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Malalai Joya

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Malalai Joya (Pashto:ملالی جویا) (born April 25, 1979) is a controversial Afghan politician. A member of the Afghan Parliament, she has been both celebrated by many as an advocate for women's rights and publicly denounced by some fellow politicians for her criticism of those she considers "warlords" and "drug-lords" in the current Afghanistan government.

Early and personal life

The daughter of a former medical student who lost a foot while fighting the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Malalai Joya was 4 years old when her family fled Afghanistan in 1982 to the refugee camps of Iran and later Pakistan. She finished her education in Pakistan and began teaching literacy courses to other women at the age of 19. After the Soviet withdrawal, Malalai Joya returned to Afghanistan in 1998 during the Taliban's reign. During that time she established an orphanage and health clinic, and was soon a vocal opponent of the Taliban.

Malalai Joya is also director of the non-governmental group, "Organisation of Promoting Afghan Women's Capabilities" (OPAWC) [1] in the Western Afghanistan provinces of Herat and Farah. She is married.

Controversial stance in the Loya Jirga

Malalai Joya gained international attention in December 2003 when, as an elected delegate to the Loya Jirga convened to ratify the Afghan Constitution, she spoke out publicly against what she termed the domination of warlords. In response, Sibghatullah Mujadidi, chief of the Loya Jirga called her "infidel" and "communist". Since then she has survived four assassination attempts, and travels in Afghanistan under a burqa and with armed guards. [2]

World Pulse Magazine (Issue 1, 2005) wrote:

... When her time came to make her 3-minute statement, she tugged her black headscarf over her hair, stepped up to the microphone, and with emotional electricity made the speech that would alter her life.

After she spoke, there was a moment of stunned silence. Then there was an uproar. Male mujahideen, some who literally had guns at their feet, rushed towards her, shouting. She was brought under the protection of UN security forces.

In a nation where few dare to say the word "warlord" aloud, Joya had spoken fiercely against a proposal to appoint high clergy members and fundamentalist leaders to guide planning groups. She objected that several of those religious leaders were war criminals who should be tried for their actions—not national heroes to influence the new government.

Despite the commands of Assembly Chairman, Joya refused to apologize.

Joya's controversial stance against other members of the Loya Jirga have earned her much popularity as well as heavy criticism from her political opponents.

Political appointments and speaking engagements

Joya was elected to the 249-seat National Assembly, or Wolesi Jirga in September 2005, as a representative of Farah Province, winning the second highest number of votes in the province. [3]

Although Joya receives numerous death threats and her home has been bombed, she has chosen to continue her stance against the inclusion of former mujahideen in the current Afghan government. in 2004, she and a delegation of 50 tribal elders persuaded President Karzai to dismiss a provincial governor who was a former Taliban commander.

The BBC has called Joya "the most famous woman in Afghanistan." In a January 27, 2007 interview with BBC News Joya commented on her personal political mission amid continuous death threats, saying:

"They will kill me but they will not kill my voice, because it will be the voice of all Afghan women. You can cut the flower, but you cannot stop the coming of spring." [4]

In 2006, The Washington Post said of Joya: "Her truth is that warlords should not be permitted to hide behind "the mask of democracy to hold on to their chairs" and their pernicious pursuits at the expense of poor, "barefoot" Afghans who remain voiceless and disillusioned. The warlords are corrupt "war criminals" who should be tried, and incorrigible "drug dealers" who brought the country to its knees, she said." [5]

Malalai Joya appeared at the Federal Convention of Canada's New Democratic Party (NDP) in Quebec City on September 10, 2006, supporting party leader Jack Layton and the NDP's criticism of the NATO-led mission in southern Afghanistan. She said, "No nation can donate liberation to another nation." [6]

On September 13 she addressed gatherings at McGill University in Montreal and at the University of Ottawa, where she expressed her disappointment with American involvement in Afghanistan, stating that, "Countries like the US have their own strategic policies in Afghanistan ... As long as they support the Northern Alliance with the mask of democracy, there will never be improvements in Afghanistan." [7] [8] [9]

Malalai was in Sydney, Australia, on March 8, 2007, as a guest of UNIFEM, speaking about women's rights in Afghanistan in honor of International Women's Day.[10]

Parliament statements, attack, and ouster

On May 7, 2006, Malalai Joya was physically and verbally attacked by fellow members of parliament after accusing several colleagues of being "warlords" and unfit for service in the new Afghan government. "I said there are two kinds of mujahedeen in Afghanistan," Joya told the Associated Press. "One kind fought for independence, which I respect, but the other kind destroyed the country and killed 60,000 people." In response, angered lawmakers shouted death threats and threw empty plastic water bottles at Joya, who was shielded by sympathetic colleagues.[11], [12],[13], [14], [15],[16],

In response to such threats, Joya continues to speak out against those she believes to be former mujahedeen in Afghanistan, stating:

"Never again will I whisper in the shadows of intimidation. I am but a symbol of my people's struggle and a servant to their cause. And if I were to be killed for what I believe in, then let my blood be the beacon for emancipation and my words a revolutionary paradigm for generations to come."

