“We Taliban warn you to stop working otherwise we will take your life away. We will kill you in such a harsh way that no woman has so far been killed in that manner. This will be a good lesson for those women like you who are working. The money you receive is haram (prohibited under Islam) and coming from the infidels. The choice is now with you.”  

Imagine you received this letter one night on your door? What would you do? Would you believe it and quit the job that you love? Would you refuse to believe it?

It may sound like a nightmare or some type of hoax. Unfortunately, however, this is the grim reality for Fatima K, who received this letter in 2010:

“I am feeling very afraid now,” she said. “But what to do? I can’t leave my job because I need to work and do something for my family.” She took extended leave and has not returned to her job.

This is just one of the many women being threatened by the Taliban. The shocking reality for these women depicted in The Unfinished Revolution: Voices from the Global Fight for Women’s Rights, edited by Minky Worden.

When the Taliban were in government in Afghanistan, between 1996 and 2001, their notorious restrictions were often about social control, placing great importance on gender segregation, and dress codes. This included a series of edicts that restricted women’s movement, requiring them to stay home or travel with a male chaperone (mahram). Such edicts resulted in significant restrictions on Afghan women’s ability to work, at a time when they had started to make inroads into the work place. And perhaps most harmfully, Taliban rule led to a significant reduction in Afghan girls’ access to education, particularly once they reached puberty.

This restriction of girl’s access to education is on going. The sad truth revealed in this book has now come to light in the media lately. The story of 14-year-old, Malala Yousufzai, who was shot in the face while traveling on the school bus and who is now fighting for her life. This young girl was gunned down after the Taliban saw her as a threat with her blog supporting education for girls, accused of being “Pro-West”. Her blog ‘flower face’ was an avenue for all those opposed to the overtly conservative interpretation of Islam by the Taliban. A harsh interpretation of a religion that is centered on peace and knowledge.

 

Malala Yousufzai

I for one can’t help but ask ‘what is our world coming to?’ A world where a little girl can be attacked and her life threatened, by fully-grown men, just for wanting to be educated. Education is surely taken for granted here in the West as we complain about having to get up early and go to school in our dorky uniforms. For Malala, each school day was wearing plain clothes to try and conceal the fact she was a student, frightened by the ramifications being discovered would incur.

"Threats and attacks against women have a domino effect, spreading fear to women who have not been directly targeted by night letters and other warnings."

Fear is a constant reality,not only to those who receive these disturbing letters, but to all women living in a patriarchal and misogynistic area. Fear that the wanting to be a better person can have you punished; whipped, verbally attacked, beheaded or killed.

Is this where we are really meant to be in 2012? Still battling for simple rights.

I could say that, possibly, a lot of us did not know what was going on. Women have been silenced and we haven’t gotten out there and researched. Possibly we put it to the back of our minds, refusing to accept the unfortunate circumstances, as they don't directly affect us. I would therefore quote Leymah Gbowee who said: 'Women are not free anywhere in this world until all women are free.' Freedom of choice, education and opportunity should be a birth right, regardless of sex.

 

Courage encountered in the stories within The Unfinished Revolution and of Malala remind us that simply accepting something is happening and saying it is wrong is not such a difficult task. These women, not only accept it- but live it. I can only admire these women and young girls who stand up for what is right regardless of the consequences, it is only through determination by people like these that things are made right and 'good' is restored in a world gone mad.

“There are vocal and courageous Afghan women activists articulating women’s demands in the peace and reintegration process. These women courageously speak out against efforts to welcome abusive commanders back into positions of authority. The US and other international supporters have also stressed their commitment to a rights respecting process. But these voices are not sufficient. The Afghan government also needs to make clear that whatever the shape of a peace process in Afghanistan, it will not be one that compromises women’s access to education, justice, and participation in political life. President Karzai has referred to the Taliban as his “brothers.” But he has not yet spared a word for the anxious sisters, mothers, and daughters who do not want to be forced behind closed doors in the name of peace.” 


References: 

Excerpts taken from ‘Chapter 13: Letters in the Night- Closing Space for Women and Girls in Afghanistan’ by Rachel Reid in The Unfinished Revolution: Voices from the Global Fight for Women’s Rights, edited by Minky Worden, 2012, Spinifex Press, North Melbourne.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/taliban-shoots-teen-activist-in-head/story-fnb64oi6-1226492525865

http://www.theage.com.au/world/taliban-attempts-to-justify-shooting-14yearold-girl-in-the-head-20121017-27pzv.html