------- Forwarded Message Follows ------- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Thu, 21 Oct 1999 09:17:09 EDT Subject: Women and the Taliban To: PROGRESSIVE SOCIOLOGISTS NETWORK <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Reply-to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] The government of Afghanistan is waging a war upon women. Since the Taliban took power in 1996, women have had to wear burqua and have been beaten and stoned in public for not having the proper attire, even if this means simply not having the mesh covering in front of their eyes. One woman was beaten to DEATH by an angry mob of fundamentalists for accidentally exposing her arm while she was driving. Another was stoned to death for trying to leave the country with a man that was not a relative. Women are not allowed to work or even go out in public without a male relative; professional women such as professors, translators, doctors, lawyers, artists and writers have been forced from their jobs and stuffed into their homes, so that depression is becoming so widespread that it has reached emergency levels. There's no way in such an extreme Islamic society to know the suicide rate with certainty, but relief workers are estimating that the suicide rate among women, who cannot find proper medication and treatment for severe depression and would rather take their lives than live in such conditions, has increased significantly. Homes where a woman is present must have their windows painted so that she can never be seen by outsiders. They must wear silent shoes so that they are never heard. Women live in fear of their lives for the slightest misbehaviour. Because they cannot work, those without male relatives or husbands are either starving to death or begging on the street, even if they hold Ph.D.'s. There are almost no medical facilities available for women and, relief workers in protest have mostly left the country, taking medicine and psychologists and other things necessary to treat the sky-rocketing level of depression among women. At one of the rare hospitals for women, a reporter found still, nearly lifeless bodies lying motionless on top of beds, wrapped in their burqua, unwilling to speak, eat, or do anything, but slowly wasting away. Others have gone mad and were seen crouched in corners, perpetually rocking or crying, most of them in fear. One doctor is considering, when what little medication that is left finally runs out, leaving these women in front of the president's residence as a form of peaceful protest. It is at the point where the term 'human rights violations' has become an understatement. Husbands have the power of life and death over their women relatives, especially their wives, but an angry mob has just as much right to stone or beat a woman, often to death, for exposing an inch of flesh or offending them in the slightest way. Women enjoyed relative freedom, to work, dress generally as they wanted, and drive and appear in public alone until only 1996. The rapidity of this transition is the main reason for the depression and suicide; women who were once educators or doctors or simply used to basic human freedoms are now severely restricted and treated as sub-human in the name of right-wing fundamentalist Islam. It is not their tradition or 'culture,' but is alien to them, and it is extreme even for those cultures where fundamentalism is the rule. Everyone has a right to a tolerable human existence, even if they are women in a Muslim country. If we can threaten military force in Kosovo in the name of human rights for the sake of ethnic Albanians, citizens of the world can certainly express peaceful outrage at the oppression, murder and injustice committed against women by the Taliban. STATEMENT: In signing this, we agree that the current treatment of women in Afghanistan is completely UNACCEPTABLE and deserves support and action by the United Nations and that the current situation overseas will not be tolerated. Women's Rights is not a small issue anywhere, and it is UNACCEPTABLE for women in 1999 to be treated as sub-human and as so much property. Equality and human decency are RIGHTS -- not freedoms -- whether one lives in Afghanistan or elsewhere. 