In Afghanistan, the Taliban have reportedly publicly murdered a 22-year old woman Najiba, who was gunned down in the streets while in her burqua. Media reported that the woman was surrounded by 100 Taliban men who cheered when the helpless woman was gunned down in the street.
This is yet another disgrace against women’s human rights and dignity, with this latest atrocity by the Taliban committed on June 23 village of Qimchaq (Qimchok), in Parwan province’sShinwari district in Eastern Afghanistan, just an hour’s drive from the Afghanistan capital of Kabul.
In the video, the Taliban extremists can be heard chanting “Allahu Ahkbar,” (God is Great) during the shooting, as also reported by CNN. Their actions and words disgrace peaceful Muslims respecting human rights around the world.
Afghanistan Woman Najiba Publicly Murdered by Taliban in Qimchaq Village - A Disgrace to Human Rights and Dignity Everywhere
The Los Angeles Times reported that a video of the Taliban murder showed “a woman in a white shawl kneeling in the dirt. Crouching in terror, she could not speak even a word in her own defense. She then crumples after apparently being shot dead at close range by a gunman before a crowd of more than 100 shouting men arrayed on a dusty terraced hillside.”
CNN reported that the defenseless woman was shot more than 9 times by the cowardly Taliban murderers. CNN also reported that the woman was murdered because of dispute over her between two rival Taliban gang leaders. CNN reported that after the Taliban murder, the killers concocted a story of crimes of “adultery” to rationalize their public murder. In the CNN report, the Parwan province governor Abdul Basir Salangi was quoted: “In order to save face,” they accused her of adultery, Salangi said. Then they “faked a court to decide about the fate of this woman and in one hour, they executed the woman..”
This is another in the many instances of the World War on Women. In this case, the oppressors of women are the Taliban extremists and their ideological acceptance of hate and violence to rationalize their actions. The Taliban have a long history of their organized and institutional War on Women. Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) urges all Afghan people, all Muslim believers, and all human beings around the world to renounce the cruel and violent ideology and activity of the Taliban.
The amateur video was loaded onto YouTube. It is, and photos of such abuse, are disturbing and revolting to all decent human beings. But for those who think the Taliban is simply a different cultural group, it is important for them to see the abuses that the Taliban perform:
In addition, R.E.A.L. continues to caution the American government, its leaders, and other world leaders regarding the fallacy of negotiations with a Taliban organization that rejects and renounces our Universal Human Rights for all people, and that has continued a ceaseless campaign of deliberate and methodical violence and terrorism against fellow Afghani citizens, Muslims, and other fellow human beings. This is a women’s rights issue and a human rights issue.
R.E.A.L.' s Jeffrey Imm Outside White House in Washington DC Protesting Calls for Taliban Reconciliation, Concern for Impact on Women's Rights
President Obama: Afghanistan Women's Rights Matter
We urge members of the Taliban to renounce their ways, renounce their ideology of hate and violence, and to accept Universal Human Rights and Dignity for all people.
In northern Afghanistan, a young couple were reportedly stoned to death in the Kunduz province’s Dasht-e-Archi district, in front of a crowd of 150 men, with the young woman stoned to death by men first. Responsible for Equality And Liberty rejects the barbaric practice of stoning and religious extremist groups that endorse and support such cruel killings, which frequently target women.
AP reports: “Taliban militants in northern Afghanistan stoned a young couple to death for adultery, which a rights group said was the first confirmed use of the punishment here since the hardline Islamist regime was ousted in 2001.”
“The Taliban-ordered killing comes at a time when international rights groups have raised worries that attempts to negotiate with the Taliban to bring peace to Afghanistan could mean a step backward for human rights in the country. When the extremists ruled Afghanistan, women were not allowed to leave their houses without a male guardian, and public killings for violations of their harsh interpretation of the Quran were common.
“This weekend’s stoning appeared to arise from an affair between a married man and a single woman in Kunduz province’s Dasht-e-Archi district.”
“The woman, Sadiqa, was 20 years old and engaged to another man, said the Kunduz provincial police chief, Gen. Abdul Raza Yaqoubi. Her lover, 28-year-old Qayum, left his wife to run away with her, and the two had holed up in a friend’s house five days ago, said district government head, Mohammad Ayub Aqyar.”
“They were discovered by Taliban operatives on Sunday and stoned to death in front a crowd of about 150 men, Aqyar said.”
In Afghanistan, a pregnant Afghan widow, Bibi Sanubar, was publicly flogged with 200 lashes and then shot three times in the head for “alleged adultery” by the religious extremist Taliban organization. Taliban leader Mullah Daoud reportedly claimed responsibility for the murder of the pregnant woman in a Taliban “court” along with two other Taliban chiefs. Another report states that a local Taliban leader, Mohammad Yousuf, carried out the execution.
