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BRUSSELS
- The autobiography of the young Afghan women's rights activist and
politician Malalai Joya is a cry of anger. She survived five attacks
and lives in hiding in Kabul. Yet she remains hopeful. "Stop the bombing and no
longer give aid to the warlords. Only then will the democrats dare raise
their voice." An interview.
Malalai Joya looks tired as she shakes my hand in a Brussels hotel. It is hard to believe that this small, frail woman is the ultimate target of all extremists in Afghanistan. Since she spoke freely in 2003 on the Loya Jirga - the big meeting of tribal leaders to draft the constitution - she is in the words of her enemies a "dead woman walking”.
She already survived five attacks. Once she saw how a bomb prematurely exploded and how the bridge over which she had to drive a few moments later was blown up. Yet she remains in Afghanistan.
Malalai Joya: "I live in Kabul, but unfortunately I do not lead a normal life. I am moving from one safe house to another. I don’t stay longer than a few days in the same house. I have no office where I can receive people. I even have bodyguards, but it remains too dangerous. Now that I've written this book, the threats of extremists will even increase. They know that I never get a compromise agreement with them and that’s why they want to eliminate me. But I do my best to prevent that. "
Can you still do politics?
Malalai Joya: "I am often invited in remote provinces or at a public action in Kabul, but it is too unsafe. My life is underground. I receive some people in secret places, but I cannot stay longer than three hours. If my enemies want to silence me, they achieve just the opposite. With each threat they show their political weakness. "
"My situation should wake up everyone," Malalai Joya adds. "Under the Taliban I could still secretly teach young girls. Now I can’t go nowhere, even with bodyguards. That is proof that this whole war on terror is a joke. The liberation of women was apparently just a good excuse to invade our country. "
The world learned to know Malalai Joya in December 2003. She was elected as representative in the Loya Jirga to draft a new constitution. Malalai Joya was only 25, but enjoyed great fame as a director of health. Nine years earlier she returned to Afghanistan from the refugee camps in Pakistan where she grew up. Still a teenager under the Taliban rule, she gave secretly lessons to girls and women.
In your first speech at the Loya Jirga you lashed out hard at some attendees. Why were you so angry?
Malalai Joya: "I was shocked when I saw all those war criminals at this meeting. Of course I feared that the Loya Jirga would be no more than a fig leaf for the U.S. occupation. But what I saw was worse than I could imagine. For me it became clear that the U.S. and its allies have simply replaced the Taliban with terrorist Afghan warlords who started a civil war after the withdrawal of the Soviet Union."
Who are these warlords?
Malalai Joya: "The warlords received millions of dollars from the CIA and the ISI (the Pakistani intelligence, ed) during the Cold War. In those days they were not really familiar with my people. Everyone, including intellectuals and progressive parties then fought against the Russian occupation. But once the Soviet Union left Afghanistan, they showed their true face. Hekmatyar, Massoud, Hatim, Rashid Dostum, ... all those puppets of the U.S. committed terrible crimes. "
"You think that everything began with the Taliban, but that is a lie. The atrocities began with the warlords. In the name of Islam they abolished women’s rights. Even very young girls were not safe for these rapists. They plundered museums. Bookshops were burned. They murdered more than 65,000 people. They put nails into the heads of opponents. They cut off women's breasts. "
"But the worst was that they might have destroyed our national unity. They fought all in the name of an ethnic group. It was so bad that even my people were relieved when the Taliban in 1996 put an end to the empire of the warlords. But that didn't last long. Again a gang of murderers came into power. In 2001 when the Taliban were expelled, there was hope again for one moment. But those hopes were quickly buried. April 28 was declared a Mujahedeen Victory Day (the day the civil war began in 1992, ed), while for all Afghans it should be a day of national mourning. "
You call Ahmed Shah Massoud a warlord. Is he not the national hero of Afghanistan?
Malalai Joya: "Massoud is a fine example of "yesterday's terrorist is today’s U.S. hero". In Afghanistan we call this hero "the butcher of Kabul" because he committed so many massacres and created so much havoc. In Kabul, there is a street named after him, but nobody uses that name because he is so hated. The CIA and the French government push us to accept Massoud as a hero, but heroes grow in the hearts of the people, they’re not created in foreign offices. "
Shouldn’t you have given them a chance? Perhaps they would show remorse?
