Fw: Women in Afghanistan

["Nello Margiotta" <animarg at tin.it>]

 Despite the repression they suffer from the Taliban, Hilla says all
 women in Afghanistan oppose the American bombings.
 
 Report from Alan McCombes in Pakistan
 
 Scottish Socialist Voice editor, Alan McCombes has travelled to
 Pakistan.  Socialists from the underground Afghan Revolutionary
 Labour Organisation describe their work.
 
 Further reports from Alan are featured in the current issue of
 Scottish Socialist Voice.
 
ON THE day I met Mahsooda in her home, she and her comrades of the
 Afghan Revolutionary Labour Organisation - an underground socialist
 party - had just received tragic news.
 
 Eight of their comrades and their seven children had been killed two
 nights before in US bombing raids in and around the city of
 Kharkhana.  Mahsooda and her other comrades could not reveal to me
 their real names because they work secretly under dangerous
 conditions, but they told me the names and ages of their dead
 comrades. " They are now martyrs and cannot be killed twice, " I was
 told.
 
 Four of the dead socialists were female activists - Llallama (31),
 Marzia (25), Rabia (30) and Gulmaco (40).
 
 The men were Abdul Karin (21), Abdul Farouk (47), Abdul Rahman (51)
 and Abdullah (38).
 
 At that stage, no-one was sure of the names and ages of the dead
 children but told me they would pass that information on as soon as
 they found out.  It is easy to be a socialist activist in Scotland,
 where you can publicly argue for your ideas, produce leaflets and
 newspapers, organise campaigns, stand in elections.
 
 The life of an Afghan socialist is entirely different. First, they
 have they have no money for leaflets, websites, or computers.  Every
 day is a struggle to survive. The activists I met live in grinding
 poverty, often eating nothing but potatoes for days at a time.  They
 have no money for leaflets and newspapers. Even if they had they
 could not distribute them, because they live under a permanent death
sentence.  Even those like Mahsooda, living in exile across the
 border in Peshawar, would be killed by the Taliban or other religious
 extremists if their identities were discovered.
 
But as an organiser of the party's women's section, Mahsooda carries
 out in effect double underground work. They are in even more danger
 of punishment from the religious parties if they are discovered.  And
 the women Mahsooda organises are forced to meet clandestinely, behind
 the backs of the men in their families " Lots of women conform to a
 traditional role. But many thirst for knowledge and want to become
 active, " says Mahsooda, herself a mother of four young children.
 " Women have a long history of involvement in political struggle in
 Afghanistan. But now many men won't allow them to attend events, or
 courses.
 
 " We have lots of women comrades who work in secret from their
 husbands, brothers and fathers. They will say 'we are going to the
 market' or 'we are going to buy clothes' but instead they will come
 to this house and other houses. " The day after I met Mahsooda, I met
 two other women organisers who have never met Mahsooda, because the
 party works in a secret cell structure.
 
 Shalbala is 27 years old and is from the province of Bamiya in
 Central Afghanistan - a Shia Muslim stronghold that has suffered
 terrible sectarian persecution at the hands of the Sunni Muslim
 Taliban.  Earlier this year, the Taliban went on the rampage in the
 area, destroying world-renowned Buddhist statues and slaughtering
 villagers.  One of Shalhala's uncles and four of her cousins were
 executed when the Taliban entered two villages, Darali and Naick, and
 rounded up all the men.  " In Darali, the people had come out of
 their homes to welcome the Taliban.  But then they collected the men
 from the houses, brought them to the centre of the village and tied
 their hands.
 
 " No-one thought they were going to be killed, they thought they
 would be taken to jail. But they killed them all - 180 in Darali and
 220 in Naick. " Shalhala says that women are more hostile to the
 Taliban than men: " Some women, those who are from extremely
 religious backgrounds support them.  But not most woemn. They see
 their own houses turned into jails. Most people - 99 per cent of
 people - in Afghanistan are Muslim, but most of them want freedom and
 democracy. "
 
 But Shalhala believes that the choice between the Taliban and the
 Northern Alliance is a choice between Frankenstein and Dracula.  Her
 area was in the past a Northern Alliance stronghold before it was
 captured by the Taliban. Shalhala explains that the Northern Alliance
 were guilty of terrible brutality against women, kidnapping them
 regularly and raping them.
 
 " They are extremely cruel. One young girl - Shukria was her name -
 was attacked in her home by Northern Alliance leaders. They tried to
 rape her but she jumped from her window to escape and was killed. "
 Hilla is 22 and organises the women's section of the Afghan
 Revolutionary Labour Organisation in the city of Herat on the other
 side of Afghanistan near the border with Iran.
 
 She speaks good English and tells me that 99 per cent of women in
 Afghanistan are uneducated. A major part of Hilla's work is
 organising basic educational schools.
 
 Hilla and her comrades collect women and take them to houses where
 classes are held in total secrecy.
 
 They charge very small fees to cover the cost of providing basic
 materials like pens, paper and books. Those who have no money are
 allowed to attend free.
 
 " In each class we teach 10 to 15 women. I have responsibility for
 five different courses, but we are organising many other courses
 across the province and across the country as a whole. They are
 organised by the Afghan kevolutionary Labour Organisation.
 
 " Our first step is to organise basic literacy. Before we can educate
 women politically, we first have to teach them to read and write. We
 also teach basic medical care and clothes making. Then later, we move
 on to politics. ".
 
 Despite the repression they suffer from the Taliban, Hilla says all
 women in Afghanistan oppose the American bombings.
 
 " This is not seen as a war between America and the Taliban - it is
 seen as a war waged by nonMuslims against Muslims. Where I work it is
 mostly Shia people. They oppose the Taliban.
 
 " But if they invade the country on the ground, most people will
 fight with the Taliban against America and Britain.
 
 " Yes, America wants to defeat the Taliban and Al Quaida. But their
 main aim is to take over Central Asia as they have done with some
 Arab countries..  " America thought they would win easily, but now
 they say this is a long war, maybe two or three years.
 
" But even if America defeats the Taliban and brings in it's own
 government the Left will still have to work underground because
 America will not bring democracy but another dictatorship.
 
 " The Left in Afghanistan has always had to work underground and now
 things are getting worse, not better. "
 
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