Afghanistan Taliban "Police" Beat Women in Public - in Kabul - in 2001 - Will Afghanistan Return to This?
Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) supports our universal human rights for all people, men and women, and reject any ideological misogyny that seeks to oppress, victimize, mutilate, and murder women, wherever it may be, and whatever justification it uses for such hate against women. R.E.A.L. reject religious extremist rationalization for denying the human rights of women or of any other human being. We urge those whose hearts are burdened with hate to Choose Love, Not Hate – Love Wins.
Afghanistan: Taliban Held Public Executions While in Power (File Photo: Dawn)
R.E.A.L.' s Jeffrey Imm Outside White House in Washington DC Protesting Calls for Taliban Reconciliation, Concern for Impact on Women's Rights
According to the UK Mirror: “Insurgent commander Mullah Daoud said the woman was whipped, then shot in front of locals after he and two other Taliban chiefs passed sentence. Daoud said: ‘We gave this decision so in future no one should have these illegal affairs. We whipped her in front of all the local people, to show them an example. Then we shot her.'”
AFP reports: “The Taliban publicly flogged and then executed a pregnant Afghan widow by emptying three shots into her head for alleged adultery, police said on Monday. Bibi Sanubar, 35, was kept in captivity for three days before she was shot dead in a public trial on Sunday by a local Taliban commander in the Qadis district of the rural western province Badghis. The Taliban accused Sanubar of having an ‘illicit affair’ that left her pregnant. She was first punished with 200 lashes in public before being shot, deputy provincial police chief Ghulam Mohammad Sayeedi said. ”She was shot in the head in public while she was still pregnant,’ Sayeedi said.”
Pakistan Dawn reports that “Local Taliban commander Mohammad Yousuf carried out the execution, Sayeedi said, before the woman’s body was dumped in an area under government control… Head of Badghis provincial council Mohammad Nasir Nazaari confirmed the execution and said the Qadis district is entirely under Taliban control.”
“The deputy head of the religious council for western Afghanistan, Mohammad Kabaabiani, said the execution ran counter to Islamic principles. Head of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission in western Afghanistan, Abdul Qadir Rahimi, condemned the killing. ‘Any such trial is unacceptable and is a violation of human rights. All trials must take place in an authorized court observing every single measure of justice,’ said Rahimi.”
Ms. Magazine states that: “The execution of Bibi Sanubar is one of many recent murders attributed to Taliban. Other recent incidents include a woman who worked at a non-profit who was murdered while leaving work in April, a couple who were shot outside of a mosque last year after being accused of eloping, and a Kandahar provincial council member and women’s rights activist who was murdered outside of her home last year. During the Taliban’s rule from 1996 to 2001, public executions and amputations were commonplace.”
The Voice of America reports that “Authorities say Taliban militants kept the woman in captivity for three days before her execution Sunday in a remote area of northwestern Badghis province. They say she was first flogged 200 times and then shot in the head three times. Officials say a Taliban court had found the woman guilty of having an ‘illicit affair’ that left her pregnant. Afghan police say a local Taliban commander, Mohammad Yousuf, carried out the execution, but a Taliban spokesman Monday denied that the group was responsible.”
The Daily Mail reports that “‘Justice’, Afghan style, is still relatively harsh. Rape victims, for example, are prosecuted for having sex outside of wedlock. Under Afghan law Sanubar would have been jailed for up to three years if found guilty of adultery, but many women are then returned to their families to face traditional punishments, including so-called honour killings.”
In the Afghanistan mountains of Badakhshan, 10 aid workers and medical volunteers associated with the Christian group International Assistance Mission (IAM), were murdered while helping people in need of care. Both the Taliban and Hizb-i-Islami have reportedly claimed responsibility for the massacre of the aid workers, which included six Americans, one German, one Briton, and two Afghans.
Portraits of Real Courage - IAM Aid Workers Killed in Afghanistan - (left to right) Row 1: Tom Little, Dan Terry, Cheryl Beckett, Brian Carderelli; Row 2: Dr. Thomas Grams, Glenn Lapp, Karen Woo, Daniela Beyer; Row 3: Marham Ali and Jawed. Most Photos from IAM website. Dr Grams Photo: Minnesota Star Tribune; Glenn Lapp, AP; Karen Woo, Nicholas Razzell.