Malalai Joya: "Eight years was enough to learn how they deal with the rights of my people. When the Taliban took power, the warlords went into hiding. With the millions of dollars they received from the CIA they hid themselves in caves. After 9/11 they came out and again they were wolves, but this time dressed in sheep’s clothing. "
"Now they are even ready to negotiate with the Taliban. Actually they have not even a problem with each other. Some refer then to South Africa: Mandela also shook hands with his opponents? Yes, there are victims who forgive their executioners. But in Afghanistan it is the one terrorist who shakes hands with the other terrorist. "
In 2005 you got elected in the parliament. Two years later you were suspended because you supposedly offended the members of parliament. They required apologies from you. Why didn’t you?
Malalai Joya: "In Afghanistan there is the law of the jungle. Is it so wrong that I compared the parliament with a zoo? Ok, all MP’s walk on two legs, but the warlords among them are crueler than wild animals. Luckily no animals can file charges before courts, my supporters say, because they could sue you because you compare them with those criminals. "(Laughter)
"I sat there with mass murderers. But I can’t possibly compromise with them. They do not even know what that word means. And what would my constituents think if I didn’t raise my voice? Oops, has our Malalai also been bribed? No, I couldn’t possibly apologize because I had told the truth. Elections are a sign of democracy, but unfortunately after eight years, the Afghans see that the elections are a tool in the hands of the occupying forces and the warlords to give some legitimacy to their crimes. "
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has once told you that he agrees with you. Do you have faith in him.
Malalai Joya: "Hamid Karzai is a shameless marionette. He made a compromise with the cruelest terrorists and allowed them to dominate his government. Now he also wants to include the Taliban in his cabinet. "
Do you regret that his opponent Abdullah Abdullah has withdrawn from the elections?
Malalai Joya: "Abdullah Abdullah is also a good friend of the warlords. I think he is even more dangerous than Karzai. Abdullah is also a supporter of federalism which would create a disaster for Afghanistan. The country would be easier balkanised. Let us not lose time with that kind of people who like to talk about democracy but actually are our enemies. "
It seems that nobody can be trusted. Are you not too severe?
Malalai Joya: "There are many progressives and intellectuals in my country, but they have to live underground because of the war. If the bombing stops and the warlords are no longer supported, democrats will dare to raise their voices. Now they have no opportunity. This is also because the mainstream media do not want to report what's really going on in Afghanistan. Have you ever seen demonstrations of underpaid teachers on TV? "
If the foreign troops withdraw, Afghanistan risks to be torn by a civil war.
Malalai Joya: "What do you do with the civil war that is already there? They put us between a rock and a hard place and call it democracy. As long as the troops remain in Afghanistan, there will be civil war. NATO bombings kill scores of civilians, mostly women and children. U.S. troops say they are proud that they can even discover an ant with their equipment, but they can not even distinguish between a child and a Taliban? Is this the way to prevent civil war? It is very simple. Don’t give those warlords more millions of dollars and their empire will collapse. They are paper tigers. "
The Western countries cannot hand over the people of Afghanistan to the Taliban?
Malalai Joya: "Now we are facing three enemies: the occupation forces, their allies in the government and the Taliban. Therefore those U.S. troops and NATO should as soon as possible withdraw from Afghanistan. This leaves two enemies. This is somewhat easier. And if the U.S. is no longer channeling hundreds of millions of dollars to the warlords, then their empire will collapse like a house of cards. I'm convinced of that because they have no support within the population. "
But will this not worsen the situation of women’s rights?
Malalai Joya: "Women’s rights are not created through the barrel of a gun. Women’s rights won’t come with the use of phosphorous bombs and cluster ammunition or depleted uranium, nor by bombing innocent people. In the past eight years many times more ordinary citizens were killed by the occupying forces than Taliban fighters. Millions of Afghans suffer from insecurity, poverty, unemployment and injustice. Even in Kabul we are not safe. Of course there was the occasional symbolic change. 68 women in parliament, but most of them are nominated by the warlords and fundamentalists. "
"The growing insecurity also prevents little girls from going to school. They risk of being kidnapped or raped. The son of an MP raped a girl but his father made sure he was quickly released. By what you will see on TV and in newspapers of course you think that only the Taliban commit crimes. "
Part of the Belgian troops also help training the Afghan army. Obama hopes that soon the Afghan army can take over responsibility from the foreign troops.
