At the encouragement of Afghan interim Prime Minister Hamid Karzai, Afghan women have returned to work in the ministries of the Afghan interim government Ð without wearing their burqas. Although not obligated to shed the head-to-toe shroud, no woman working in any of the government ministries has elected to put on the restrictive garment, required […]
Starvation Continues in Remote Areas of Afghanistan
While widespread famine may have been averted because of an outpouring of humanitarian food shipments into Afghanistan during the past four months, starvation still appears likely for some Afghans. According to the Associated Press, in the remote villages in the mountain region of Abdullah Gan, people continue to live with inadequate resources and have resorted […]
Humanitarian Relief Prevents Famine in Afghanistan
According to Catherine Bertini, Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), “There will be no famine in Afghanistan this winter.” This conclusion comes after an infusion of humanitarian food supplies into the country over the past four months. The WFP alone has supplied Afghanistan with 165,000 tons of wheat since September. Most […]
Deputy Prime Minister of Afghanistan Urges More Aid, Women’s Rights
Dr. Sima Samar, the recently appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Women’s Affairs for the transitional government of Afghanistan, met today with the U.S. State Department to discuss her role in the interim government that will take office December 22. Samar called on the United States to increase humanitarian aid to Afghanistan to rebuild […]
FMLA’s Mobilize Support For Women in Afghanistan
The Leadership Alliance at the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA hosted a major speaking event entitled, “Ending Gender Apartheid in Afghanistan,” with special guest speakers Mavis Leno, head of the Feminist Majority’s Campaign to Help Afghan Women, and Kathy Spillar, Executive Vice President of the Feminist Majority Foundation. This event was co-sponsored by USC’s Unruh Institute […]
Senators Urge Inclusion of Afghan Women in Rebuilding of Afghanistan
Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Sam Brownback (D-KS) held a press conference at the Capitol yesterday to urge the Bush Administration and the United Nations to ensure that the women of Afghanistan play a central role in the rebuilding of Afghanistan. Senators Boxer and Brownback, both members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, were joined […]
Afghan Women: Solution for Afghanistan’s Future
By Eleanor Smeal Feminists have succeeded in drawing the world’s attention to the fact that women have been the first victims of the Taliban. We now must make it clear to the world that Afghan women are an essential part of the solution for a peaceful, democratic Afghanistan. The defeat of the Taliban means the […]
Where Are the Women: Female Experts on Afghanistan Missing from TV Media
The Washington Post reports that out of the 98 television programs to publish their guest lists in the Post this month, only 12 were to feature women as experts on the post-September 11 crises. The lack of women given airtime, however, does not correspond to women’s expertise on the issues. Television media may not be […]
Anti-Abortion Priest Convicted; Tries to Escape to Afghanistan
Reverend Norman U. Weslin, found guilty of violating a court-ordered buffer zone in front of a Buffalo, NY abortion clinic, was sentenced last week to five months in jail. At the sentencing, however, Weslin informed the court that he had contacted the Pentagon about serving as a military chaplain in Afghanistan and that the Pentagon […]
Powell Considers Post-Taliban Afghanistan
Secretary of State Colin Powell met with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to discuss, among other issues, the future of Afghanistan if the Taliban is ousted as a result of the U.S.-led war on terrorism. While Powell openly condemned the Taliban, according to the Washington Post, he also suggested that aspects of the Taliban may be […]
Fate of Post-Taliban Afghanistan Uncertain
After negotiations with U.S. and other global officials, the Northern Alliance has postponed its plans to stage a takeover of the Afghan capital, Kabul. Pakistan and the United Nations have been urging that the U.S. not support a military offensive by the Northern Alliance to gain Kabul, fearing that the Alliance will assume control of […]
Many Vie for Control over Post-Taliban Afghanistan; Women’s Lives Hang in the Balance
Already in the media, debate has begun about what and who would constitute a post-Taliban Afghan government. Some favor allowing Afghanistan’s former king, Mohammed Zahir Shah, negotiate a new representative government by calling a loya jirga, a grand assembly that could possibly determine Afghanistan’s new leadership if the Taliban is ousted. The Taliban has held […]
FMLA Activists Participate in Back-to-School Campaign for Women in Afghanistan
Before the Taliban militia came to power in 1996, women and girls made up 50% of the university student population and 70% of all school teachers. Soon after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, however, they banned women and girls from attending school. Today, Afghan women students and teachers risk their lives daily to run […]
Refugees Flee Afghanistan: World Doors Being Closed
With more and more refugees fleeing Afghanistan, it’s becoming impossible for refugees to find countries willing to grant them admission. Most recently, Australia has refused entry to a Norwegian ship carrying hundreds of refugees, most of them from Afghanistan. Over 400 refugees were rescued on Monday from a sinking Indonesian ship. According to the United […]
Woman Journalist Documents Holocaust-like Events in Afghanistan
Last night on “CNN Presents,” British journalist Saira Shah risked her life entering Taliban-controlled Afghanistan to document on film the horrific treatment of women and girls, unimaginable destitution, and the mass murder of ethnic minorities. Shah is one of few journalists to go to the front-lines of Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. The piece confirmed that the Taliban’s […]
UN Threatens to Stop Bread Aid to Afghanistan
The United Nations World Food Program gave the Taliban until June 15 to agree to allow Afghan women to help implement a survey that ensures the UN’s food aid is getting to the neediest people in the capital city of Kabul. The Taliban has refused on the grounds that allowing Afghan women to work violates […]
Taliban to Force Religious Minorities in Afghanistan to Wear Yellow
The terrorist Taliban regime has requested a religious edict or “fatwa” to force non-Muslim religious minorities in Afghanistan to wear yellow garb so they may be singled out by all. “This latest edict is reminiscent of the Third Reich that required Jews to wear a yellow star of David on their clothing, and we all […]
US Provides $43 Million in Humanitarian Aid to Afghanistan
Secretary of State Colin L. Powell yesterday announced $43 million in humanitarian aid to people in Afghanistan. The move comes after the barbaric rule of the Taliban military regime combined with severe drought and extreme temperatures caused hundreds of thousands of Afghan citizens to flee their homes. As many as 800,000 Afghans are thought to […]
13 Senators Urge Powell to Send Emergency Funds to Afghanistan
Led by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), 13 U.S. senators joined in a letter to Secretary of State Colin Powell urging the U.S. to immediately send $30 million in emergency relief funds to aid the hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees, primarily women and children, who have fled their homes to escape the brutal rule of […]
Special Issue of Elle Magazine Focuses on Women in Afghanistan
The most recent issue of the French women’s magazine Elle is completely devoted to covering the women of Afghanistan, the abuses they suffer under the ruling Taliban regime, and the dehumanization they endure. The cover of the fashion magazine shows an Afghan woman, completely covered in the traditional burqa, with a thick piece of mesh […]
