From: "William Price" <Lorbarp-AT-btinternet.com>
Subject: Re: Women in Afghanistan
Date: Sun, 30 Sep 2001 17:21:50 +0100



----- Original Message -----
From: "Nancy C. Harvel" <ncharvel-AT-mail.csuchico.edu>
To: <postcolonial-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu>
Sent: Saturday, September 29, 2001 2:06 AM
Subject: Women in Afghanistan


> I believe I may have seen this petition, or one like it, on this listserve
> once before. I apologize for the repeat post. but it's worth taking a
look.
>
> *****
>
> Recently, the editor of Chatelaine (Sally Armstrong, ex Homemaker's
Editor)
> was interviewed on CBC radio. She had just returned from a trip to
> Afghanistan to see the present state of affairs for herself, having been
> told the situation had "improved". She stated that the situation has
> deteriorated even further, as is detailed in the following message. She
> noted that there has been a worldwide outcry against the Taliban's recent
> destruction of ancient Buddhist statues, far more vocal than any outcry
> against the Taliban's destruction of Afghan women! With the speed and
scope
> of Email, we can, if we persist, provide not 9,000, but 9,000,000
signatures
> to the governments of the free world. Let's do it!
>
> If you decide not to forward this, please send it back to me. This is an
> actual petition, and "signatures" will be lost if  you drop the line.
Please
> take a few minutes out of your life to do your part for our sisters in
> Afghanistan. Be sure to include other members of your household who are
> willing to sign. Oprah recently had a show about this atrocity and it was
> heartbreaking.
>
> Petition to the United Nations Background Information: Madhu, the
government
> of Afghanistan, is waging a war upon women. Since the Taliban took power
in
> 1996, women have had to wear burqua and have been beaten and stoned in
> public for not having the proper attire, even if this means simply not
> having the mesh covering in front of their eyes. One woman was beaten to
> death by an angry mob of fundamentalists for accidentally exposing her arm
> (!) while she was driving. Another was stoned to death for trying to leave
> the country with a man that was not her relative.
>
> Women are not allowed to work or even go out in public without a male
> relative; professional women such as professors, translators, doctors,
> lawyers, artists and writers have been forced from their jobs and
restricted
> to their homes.  Homes where a woman is present must have their windows
> painted so that she can never be seen by outsiders. They must wear silent
> shoes so that they are never heard. Women live in fear of their lives for
> the slightest misbehavior. Because they cannot work, those without male
> relatives or husbands are either starving to death or begging in the
street,
> even if they hold  Ph.D.s.
>
> Depression is becoming so widespread that it has reached emergency levels.
> There is no way in such an extreme Islamic society to know the suicide
rate
> with certainty, but relief workers are estimating that the suicide rate
> among women must be extraordinarily high: those who cannot find proper
> medication and treatment for severe depression and would rather take
their
> lives than live in such conditions. At one of the rare hospitals for
women,
> reporter found still, nearly lifeless bodies lying motionless on top of
> beds, wrapped in their burqua, unwilling to speak, eat, or do anything,
but
> slowly waste away. Others have gone mad and were seen crouched in corners,
> perpetually rocking or crying, most of them in fear.
>
> It is at the point where the term "human rights violations" has become an
> understatement. Husbands have the power of life and death over their women
> relatives, especially their wives, but an angry mob has just as much right
> to stone or beat a woman, often to death, for exposing an inch of flesh or
> offending them in the slightest way. Women enjoyed relative freedom: to
> work, to dress generally as they wanted, and to drive and appear in public
> alone until only 1996. The rapidity of this transition is the main reason
> for the depression and suicide. Women who were once educators or doctors
or
> simply used to basic human freedoms are now severely restricted and
treated
> as subhuman in the name of right-wing fundamentalist Islam. It is not
their
> tradition or 'culture', but it is alien to them, and it is extreme even
for
> those cultures where fundamentalism is the rule. Everyone has a right to a
> tolerable human existence, even if they are women in a Muslim country.
>
> If we can threaten military force in Kosovo the name of human rights for
the
> sake of ethnic Albanians, citizens of the world can certainly express
> peaceful outrage at the oppression, murder and injustice committed against
> women by the Taliban.
>
> STATEMENT: In signing this, we agree that the current treatment of women
in
> Afghanistan is completely UNACCEPTABLE and deserves action by the United
> Nations and that the current situation overseas will not be tolerated.
> Women's Rights is not a small issue anywhere, and it is UNACCEPTABLE for
> women in 2001 to be treated as subhuman and as so much property. Equality
> and human decency is a fundamental RIGHT, not a freedom to be granted,
> whether one lives in Afghanistan or elsewhere.
