org/> "If we shadows have offended, Think but this, and all is mended, That you have but slumber'd here While these visions did appear..." - William Shakespeare * --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "bangla-vision" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/bangla-vision?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