1) Suzanne Dathe, Grenoble, France 2) Laurence COMPARAT, Grenoble,France 3) Philippe MOTTE, Grenoble, France 4) Jok FERRAND, Mont St Martin, France 5) Emmanuelle PIGNOL, St Martin d'Heres, FRANCE 6) Marie GAUTHIER, Grenoble, FRANCE 7) Laurent VESCALO, Grenoble, FRANCE 8) Mathieu MOY, St Egreve, FRANCE 9) Bernard BLANCHET, Mont St Martin, FRANCE 10) Tassadite FAVRIE, Grenoble, FRANCE 11) Loic GODARD, St Ismier, FRANCE 12) Benedicte PASCAL, Grenoble, FRANCE 13) Khedaidja BENATIA, Grenoble, FRANCE 14) Marie-Therese LLORET, Grenoble,FRANCE 15) Benoit THEAU, Poitiers, FRANCE 16) Bruno CONSTANTIN, Poitiers, FRANCE 17) Christian COGNARD, Poitiers, FRANCE 18) Robert GARDETTE, Paris, FRANCE 19) Claude CHEVILLARD, Montpellier, FRANCE 20) gilles FREISS, Montpellier, FRANCE 21) Patrick AUGEREAU, Montpellier, FRANCE. 22) Jean IMBERT, Marseille, FRANCE 23) Jean-Claude MURAT, Toulouse, France 24) Anna BASSOLS, Barcelona, Spain 25) Mireia DUNACH, Barcelona, Spain 26) Michel VILLAZ, Grenoble, France 27) Pages Frederique, Dijon, France 28) Rodolphe FISCHMEISTER, Chatenay-Malabry, France 29) Francois BOUTEAU, Paris, France 30) Patrick PETER, Paris, France 31) Lorenza RADICI, Paris, France 32) Monika Siegenthaler, Bern, Switzerland 33) Mark Philp, Glasgow, Scotland 34) Tomas Andersson, Stockholm, Sweden 35) Jonas Eriksson, Stockholm, Sweden 36) Karin Eriksson, Stockholm, Sweden 37) Ake Ljung, Stockholm, Sweden 38) Carina Sedlmayer, Stockholm, Sweden 39) Rebecca Uddman, Stockholm, Sweden 40) Lena Skog, Stockholm, Sweden 41) Micael Folke, Stockholm, Sweden 42) Britt-Marie Folke, Stockholm, Sweden 43) Birgitta Schuberth, Stockholm, Sweden 44) Lena Dahl, Stockholm, Sweden 45) Ebba Karlsson, Stockholm, Sweden 46) Jessica Carlsson, Vaxjo, Sweden 47) Sara Blomquist, Vaxjo, Sweden 48) Magdalena Fosseus, Vaxjo, Sweden 49) Charlotta Langner, Goteborg, Sweden 50) Andrea Egedal, Goteborg, Sweden 51) Lena Persson, Stockholm, Sweden 52) Magnus Linder, Umea ,Sweden 53) Petra Olofsson, Umea, Sweden 54) Caroline Evenbom, Vaxjo, Sweden 55) Asa Pettersson, Grimsas, Sweden 56) Jessica Bjork, Grimsas, Sweden 57) Linda Ahlbom Goteborg, Sweden 58) Jenny Forsman, Boras, Sweden 59) Nina Gunnarson, Kinna, Sweden 60) Andrew Harrison, New Zealand 61) Bryre Murphy, New Zealand 62) Claire Lugton, New Zealand 63) Sarah Thornton, New Zealand 64) Rachel Eade, New Zealand 65) Magnus Hjert, London, UK 67) Madeleine Stamvik, Hurley, UK 68) Susanne Nowlan, Vermont, USA 69) Lotta Svenby, Malmoe, Sweden 70) Adina Giselsson, Malmoe, Sweden 71) Anders Kullman, Stockholm, Sweden 72) Rebecka Swane, Stockholm, Sweden 73) Jens Venge, Stockholm, Sweden 74) Catharina Ekdahl, Stockholm, Sweden 75) Nina Fylkegard, Stockholm, Sweden 76) Therese Stedman, Malmoe, Sweden 77) Jannica Lund, Stockholm, Sweden 78) Douglas Bratt 79) Mats Lofstrom, Stockholm, Sweden 80) Li Lindstrom, Sweden 81) Ursula Mueller, Sweden 82) Marianne Komstadius, Stockholm, Sweden 83) Peter Thyselius, Stockholm, Sweden 84) Gonzalo Oviedo, Quito, Ecuador 85) Amalia Romeo, Gland, Switzerland 86) Margarita Restrepo, Gland, Switzerland 87) Eliane Ruster, Crans p.C., Switzerland 88) Jennifer Bischoff-Elder, Hong Kong 89)Azita Lashgari, Beirut, Lebanon 90)Khashayar Ostovany, New York, USA 91)Lisa L Miller, Reno NV 92)Danielle Avazian, Los Angeles, CA93) Sara Risher, Los Angeles, Ca. 94) Melanie London, New York, NY 95) Susan Brownstein , Los Angeles, CA 96) Steven Raspa, San Francisco, CA 97) Margot Duane, Ross, CA 98) Natasha Darnall, Los Angeles, CA 99) Candace Brower, Evanston, IL 100) James Kjelland, Evanston, IL 101) Michael Jampole, Beach Park, IL, USA 102) Diane Willis, Wilmette, IL, USA 