>
> 1) Giuliana D. Black, Daly City, CA, USA
> 2) Mariam Nayiny, Palo Alto, CA, USA
> 3) Sunaina Gulati-Ruh, Palo Alto, CA USA
> 4) Megan McCaslin, Palo Alto, CA USA
> 5) Blake Hallanan, San Francisco, Ca. USA
> 6) Kit Henderson, Sacramento, CA USA
> 7) Kara Myers, San Francisco, CA
> 8) Ellen Tilden, San Francisco, CA
> 9) Vanessa Ross, San Francisco, CA
> 10) Jenna Shaw- Battista, San Francisco, CA
> 11) Jeanne Racik, B!erkeley, CA
> 12) Julie Silas, Oakland, CA
> 13) Renee Longstreet, Tarzana, CA
> 14) Susan Johnson, Encino, CA
> 15) Kenneth Johnson, Encino, CA
> 16) Terri Treas, Los Angeles, CA
> 17) Amy Retzinger, North Hollywood, CA
> 18) Babette Crooms, Los Angeles, CA
> 19) Olivia Kienzel; Santa Barbara, CA
> 20) Sean Dexheimer, Los Angeles, CA
> 21) Elio Chavez, Jr., Pasadena, CA
> 22) Gregory Kastigar, Los Angeles, CA
> 23) Robert Collie, Los Angeles, CA
> 24) Jeff Garvin, Brea, CA
> 25) Tricia Allen, Shermn Oaks, CA
> 26) Joleen Nordstrom ~ Hollywood, CA
> 27) Theresa Donahoe - Martinez,CA
> 28) Jennifer Horn - Concord, CA
> 29) Roxanne Ryan - Alamo, CA
> 30) Miriam Tyler- San Jose CA
> 31) John Burns- San Jose CA
> 32) Kristin Lynn Minick- Fort Worth TX
> 33) Jeff Neal- Marietta, GA
> 34) Anna Neal- Marietta, GA
> 35) Frances Murley-Fort Worth, TX
> 36) David Murley-London, England, UK
> 37) Jillian Dykhouse, Colleyville, TX
> 38) Bonnie Dykhouse,Colleyville,TX
> 39) Nancy Williams, Colleyville, TX
> 40) Georgene Farr, Sterling Heights, MI
> 41) Joanne Arensberg, Riverview, MI
> 42) Luann Ouellette, Vermillion, SD
> 43) Sandie Sullivan, Vermillion, SD
> 44) Troy Nelson, Minneapolis, MN USA
> 45) Joseph Miller, Minneapolis, MN USA
> 46) Kathleen Miller, White Bear Lake, MN USA
> 47) Jerry Marquis, Mpls. Mn. USA
> 48) Julie Stokes, Coon Rapids, MN USA
> 49) Tracy Ford, Blaine, MN USA
> 50) Sheila Lawrence, Monticello, MN USA
> 51) Brenda Kitchen, Westlake Village, pr their women relatives, esp
> Calif!ornia,USA
> 52) Teresa Burke, Sherman Oaks, CA, USA
> 53) Bruce Ehrlich, Sherman Oaks, CA USA
> 54) Yllania Francis, Los Angeles, CA USA
> 55) Drew Hedin, Los Angeles, CA USA
> 56) Laura Paridon, Laguna Woods, CA USA
> 57) Jeanie Hagedorn, Des Moines, IA USA
> 58) Sue Christensen, Des Moines, IA USA
> 59) Sybil Finken, Glenwood, IA USA
> 60) Luke Finken, Earth
> 61) Doug Gerace, Lincoln, NE USA
> 62) Cheryl Gerace, NE
> 63) Sheri Lew, CO
> 64) Raven Grace, Boulder, CO
> 65) Martha M.Mertz, EL, Michigan
> 66) Colleen R. Cooper, Okemos, Michigan
> 67) Barbara J. Sawyer-Koch, East Lansing, MI
> 68) Margaret A. Meyers, Okemos, Michigan
> 69) Mary Helen Espes, Okemos, Michigan
> 70) Maureen Kirchhoff, Allenspark, CO
> 71) Bart Johnson, Err, France
> 72) Sharon!O'Connor, Olympia, WA USA
> 73) Nancy Irving, Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia
> 74) Martha Lindley, Seattle, WA, USA
> 75) Judith Alexander, Woodinville, WA, USA
> 76) Arlene B. Hawkinson, Seattle, WA, USA
> 77) Christine E. Mobley, Bothell, WA, USA
> 78) Trudie Breen, CA, USA
> 79) Catherine Standiford, CA, USA
> 80) Beverly Truett, AZ, USA