[17]

On May 21, 2007, fellow members of the Wolesi Jirga voted to suspend Malalai Joya for three years from the legislature, citing that she had broken Article 70 of the Parliament, which had banned Wolesi Jirga members from openly criticizing each other. Joya had compared the Wolesi Jirga to a "stable or zoo" on a recent TV interview, and later called other members of parliament "criminals" and "drug smugglers." [18]

Joya said the vote was a "political conspiracy" and that she had been told Article 70 was written specifically for her saying "since I've started my struggle for human rights in Afghanistan, for women's rights, these criminals, these drug smugglers, they've stood against me from the first time I raised my voice at the Loya Jirga,"[19]

In a statement, Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch wrote: "Malalai Joya is a staunch defender of human rights and a powerful voice for Afghan women, and she shouldn't have been suspended from parliament." [20]

People in Farah, Jalalabad, Takhar, Kabul and some other provinces of Afghanistan staged protests against suspension of Joya. [21][22][23][24]

On June 21, 2007, one month after Joya was suspended, an international day of action was observed by Joya supporters in Rome, New York, Barcelona, Milan, Alberta, Bologna, Viareggio, Vancouver, Melbourne and some other cities by staging protests to Afghan government to reinstate Joya to the parliament. [25] [26] [27]

Joya's Achievements

  • January 2004, The Cultural Union of Afghans in Europe, awarded her the "Malalai of Maiwand" award for her brave speech in the Loya Jirga. [28]
  • December 2004, the Valle d'Aosta province of Italy awarded her the International Women of the Year 2004 Award. [29]
  • March 15, 2006, Mr. Tom Bates, Mayor of Berkeley presented a certificate of honor to her for "her continued work on behalf of human rights". [30]
  • March 2006, she got the "Gwangju Award for Human Rights 2006" from May 18th Foundation in South Korea. [31]
  • Aug.2006, the Women's Peacepower Foundation awarded Joya "Women of Peace award 2006".
  • She was named among the "1000 Women for the Nobel Peace Prize 2005" [32]
  • The World Economic Forum selects Joya among 250 Young Global Leaders for 2007.

[33]

  • 2007 Golden Fleur-de-Lis (Giglio d'Oro) award given by Town Council of Region Toscana of Italy (July 23, 2007). [34] [35] (video)
  • September 11, 2007, European Parliament named Joya among five nominees for Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 2007. [36]
  • October 6, 2007, Commune of Palazzo in Viareggio city of Italy awarded her Mare Nostrum Award.
  • October 9, 2007, Commune of the Provincia di Arezzo, Comune di Bucine and Comune di Supino in Italy present Honorary Citizenships to her. [37]

Joya's historic 2-minute speech

Her speech in the Loya Jirga Meeting, Kabul, Afghanistan (December 17, 2003):

My name is Malalai Joya from Farah Province. By the permission of the esteemed attendees, and by the name of God and the colored-shroud martyrs of the path of freedom, I would like to speak for a couple of minutes.

My criticism on all my compatriots is that why are they allowing the legitimacy and legality of this Loya Jerga come under question with the presence of those felons who brought our country to this state.

I feel pity and I feel very sorry that those who call Loya Jerga an infidel basis equivalent to blasphemy after coming here their words are accepted, or please see the committees and what people are whispering about. The chairman of every committee is already selected. Why do you not take all these criminals to one committee so that we see what they want for this nation. These were those who turned our country into the nucleus of national and international wars. They were the most anti-women people in the society who wanted to [makes pause] who brought our country to this state and they intend to do the same again. I believe that it is a mistake to test those already being tested. They should be taken to national and international court. If they are forgiven by our people, the bare-footed Afghan people, our history will never forgive them. They are all recorded in the history of our country.

Controversy and Criticism

Joya has more recently drawn harsh criticism from female parliamentary members who contend that her remarks pertaining to the Mujahideen, who battled the Soviets, are unwarranted and disingenuous.[1] Detractors maintain that Joya has frequently taken lavish trips to the West solely to promote herself while neglecting to foster reconstruction to her underdeveloped and impoverished district[2] of Farah.

Films

References

  1. ^ http://youtube.com/watch?v=5zn9fG4LQdE
  2. ^ http://www.thirteen.org/pressroom/pdf/wideangle/WAAWomanAmongWarlordsRelease.pdf
  3. ^ http://www.thirteen.org/pressroom/pdf/wideangle/WAAWomanAmongWarlordsRelease.pdf

Video

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