Jump to content

Malalai Joya

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by DerHexer (talk | contribs) at 21:56, 17 April 2007 (Reverted 1 edit by 172.189.117.10 identified as vandalism to last revision by Vishwin60.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Today "Malalai Joya is one of the most popular Members of Parliament in Afghanistan and has many times taken a stand against the ex-Mujahideen fighters who dominate the country's new assembly." BBC, Jan 27, 2006

Malalai Joya (born April 25, 1979) is currently the youngest member of the Afghan Parliament. Joya is a controversial figure, reviled by many Afghan fundamentalists yet also viewed by others as a freedom fighter and heroine in post-invasion Afghanistan.

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 then Pakistan. She finished her education in Pakistan and began teaching literacy courses to other women at age 19. After the Soviets left, 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. She has long been one of the active member of RAWA that gets support from the Iranian Communists. Her Rating has dropped in 2007 and she is the most hated worman in Afghanistan.

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

Emergence as a Heroine

Malalai Joya rose to fame in December 2003 when, as an elected delegate to the Constitutional Loya Jirga, she spoke out publicly against the domination of warlords and 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.

Today, as a result of her legendary actions, Malalai Joya has become a popular hero in Afghanistan. She speaks at rallies where thousands of people carry her photo high.

She incites debates on radio talk shows, works with President Hamid Karzai, and has stirred unprecedented numbers of women in her province to participate in public gatherings such as International Women's Day.

Joya becomes MP

Joya's reputation is increasingly crossing the borders of her home province where she was already respected as a courageous leader who spoke out under the Taliban and worked to establish orphanages and health clinics since 1998.

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

Although Joya receives numerous death threats and her home has been bombed, she chooses to remain primarily in Afghanistan. She tirelessly presses her case against the former rulers of her nation, and she's making inroads. 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." She has survived numerous assassination attempts and continues to speak out against the abuses of warlords and drug lords in the Parliament and cabinet. In an interview with BBC News (January 27, 2006) she says:

"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]

The Washington Post on March 17, 2006 in an article about Joya wrote: "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 told "No nation can donate liberation to another nation." [6]

On September 13 she addressed a gathering in McGill University in Montreal, where she expressed her views: "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]

Joya also spoke on September 13, 2006 to a packed 450-seat lecture hall at the University of Ottawa. Prof. Denis Rancourt of Ottawa University wrote about her speech: "Her talk was a sharp blade cutting thru the thick web of US-Canada war propaganda."[8] [9]

Malalai was in Sydney as a guest of UNIFEM, speaking for International Women's Day on March 8, 2007. The youngest woman in the Afghan parliament has used International Women's Day to slam the "disastrous conditions" for women in her country and ask Australians to help bring change. [10]

Physical attack on Joya in the parliament house

On May 8, 2006, world media reported news from within the parliament when she was attacked. AP wrote: "Malalai Joya was physically and verbally attacked by her colleagues in Afghanistan's parliament yesterday after she said that some of her fellow lawmakers were warlords and shouldn't be allowed to sit in parliament. "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." Several members of parliament threatened Joya with death and hurled empty plastic water bottles at her as the room erupted into a melee. Joya was unhurt as moderate members of parliament surrounded her for protection."

The incident had very wide coverage in the media:The Chicago Tribune, The Seattle Times, Ms. Magazine, Times Online, Feminist Majority Foundation, Zee News, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, CBS News, The Guardian, ABC News, Los Angeles Times, Gulf Times, Middle East Times and many more sources.

In one of her speeches in the USA she says:

"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."

Joya's Achievements

  • In January 2004, The Cultural Union of Afghans in Europe, awarded her the "Malalai of Maiwand" award for her brave speech in the Loya Jirga. [11]
  • In December 2004, the Valle d'Aosta province of Italy awarded her the International Women of the Year 2004 Award. [12]
  • And on 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". [13]
  • On March 2006 she got the "Gwangju Award for Human Rights 2006" from May 18th Foundation in South Korea. [14]
  • In Aug.2006, the Womens Peacepower Foundation awarded Joya "Women of Peace award 2006".
  • She was also among the "1000 Women for the Nobel Peace Prize 2005" [15]
  • The World Economic Forum selects Joya among 250 Young Global Leaders for 2007.

[16]

Joya's 2-minute historical 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.

Malalai Joya in the World Media

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Malalai_Joya&oldid=123645629"