> 81) Christine Meehan,AZ,USA
> 82) Janice Gilbert, Valley Center, CA, USA
> 83) Dawna Upchurch, Anchorage, AK USA
> 84) Roxanna Groves, Olympia, WA USA
> 85) Lynda Lynde, Helena, MT USA
> 86) Constance Gelu, University Place, WA USA
> 87) Jodi Woolett, Tacoma, WA USA
> 88) Lisa I. Reeves- Lynden, WA USA
> 89) Amanda James-Bow, WA USA
> 90) Kelli J. Smith, New Port Richey, FL USA
> 91) Chris Poirier, Largo, Fl USA
> 92) Mike Carpenter, Palmetto, Fl USA
> 93) Alice Pryor, Melbourne FL USA
> 94) Ellen Catano, Manchester NH USA
> 95) Bevely Jennings, Cincinnati OH USA
> 96) Linda Feely, Norwood,OH USA
> 97) Sherry Stidham, Norwood OH USA
> 98) Brittany Brown, Cincinnati OH USA
> 99) Sandy Brown, Cincinnati, Oh USA
> 100) Tim Brown, Cincinnati, OH USA
> 101) Pat Brown, Cincinnati, OH USA
> 102) Amy Cregger, Memphis, TN USA
> 103) Kay Emerick, Logan, OH USA
> 104) Trina Bookman, Logan, OH USA
> 105) X-Mozilla-Status: 0009uis, Mo USA
> 106) Jeannette Ward, Memphis, TN USA
> 107) Elisabeth Davis, Memphis, Tn USA
> 108) Rose Klimek, Memphis, TN USA
> 109) Barbara K. White, Hoquiam, WA, USA
> 110) Paula J. Eriksen, Palm Harbor, Florida USA
> 111) Rag!nar Eriksen, Palm Harbor, Florida USA
> 112) MARILYN KING, CLEARWATER, FL, USA
> 113) Barbara Stiner,Oldsmar,FL,USA
> 114) Jac'line Weisgerber,Clearwater,FL,USA
> 115) Charlotte Beadles, Douglasville, GA, USA
> 116) Jody Hoadley, Powder Springs, GA, USA
> 117) Hope Howard, Atlanta, GA, USA
> 118) Cliff Howard, Atlanta, GA, USA
> 119) Kay Chicoine, Atlanta, GA USA
> 120) Mark Chicoine, Atlanta, GA USA
> 121) Paula King, Lexington, KY,USA
> 122) Sally Weissman,Minneapolis,Mn,USA
> 123) Susan Abbott, New Brighton, MN USA
> 124) Rachel Fine, St. Louis Park, MN, USA
> 125) Deb Harley,Eden Prairie, MN,Usa
> 126) Barb Handahl,Faribault, MN,USA
> 127) Ann Olson,Chamberlain S.D.USA
> 128) Deb Hunt,Sioux Falls S.D.USA
> 129) Anne Frankman, Sioux Falls, SD USA
> 130) Susie Kostel, Tabor, SD USA
> 131) Julie Anderson, Mount Prospect, IL USA
> 132) Janet Tilden, Fremont, NE USA
> 133) Debbie Bowman, Kingston Springs, TN, USA
> 134) Shari Watkins, Franklin, TN, USA
> 135) Teresa Beck, Columbia, TN USA
> 136) Amy Stephens, Brentwood, TN, USA
> 137) Vicki Warren, Lyles, TN, USA
> 138) Linda Lupo, Westland, MI, USA
> 139) Cathie McClary, Clinton Twp. MI, USA
> 140) Diane Catellane, Clinton Twp. MI, USA
> 141) Judy Mellen, Clarkston, MI, USA
> 142) Donna Waite, Lake Orion, MI, USA
> 143) Ann Acton, South Lyon, MI, USA
> 145) Tami Hall, South Lyon, MI, USA
> 146) Wendy Belsley, South Lyon, MI, USA
> 147) Gretel Coombs, East Lansing, MI, USA
> 148) Mike Jones, Lansing, MI, USA
> 149) Jeff Jones, Atlanta, GA, USA
> 150) Marion Jones , Atlanta, GA , USA
> 151) Pat Scott, Enumclaw, WA, USA
> 152) Bob Panzer, Houston, TX, USA
> 153) Pat Panzer, Houston, TX, USA
> 154) Joe Schwartz, Jacksonville AL USA
> 155) Stefanie Walfield, Fayetteville, NC, USA
> 156) Liz Dunkley, Milledgeville, GA, USA
> 157) Christine Dunkley, Milledgeville, GA, USA
> 156) Mike Dunkley, Milledgeville, GA, USA
> 157) Randy Parsons, Eatonton, Ga.