103) Sharri Russell, Roanoke, VA, USA 104) Faye Cooley, Roanoke, VA, USA 105) Celeste Thompson, Round Rock, TX, USA 106) Sherry Stang, Pflugerville, TX, USA 107) Amy J. Singer, Pflugerville, TX USA 108) Milissa Bowen, Austin, TX USA 109) Michelle Jozwiak, Brenham, TX USA 110) Mary Orsted, College Station, TX USA 111) Janet Gardner, Dallas, TX USA 112) Marilyn Hollingsworth, Dallas, TX USA 113) Nancy Shamblin, Garland. TX USA 114) K. M. Mullen, Houston, TX - USA 115) Noreen Tolman, Houston, Texas - USA 116) Laurie Sobolewski, Warren, MI 117) Kellie Sisson Snider, Irving Texas 118) Carol Currie, Garland, Garland Texas 119) John Snyder, Garland, TX USA 120) Elaine Hannan, South Africa 121) Jayne Howes, South Africa 122) Diane Barnes, Akron, Ohio 123)Melanie Dass Moodley, Durban, South Africa 124) Amy King Dejardin, Ornex, France 125)Eve Hall, Matumi, Schagen, South Africa 126) Catherine & Khanya Jele, Johannesburg South Africa 127)Sylvie & Alain Grunfeld, La Roche - Yon, France 128)Lydie et Pascal Iscache, Paris, France 129)Richard Linskell, London, UK 130)Agnes Poitevin-Navarre, London, UK 131)Zineb Sedira, london, UK 132)Poulomi Desai, London, UK 133) Julian Samuel, Montreal, Canada 134) Srinivas Krishna, Toronto, Canada 135) Pola Rapaport, New York, NY USA 136) Volker Euler, Sydney, Australia 137) Gabi Brill, Sydney, Australia 138) Bernie Buko, Sydney, Australia 139) Melissa Power, Sydney, Australia 140) James Black. Sydney Australia 141) Anthony Jones, Sydney Australia 142) Gordon Monro, Sydney, Australia 143) Andrew Del Riccio, Sydney, Australia 144) Sonya Knapman, Sydney, Australia 145) Fiona Hanrahan, Perth, Australia 146)Katrina Lord, Perth, Australia 147) Richard Kowalski, Melbourne, Australia 148) Craig Morgan, Guildford, England 149) Annalena Rhodes, Woking, England 150) Leanne Walton, Bracknell, England 151) Sarah Young, Sevenoaks, England 152) Beverley Lightley, England 153) Lindsay Simmonds, London, England 154) Paul Ryan, London, England 155) David Axelbank, San Francisco 156)Justin O'Neill, New York, NY 157) deborah kossman, nyc, ny 158. Adam Goldstone, NY, NY 159. Chiara Nath, New Delhi, India 160. Sangram Kachwaha, New Delhi, India 161. Michelle Davis, Cincinnati, OH 162. Jan Greenberg, Cleveland OHIO 163. Margaret Dayan, Los Angeles, CA 164. Jean Sieffert, Tampa, FL 165. Terri Simons, Tampa, FL, USA 166. Elizabeth Locklear, Tampa, FL, USA 167. Phronie Tollett, Birmingham, Al,USA 168. Sophronia K. Grantham, Boston, GA, USA 169. Sophia K. Locklear-Jensen, Tampa, FL, USA 170. Andrea Evans Locklear, New Jersey, USA 171. Jenny G. Jozwiak, New York, NY , USA 172. Diana Amsterdam, New York NY, U.S.A. 173. Karen Kohlhaas, New York, NY, U.S.A. 174. Eoin O'Callaghan, London, UK 175. Anne Simpson, Belfast, UK 176. Patrick Duncan, Belfast, UK 177. Kevin Carrigan, Chicago, U.S.A. 178. Cassie C. Carrigan, Atlanta, U.S.A 179. Robert Thomas Weems, Athens,Georgia,U.S.A. 180. W. Jonathan Rue, Palmer Lake,Colorado,U.S.A. 181.Caleb Garling, Boulder, Colorado,USA 182. John Whitehead, Atlanta, GA, USA 183. Phyllis Faber, San Francisco, California, USA 184. Carla Dingillo, San Francisco, California, USA 185. Melvyn B. Schupack, MD, Fitzwilliam, NH, USA 186. Elise Snyder, MD, New Haven CT, USA 187. Ralph Roughton, MD, Atlanta, GA, USA 188. Ricardo Duchesne, NB, Canada PLEASE COPY this email on to a new message, sign the bottom and forward it to everyone on your distribution lists. If you receive this list with more than 200 names on it, please e-mail a copy of it to : sarabande @brandeis.edu (Send after every 100 names.) Even if you decide not to sign, please be considerate and do not kill the petition. Thank you. It is best to copy rather than forward the petition. Anne Development Coordinator, Radio Drama Extension: 38234 Tel: 01232 338234 E-mail: anne.simpson bc.co.uk Elise W. Snyder, MD Phone: 203-624-0029 180 Linden Street Fax: 203-498-0944 New Haven CT 06511 Email: elise.snyderale.edu