The IAM aid group workers and volunteers killed were:
Tom Little - IAM Aid Worker (Photo: IAM)
— Tom Little, New York optometrist, America
— IAM states: “Tom was affectionately known as ‘Mister Tom’ amongst the many staff at the National Organization for Ophthalmic Rehabilitation (NOOR). He arrived in 1976, with his family, and worked as an Optometrist and Manager at NOOR, setting up clinics and ophthalmic workshops. He was much loved by both foreigners and Afghans, and was the inspiration for other IAM team members coming to Afghanistan. Tom leaves behind his wife and 3 daughters.”
— Media reports:
— Tom Little, man of peace
— Danger part of daily work
Dan Terry, IAM Aid Worker (Photo: IAM)
— Dan Terry, Wisconsin aid worker, America
— IAM states: “Dan came to Afghanistan in 1971, he had a heart for the rural areas of Afghanistan and worked for many years in Lal-wa Sarjangal. Dan specialized in relating to local communities and liaising with aid organizations and the government to improve services in remote areas. Dan is survived by his wife, 3 daughters, and one granddaughter.”
— Media reports:
— Wisconsin Native Killed In Afghanistan
— Aide worker killed in Afghanistan has Janesville ties
Cheryl Beckett, IAM Aid Worker (Photo: IAM)
— Cheryl Beckett, Knoxville, Tennessee interpreter (IAM lists Ohio), America
— IAM states: “Cheryl Beckett was working as an aid worker in Afghanistan since 2005 and had been involved in community development with a focus on nutritional gardening and mother-child health. She had been asked to assist the IAM medical team as a translator for women patients. Cheryl was a Pashto speaker who worked in a clinic in Pul-e Charkhi on the outskirts of Kabul. She is survived by her parents and 3 siblings.”
— Media reports:
— “Faith led daughter’s work in Afghanistan”
— “Afghan victim’s dad: group was not proselytizing”
Brian Carderelli, IAM Aid Worker (Photo: IAM)
— Brian Carderelli, Harrisonburg, Virginia videographer, America
— IAM states: “Brian Carderelli was a professional free-lance videographer. Brian served a number of other organizations in Afghanistan active in development and humanitarian efforts throughout the nation. Brian quickly fell in love with the Afghan people and culture and hoped to stay within the country for another year.”
— Media report:
— “Slain aid worker Brian Carderelli found beauty in daily Afghan life”
Dr. Thomas Grams, IAM Aid Worker (Photo: Minnesota Star Tribune)
— Glen Lapp, Lancaster, Pennsylvania nurse, America
— IAM states: “Glen trained as an intensive-care nurse and worked in Lancaster, New York City City and Supai, Arizona, and had previously worked in the responses to hurricanes Katrina and Rita. He came to Kabul in 2008, and initially worked in the IAM HQ. Then after 5 months of Dari language training he began his work with NOOR, he was responsible for organizing the mobile eye camps that reached the remote areas of Afghanistan.”
— Media report:
— “Mennonite worker slain in Afghanistan remembered”
Karen Woo, IAM Aid Worker (Photo: Nicholas Razzell)
— Daniela Beyer, Chemnitz, Germany
— IAM states: “Daniela was a linguist and a translator in German, English, and Russian. She also spoke Dari and was learning Pashto. She worked for IAM between 2007-2009 doing linguistic research and joined the eye camp so that she could translate for women patients. She is survived by her parents and 3 siblings.”
— Media reports:
— Bild (German): Das gefährliche Leben der Dolmetscherin aus Chemnitz
Mahram Ali, IAM Aid Worker (Photo: IAM)
— Marham Ali, Wardak, Afghanistan
— IAM states: “Mahram Ali worked as a watchman at NOOR’s maintenance workshop since the end of 2007. He stayed guarding the vehicles in Nawa when the rest of the team walked over the pass into Nuristan. He leaves behind a wife and 3 children, at secondary school age and below.”
Jawed, IAM Aid Worker (Photo: IAM)
— Jawed, Panjshir, Afghanistan
— IAM states: “Jawed was employed as cook at the Ministry of Public Health’s Eye Hospital in Kabul and had been released from there in order to attend the Eye Camp. He leaves behind a wife and three children below school age. Besides being the team’s cook, he also assisted with the dispensing of eyeglasses. Jawed had been on several eye camps into Nuristan in the past, and was well loved for his sense of humor.”
The Independent has reported that the massacre of the IAM aid workers has made other charities “forced to rethink” their aid in Afghanistan.
The Baptist Press reports: “Ten workers affiliated with a Christian aid group were murdered in the rugged mountains of Afghanistan after providing eye care to people in a remote area of the country. International Assistance Mission, an openly Christian charity, has operated in Afghanistan for 44 years, negotiating with the Soviets, the mujahedeen government and then the Taliban for permission to continue its work assisting people in need of care. But on Aug. 5, only one member of a team survived an ambush by several men wielding guns. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the deaths of six Americans, one German, one Briton and two Afghans, though police have not ruled out an attack by thieves.”