Malalai Joya: "The Afghan army is an enemy of the Afghan people. Who rules the military? The warlords. You don’t put the rabbit in charge of the stock of carrots. Once we had a volunteer army, but the warlords won't allow that. "
The foreign troops are also engaged in the reconstruction. So they can win the hearts and minds of the Afghan people, no?
Malalai Joya: "Unfortunately there are NGO-lords too. Much money earmarked for the construction of schools actually disappears into the pockets of the warlords. Many NGO's are corrupt. I saw it with my own eyes. There are schools being built with the cheapest materials. Then some quick pictures are taken to show to the mainstream media. But after one year, little of the school remains. Every day the U.S. spends 160 million U.S. dollars at the war in Afghanistan. Imagine what we could do with all that money? "
There is only a political solution, some say. Is it not a good idea to negotiate with the moderate Taliban in the hope that they lay down their arms?
Malalai Joya: "You know, there are no moderate Taliban. There are only barbaric Taliban and some are now described by Karzai as moderate. The problem is that the mainstream media are fooling the people. Bush puts a price of 25 million U.S. dollars on the head of Hekmatyar and Obama suddenly considers him a moderate terrorist who would end up in government? Thus once again they play with the future of my people. I fear that the politics of Obama are even more dangerous than those of the war criminal Bush. "
How do Western politicians react to your reasoning?
Malalai Joya: "Although I am an elected MP, I get to see few politicians. I was once in Germany and my supporters there urged the Government to receive me. The government refused, "she's no longer an MP, is she?" So instead of protesting my resignation, they accept the occupation’s reasoning. This proves that the German Government is afraid of the truth. Fortunately, many ordinary people are on my side. "
What would you say to Belgian Defense Minister Pieter De Crem if you had a chance to meet him?
Malalai Joya: "Your country should follow an independent course. Then you would be welcome in my country to help rebuild it. But if the foreign troops remain in Afghanistan, they will receive a lesson like the British and the Soviets have had before. Your country supports the U.S. strategy. The U.S. wants to occupy Afghanistan because then it’s easier for them to control the two regional powers, Russia and China. And in one go they have even easier access to oil and gas reserves in the Central Asian republics. Surely you don’t want to be part of that? "
Have you ever thought about fleeing the insecurity and to continue your work from a safe country?
Malalai Joya: "I do not want to abandon my people. Everywhere I go I tell that a country can never be liberated by a foreign country. Fighting for democracy and women's rights is the responsibility of the people themselves. It would be inconsequent to settle abroad. I grab every opportunity to travel because it is a way to create solidarity around the world for the struggle of the Afghan people. But if I would stay permanently in the West, I would be cut off from my people."
"I can’t count on the Afghan media that they will transfer my message correctly to the people. Previously, a few democratic movements had a newspaper, but they had to stop due to lack of money. "
Why are you not a member of one of the existing parties?
Malalai Joya: "Several democratic parties have asked me to join, but I'd rather stay independent. I am a social activist. I will not compromise. But I'm thinking think about it. Perhaps it is time to join forces and to establish a new party which the other democratic parties and intellectuals can join then. I seriously think about it. "
Will you join the next elections?
Malalai Joya: "I’m being encouraged to participate in the parliamentary elections. I also think seriously about that, but it is hard because I cannot campaign. "
In your biography you write that books played an important role in your life.
Malalai Joya: "Books are like light. I was lucky that my father gave me the chance to read. These books had a big impact on me. Especially the book Gadfly (from the British writer Ethel Lilian Voynich, ed) was very important. That book changed my life. I saw the film, read the book and watched the movie again. "
What books do you read?
Malalai Joya: "I used to read very quickly. In the time of the Taliban I sometimes read three books in one week, although I almost had to look up all the words in a dictionary. My older brother did not believe me and one day he took a book and started questioning me, but I could answer all questions. From then onwards, my family supported me even more to read and study. But now I read less and less. I am quickly tired. Life is so difficult. I don’t read novels anymore. I must write articles, prepare speeches, give interviews. "
Do you think the U.S. and its allies will ever win the war?
Malalai Joya: "They have already lost the war."
Can you imagine a free and peaceful Afghanistan?
Malalai Joya: "I often think that I will not see it. Perhaps one day ... if they do not kill me. "
Copyright 2010 Creative Commons
Originally published in Dutch: http://www.dewereldmorgen.be/artikels/2010/02/24/de-moedigste-vrouw-van-afghanistan
Translation: Dirk Adriaensens (BRussells Tribunal)