According to the Washington Post, “The Taliban asserted responsibility for the attack, accusing the medical volunteers of being foreign spies and trying to convert Muslims to Christianity, accusations the group denies. Police in Badakhshan province have not ruled out that thieves unaffiliated with the Taliban could be responsible, as the victims’ belongings were ransacked after they were killed.”
The Washington Post also reports that “Dirk Frans, executive director of the International Assistance Mission, appeared at a news conference and confirmed the names of the 10 dead team members, whose mission to provide eye care for poor Afghans in dangerous and remote Badakhshan province ended in tragedy…. At the news conference, Frans repeatedly denied that the volunteers were proselytizing or working for the government.”
International Assistance Mission (IAM) Aid Convoy Traveling in Afghanistan (Photo: Reuters)
In the IAM public statement, the organization stated “IAM is a Christian organization — we have never hidden this. Indeed, we are registered as such with the Afghan government. Our faith motivates and inspires us — but we do not proselytize. We abide by the laws of Afghanistan. We are signatures of the Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and NGOs Disaster Response Programmes, in other words, that, ‘aid will not be used to further a particular political or religious standpoint.’ But more than that, our record speaks for itself. IAM would not be invited back to villages if we were using aid as a cover for preaching. And in particular, this specific camp led by Tom Little, a man with four decades experience in Afghanistan, has led eye camps for many years to Nuristan — and was welcomed back every time.”
Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) applauds the examples of real courage and commitment to our universal human rights, not just with words, but with deeds, of the volunteer aid workers of the International Assistance Mission (IAM), and we extend our sympathies to the families of the murdered aid workers.
To those who still fear to commit to our universal human rights with even words, we urge you to learn from the examples of selflessness and dedication to our fellow human beings of the IAM aid workers. To the Taliban religious extremists, it remains a disgraceful definition of their ideological commitment to hate against those they perceive to be different that Taliban figures would readily claim responsibility for this act, regardless of who is ultimately found to be responsible. In the perspective of such Taliban extremists, the life of a Christian has no value, even aid workers helping the Afghanistan people. This demonstrates the ultimate corruption and cancer of hate and intolerance that extremistviews by people of any religious, race, or identity group can become.
We urge all those who promote hate and intolerance to understand that the human rights of those you hate are also your human rights. When you attack the human rights of others, you also attack your own human rights as well.
In Afghanistan, over 1,000 protesters have demonstrated in Mazar-e-Sharif in northern Afghanistan against foreign Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and allegations of proselytizing by two Christian aid organizations, with protesters calling for punishment against Christian converts.
Afghanistan: Over 1000 at Mazar-e-Sharif Protest against Christian Converts
The Church World Service Deputy Director and Head of Programs Maurice A. Bloem stated that “Our work is entirely humanitarian — meaning we are impartial, neutral, and independent. We fully adhere to and support the Red Cross/Red Crescent Code of Conduct, which mandates that Ingots do nothing to further a religious agenda. We have never and will never engage in any religious proselytism. Such activities are contrary to our mandate as a humanitarian organization, and we fully respect the religion of the communities we serve. Any allegations that we have engaged in proselytism are entirely false — and we are fully cooperating with the investigation by the Ministry of Economy and look forward to its result.”
On June 1, 2010, a member of the Afghanistan Parliament called for the death penalty for any possible Christian converts. AFP and ICC reported that Abdul Sattar Khawasi, deputy secretary of the Afghan lower house in parliament, called for the death penalty of Afghanistan citizens choosing to become Christians, shown in a television program showing Afghans being baptized with water.Khawasi stated: “Those Afghans that appeared in this video film should be executed in public, the house should order the attorney general and the NDS (intelligence agency) to arrest these Afghans and execute them.” RAWA also reported that “Qazi Nazir Ahmad, a lawmaker from the western province of Herat, said killing a converted Muslim was ‘not a crime.'”
Image of Afghan Being Baptized - Shown to Afghanistan Parliament
Afghan Parliament Calling for Death Penalty for Apostates (Photo: Gulf Times)
Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) supports our unqualified, universal human rights for all people – including their freedom of religion, freedom of worship, and freedom of conscience, as defined in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.” Our unqualified support for such universal human rights do not apply just for those we like or those who are like us, but for all people, everywhere, whether it is convenient or not, and whether it is popular or not.
We offer an outstretched hand, not an upraised fist, to those who reject such freedoms, and urge them to understand that such human rights are for us all.
We urge the Afghan people, the Afghanistan government to accept such universal human rights for all people. We call upon the United States government, international governments, international bodies, and the American and European people involved in the Afghanistan war to demand genuine support of such universal human rights by the Afghanistan government – and to be Responsible for Equality And Liberty.
We urge those who support hatred and violence to people of different faiths and different identity groups, to release the burden of hate and violence from your hearts. Choose Love, Not Hate. Love Wins.
ICC: “Taliban Ideals Alive and Well in the Parliament”
“Washington, D.C. (June 2, 2010) – International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that an Afghan parliamentary secretary called for the public execution of Christian converts on the parliament floor.”
“On Tuesday, the Associated Free Press reported that Abdul Sattar Khawasi, deputy secretary of the Afghan lower house in parliament, called for the execution of Christian converts from Islam. Speaking in regards to a video broadcasted by Afghan television network Noorin TV showing footage of Christian men being baptized and praying in Farsi, Khawasi said, ‘Those Afghans that appeared in this video film should be executed in public, the house should order the attorney general and the NDS (intelligence agency) to arrest these Afghans and execute them.'”
“The broadcast triggered a protest by hundreds of Kabul University students on Monday, who shouted death threats and demanded the expulsion of Christian foreigners accused of proselytizing. As a result, the operations of Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) and U.S.-based Church World Service (CWS) have been suspended over allegations of proselytizing. The Afghan government is currently undertaking an intensive investigation into the matter. According to Afghan law, proselytizing is illegal and conversion from Islam is punishable by death.”
“ICC sources within Afghanistan have reported that many national Christians are in hiding, fearful of execution. Under government pressure during investigations, some Afghans have reportedly revealed names and locations of Christian converts.”
— UN estimates that 1 in 3 women in Afghanistan experiences physical, sexual, or psychological abuse
— reports on woman who committed suicide to escape by burning herself alive
— interview with Rana Tarin (also spelled Roona Tahrin), head of women’s department who fears being killed, after replacing woman who was killed by Taliban
— women being taught to sow by Rana Tarin, then allowed to take sowing machine home – “the only safe place for a woman in Kandahar to work”
— CNN reporter Paula Hancock states that some women wearing the burqa for “reasons of becoming unrecognizable”
— women’s rights campaigner Shahidah Hussain does not dare to leave home without wearing burqa due to threats against her life
— threats are not unusual for Kandahar women who work, but now they feel unsafe working in their own homes
Rana Tarin (also spelled Roona Tahrin), head of women's department who fears being killed, after replacing woman who was killed by Taliban (Photo: CNN Clip)women being taught to sow by Rana Tarin, then allowed to take sowing machine home - "the only safe place for a woman in Kandahar to work" (Photo: CNN clip)CNN reporter Paula Hancock states that some women wearing the burqa for "reasons of becoming unrecognizable" (Photo: CNN Clip)women's rights campaigner Shahidah Hussain threatened with death (Photo: CNN Clip)
On May 12, 2010, in Washington DC, arguably the most powerful man in the world, United States President Barack Obama, publiclysupported the efforts of Afghanistan President Karzai for reconciliation with those supporting the Taliban supremacist ideology.
The basis for such a planned surrender to defiance against supporters of the Taliban, which have been amongst the most notorious human rights violators in history, was based on two points:
1. The Taliban are not all really the Taliban. President Karzai and President Obama argue that many Taliban supporters do not support the Taliban ideology. President Karzai states that “there are thousands of the Taliban who are not ideologically oriented,” and President Obama states that “the Taliban is a loose term for a wide range of different networks, groups, fighters, with different motivations.” In fact, the word “Taliban” means “students,” and many of their original recruits came from madrassas supporting their ideology. The Encyclopedia of Islam & the Muslim World describes the Taliban ideology as an “innovative form of sharia combining Pashtun tribal codes.” To describe the Taliban as anything other than the “students” of this ideology, simply ignores the very meaning of the word “Taliban.” Moreover, it places very real and disingenuous blinders about the supremacist views that Taliban “students” have.
Afghanistan Taliban "Police" Beat Women in Public - in Kabul - in 2001 - We Must Never Let Afghanistan Return to This
2. Support for the Afghanistan Constitution indicates a support for Universal Human Rights. On May 12, 2010, U.S. President Obama stated that: “the United States supports the efforts of the Afghan government to open the door to Taliban who cut their ties to Al-Qaeda, abandon violence, and accept the Afghan constitution, including respect for human rights. I look forward to a continued dialogue with our partners on these efforts.” Since 2004, a key question that has not been clearly answered is whether referencing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as something to be “observed” constitutes support of unqualified, universal human rights in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. But recent history in Afghanistan continues to make this an ever-concerning question. Inviting the Taliban back into political and public roles in Afghanistan society will only further make this question more evident, no matter how inconvenient that question may be. (It is noteworthy that not a single press question on the subject of human rights was recorded at the May 12, 2010 joint Obama/Karzai news conference.)
Afghan Parliament Calling for Death Penalty for Apostates According to "the laws in place in Afghanistan" (Photo: Gulf Times)
Let’s also be clear as well – creating a nation-state whose name embodies only one religion should be the starting point to ask questions about its legitimate support for our unqualified universal human rights and religious pluralism. Certainly, it would be a question if the U.S. was not the United States of America, but was instead renamed the “Christian United States of America.” Such a decision would rightly be a cause for global criticism and condemnation. But when a nation is named the “Islamic Republic of Afghanistan,” asking questions about its commitment to pluralism is viewed as simply being narrow minded. For pluralism to work, pluralism must be consistent. We can’t expect pluralism in some cities, some states, and some nations, and not others. Just like we can’t have borders around our unqualified, universal human rights.
The Afghanistan Constitution has two clauses that are key to consider here:
— Afghanistan Constitution, Article 3: “In Afghanistan, no law can be contrary to the beliefs and provisions of the sacred religion of Islam.”
— Afghanistan Constitution, Article 7: “The state shall observe the United Nations Charter, inter-state agreements, as well as international treaties to which Afghanistan has joined, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”
Many Americans would be more comfortable reading Article 3 as merely a non-binding cultural statement that reflects a general more, sort of like “In God We Trust” on American coins. But that is not what Article 3 states. What Article 3 states is “no law can be contrary to… Islam.” How do you prove that and ensure equality? How do you prove that and ensure liberty? How do you prove that and ensure universal human rights? The English translation of the Afghan Constitution states that Article 7 calls for “observing” the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. But the word “observe” has multiple meanings in the English language, “observe” can be viewed as “conform with” or merely “to take note of.” Which is it?
For nearly the past 6 years, human rights groups have been asking this question. But no one wants to discuss this question. However, it is a fundamental question now that Presidents Obama and Karzai are using as a baseline to measure whether Taliban supporters can be reconciled and reintegrated within the Afghanistan government, military, and political system. How else do they plan to gauge whether Taliban supporters will now support “human rights,” as President Obama stated they must on May 12? They will simply ask him if he supports the Afghanistan constitution, and expect that no one will be impertinent enough to ask the obvious question “has support for the Afghanistan constitution demonstrated support for human rights?”
In 2004, Equality Now reported in a December 2004 report “Action 21.3 – Access to Justice for Afghan Women” on this subject. In the Equality Now posting, the author stated: Article 22 of this Constitution provides: ‘Any kind of discrimination and privilege between the citizens of Afghanistan are prohibited. The citizens of Afghanistan — whether man or woman — have equal rights and duties before the law’. Article 3 of the Afghan Constitution provides that ‘no law can be contrary to the beliefs and provisions of the sacred religion of Islam.’ It is critical that the Supreme Court ensures that its judgments harmonize these provisions of the Constitution rather than impose singular interpretations of the Koran that are harmful to women and do not respect the constitutional right to equality between men and women.”
In 2006, Equality Now reported in Action 21.4, that “Following her visit to Afghanistan in 2005, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women noted that one of the principal causes of pervasive gender-based discrimination and violence against women in Afghanistan is the lack of enforcement of the rule of law. The Special Rapporteur particularly noted that the ‘diverse and contradictory interpretations’ of Sharia Law tended to ‘undermine the establishment of any universal code of conduct’ and worked to legitimize the violation of women’s rights in Afghanistan.”
In 2007, Equality Now reported in Action 2.15 that “Afghanistan ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in March 2003 and adopted a new Constitution in January 2004, which provides for equal rights for women and men before the law. However, women continue to be violently targeted in Afghanistan and denied equal rights and equal protection of the law. The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) published research in 2006 documenting systematic abuse of women’s rights in Afghanistan, including violence against women instigated by state actors such as the army and police, including forced prostitution, forced marriage, rape, kidnapping and sexual assaults. In June 2007 two women journalists were murdered with many others receiving death threats. On 25 September 2006 Safia Ama Jan, the southern provincial head of Afghanistan’s Ministry of Women’s Affairs, was murdered outside the front gate of her Kandahar home. In recent months a large number of schools for girls have been forced to close after being attacked. ”
In 2008, Equality Now reported in Action 2.16 that “Afghanistan ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in March 2003 and adopted a new Constitution in January 2004, which provides for equal rights for women and men before the law and protects freedom of speech. However, women continue to be violently targeted in Afghanistan and denied equal rights and equal protection of the law and Malalai Joya remains suspended from parliament.”
In July 2009, the United Nations reported that “Afghan women have limited freedom to escape the norms and traditions that dictate a subservient status for females….Violence, in its acute form, makes it presence felt in widespread lawlessness and criminality. Findings reveal that Afghan women are subjected to an increasingly insecure environment. Women participating in public life face threats, harassment and attacks. In extreme cases, women have been killed for holding jobs that are seen to disrespect traditional practices or are considered ‘un-Islamic.'”
Afghanistan: Girls recovering from poison gas attack (Photo: Reuters/Mohammad Ishaq)
What Are We to Believe, President Obama and President Karzai?
Are we supposed to believe that all of this is because all of these Afghanistan citizens, courts, state actors — ALL reject the Afghanistan constitution?
Or should we instead recognize that they understand the Afghanistan constitution better than Americans do, and the only relevant clause is “In Afghanistan, no law can be contrary to the beliefs and provisions of the sacred religion of Islam,” based on whatever interpretation that individual, the court, that state actor, and even that terrorist, may have of how they view and interpret “Islam?”
With this proven history of inconsistency within the very Afghanistan government and state institutions, and throughout its citizenry on the issue of what “human rights” even mean, let alone what universal human rights women and all human beings deserve, how can we expect “reconciled” Taliban to now “respect human rights” in a way that could possibly mean anything?
Afghanistan President Karzai and U.S. President Obama Meet at White House (Photo: AP/Evan Vucci)
This is an inconvenient question for an America tired of war, and tired of Afghanistan’s problems. It is an inconvenient question for an America with financial and plenty of other problems of its own. Even the press is tired of it, as seen by their total unwillingness to ask a single question at the May 12, 2010 press conference on human rights or women’s rights, even when yet more girls’ schools were poison gassed the day before in Afghanistan. They really would rather not discuss this inconvenient question about human rights. It is a distraction from the tactical and detailed topics that are less troubling to discuss. With growing threats from Pakistan and Iran, some even view that Afghanistan is simply something Americans can no longer afford to pay attention to.
But we have another choice – the ability not to be driven only to a path of ultimate failure, but to address conflicts honestly and show the courage of our convictions and our support to human rights to the world.
Instead of fleeing from Afghanistan as a hopeless disaster, we could also choose to honor the sacrifices of the lives of American men and women by challenging Afghanistan to become an example instead.
America: Learning from Our Own History of Supremacism
For American readers, imagine in 1961, if President John F. Kennedy decided not to challenge the ideology of the white supremacist Ku Klux Klan (KKK). Imagine if he chose instead to convince us that really that the KKK was just a “loose term” for a lot of people who are uneducated, come from broken homes, and have had career and financial challenges, and instead believed that “there are thousands of the KKK who are not ideologically oriented.”
Moreover, imagine if President John F. Kennedy then decided to encourage members of the Ku Klux Klan to leave that terrorist organization by offering them the incentives of government jobs, even positions in the U.S. military and police forces, if they accepted a U.S. Constitution that calls for equal rights.
Where would America have ended up if we never faced the ideology of white supremacy and defied it as a nation?
Will America Learn from its own lessons in Defying Supremacism?
America’s documented commitment to equal rights were part of its founding identity from its very Declaration of Independence. Yet despite this, slavery existed. Despite the declaration that “all men are created equal,” a form of racial apartheid existed throughout many parts of America even into the 20th century. In 1961, the United States had been a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights for 13 years – and still racial supremacism and apartheid style laws of racial segregation existed in many parts of America. The Declaration of Independence was not enough and our Constitution was not enough. We had to amend our very Constitution to guarantee the racial equality that was inherently promised in our national identity since July 4, 1776. America has made more than its share of mistakes. We have done things the hard way, the wrong way, many, many times before. Haven’t we learned from our lessons and national struggles in defying supremacism?
If we KNOW this, and we have seen, with our eyes and our own history, what it takes to defy supremacist ideologies, why do we believe that Afghanistan will somehow be different? Why do we believe that agreeing with the Afghanistan government’s plan to “reconcile” with Taliban supporters who will claim to support the Afghanistan constitution and “human rights” has one iota of credibility, without challenging the Taliban’s supremacist ideology?
We know better. Too many are too tired, too distracted, and too discouraged to acknowledge what we know. But we have also learned another lesson in history that problems delayed are not problems denied. Such problems continue to plague us over and over again, and the mistakes that we make in Afghanistan will also set expectations for making similar mistakes in other parts of the world.
Another Choice for Afghanistan
What if instead of surrender and abandoning the sacrifices of so many in Afghanistan, we chose to make a stand for freedom and human rights? What if we challenged Afghanistan to accept the Universal Declaration of Human Rights not just as an “observation” in their constitution, but as fundamental to their law and acceptance of pluralism in a new nation of Afghanistan – not just for Muslims but for all Afghan citizens? What if denied accepting any reconciliation of the Taliban until a new plan of national re-education was conducted explaining that Afghan citizens would accept pluralism, women’s rights, and human rights as part of their identity of as a new nation of Afghanistan?
What if all our efforts were not towards just an “Islamic Republic of Afghanistan,” but instead to a “Free Republic of Afghanistan?”
The managers of our resources and our tactics will argue that such choices are impossible, unacceptable. They will argue that the die is cast for Afghanistan and that choosing another path is impossible.
But as we have seen wherever we have not challenged such supremacist ideologies, we continue to see a drip, drip, drip affect of hate, abuse of women and religious minorities, and international terrorism continue to grow.
We have given billions of dollars to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, but very little of our own lessons on challenging supremacism and our own commitment to universal human rights. The price that we continue to pay is a growing terrorist threat to the American homeland, to Pakistan, and the world from the very same Taliban ideology that in Afghanistan, U.S. President Obama says on May 12, 2010, he is willing to open the door to “reconcile” with. This is the very same Taliban ideology that reportedly shaped a recent terrorist who plotted to attack America in New York City’s Times Square.
Seeking a different direction for Afghanistan would be very painful, costly, and difficult.
But in the long run, won’t the alternative be even worse?
If we legitimize those who support the ideology of the Taliban to “reconcile” with the Afghanistan government, what have we learned?
Let us choose instead to be Responsible for Equality And Liberty.
On May 12, 2010, Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.)’s Jeffrey Imm protested the calls for “reintegration” and “reconcilation” of the Afghanistan Taliban at the White House meeting of President Obama and Afghanistan Karzai. R.E.A.L. had women and men supporters, and people of diverse religious faiths join us there and during our picket of the White House.
R.E.A.L.’s Jeffrey Imm pointed to the history of human rights abuses and attacks on women’s rights by the Taliban, and urged President Obama and President Karzai to make human rights a priority as any part of peace in Afghanistan. R.E.A.L supporters also picketed the White House sidewalk, spoke to the public, and helped to educate the public on the plight of the Afghanistan women.
As President Karzai’s motorcade pulled away from the White House, R.E.A.L.’s Jeffrey Imm held up a sign for them to see “Human Rights Fight Terrorism,” chanting “No to the Taliban, Yes for Human Rights.”
Afghanistan President Karzai and U.S. President Obama Meet at White House (Photo: AP/Evan Vucci)
Today, at the White House, supporters of R.E.A.L. will be asking U.S. President Obama and Afghanistan President Karzai to reconsider the planned discussions on “reintegration” and “reconciliation” of Taliban supremacists in Afghanistan, including suggestions to allow them to return to the police and armed forces.
The reason that the United States of America is in Afghanistan today is because of the September 11 attacks on America by Al-Qaeda terrorists, with the Afghanistan Taliban providing a safe haven for such terrorist training and plots to kill thousands of Americans. The statutory reason that the United States is in Afghanistan is based on the September 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force, which gives vague terms around what the American military can do in response to those associated with the 9/11 attacks.
But if we have learned anything from the 9/11 attacks, it is that there are those in the world who deliberately and consciously seek to reject our unqualified, universal human rights. There are those who reject our freedom of conscience, freedom of speech, freedom of press, and our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. There are those who reject a pluralist society that respects our differences, but ensures our unity in an omniculture of universal human rights.
Any foreign or domestic policies that ignore human rights and that ignore women’s rights (half of humanity) are bad decisions, and directions that we will not support.
We have seen a steady stream of HATE against women in Afghanistan, some of it by the Taliban, and some of it by the Afghanistan government. Such hate begins with a conscious and deliberate rejection of our unqualified, universal human rights. Such hate and rejection of human rights is the same root cause of terrorist tactics whether they are domestic or international. This is what American and Afghanistan government policy must first address.
But the rejection of human rights for women and others goes beyond the Taliban. The Taliban are a reflection of such hate also found in the Afghanistan government and society.
In Afghanistan, Americans must ask where is the policy for human rights? Where is the policy to address the root causes of terrorism?
What are we fighting for?
Human rights and women’s rights are not an afterthought, not a marginal issue for human peace, and certainly not inconsequential in addressing the ideological basis for terrorism tactics.
We will have no security without human rights. We will have no security without women’s rights.
We will have no conscience if we abandon the Afghanistan women to hate, misogyny, violence, and yes – the TERRORISM – of the Taliban and those who view women as less than human beings.
When we abandon the victims of terrorism, we enable terrorists ourselves.
Choose Love, Not Hate. Love Wins.
Afghanistan: Girls recovering from poison gas attack (Photo: Reuters/Mohammad Ishaq)