> 158) Bonita Platner, Kirkwood, NY. USA
> 159) Ralph Platner, Kirkwood, NY. USA
> 160) Charles Lundquist, Binghamton, N.Y. U.S.A.
> 161) Tracy Rowe, Hollywood, CA USA
> 162) Daniel Raphael New York, New York USA
> 163) Ann Brameier, New York, NY USA
> 164) Kazuko Tao, Healdsburg, Ca USA
> 165) Shelley Zavat, Rio Nido, Ca. USA
> 166) Kendall Smith, Fort Bragg, Ca USA
> 167) Candi Zizek, Sacramento, California USA
> 168) Annette Blackwood, West Hartford, CT USA
> 169) Frank Sentner, West Hartford, CT USA
> 170) Ann Steadman, Roanoke, VA USA
> 171) George Steadman, Roanoke, VA USA
> 172) Elizabeth Byam,Washington, DC USA
> 173) Mary Dougal,Montclair, NJ USA
> 174) Kathleen Ennen, Champaign, Il. USA
> 175) Patricia S. Berky, Baltimore, Md. USA
> 176) Wahiba Abu-Ras, Old Bridge, NJ. USA
> 177) Magdi Awad, Old Bridge, NJ USA
> 178) Melissa Joralemon, NY USA
> 179) Vida Cofie-Robertson, NJ USA
> 180) Sema Gurun, NY, USA
> 181)Sahika Yildirim, UB, Mongolia
> 182) Ayse Taylan, Istanbul, Turkiye
> 183) Kemal Gencay, Istanbul, Turkiye
> 184) Vehbi Gencay, Ankara, Turkiye
> 185) N. Suzan Kincal, Ankara, T?rkiye
> 186) Handan Tezel, Ottawa, Canada
> 187) Ayse Senatalar, Istanbul, Turkiye
> 188) Zeynep Ilsen Onsan, Istanbul, Turkiye
> 189) Jak Kornfilt,Istanbul, Turkiye
> 190) Ilona Kornfilt,Istanbul,Turkiye
> 191) Anna Droste
> 192) Ersin Takla,Istanbul, Turkey
> 193) R. Oguz Bozkurt, Istanbul, Turkey
> 194) Sevda Bozkurt, Istanbul, Turkey
> 195) Liliana Saban, Strasbourg France
> 196) Yael Albukrek, London, UK
> 197) Fabiana Di Porto, Rome, Italy
> 198) Micaela Pavoncello, Rome Italy
> 199) Marnie Silver, Toronto, ON, Canada
> 200) Mike Wilner, Toronto, ON, Cana
> 201) Judy Shabtai, Toronto,ON, Canada
> 202) Suzanne McColl, Torontom ON, Canada
> 203)John Trigiani, Toronto , Ontario, CANADA
> 204) Jon Gillette, Bognor, Ontario, Canada
> 205) Helen Kay. Bognor, Ontario, Canada
> 206) Elizabeth Huyer, Owen Sound, Canada
> 207) Nikki Huyer, Helsingor, Denmark
> 208) Lynn Chambers, Toronto, Canada
> 209) Laura Allen, Toronto, Canada
> 210) Shirley Hilton, Ingersoll, Canada
> 211) Rosina Brown, Caledon East, ON Canada
> 212) Judi MacDonald, Markham, Ontario, Canada
> 213) Nancy Drewry, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
> 214) Susan Bartlett, Toronto, Ontario Canada
> 215) Anja Sagan, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
> 216) Sharon Slater, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
> 217) Mona Adams, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
> 218) Paul Adams, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
> 219) Ruth E. Voetberg, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
> 220) Jeffrey F. Searle, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
> 221) Kelly L. Robinson, Dayton, OH, USA
> 222) Vernon G. Haas, Stewartstown, PA, USA
> 223) Connie L. Haas, Stewartstown, PA, USA
> 224) Bassem Youssef, Vienna, VA, USA
> 225) Leila Youssef, Vienna, VA, USA
> 226) Peggy D. Hart, Stafford, VA, USA
> 227) Pat Peebles, Alexandria, VA, USA
> 228) Olivia White, Dallas, TX, USA
> 229) Elizabeth Nash, Nottingham, UK
> 230) Debra Chauhan, Leicester, UK
> 231) Alison Termie, Leicester, UK
> 232) Lindsay Termie, Leicester, UK
> 233) Lesley McNeil, Leicester, UK
> 234) Francis Cattermole, Leicester, UK
> 235) Annie Gray, London, UK
> 237) Ingrid womack, London UK
> 238) Caroline Bowsher, London, UK
> 239) Paul Coates, London, UK
> 240) Giuseppe Anzalone, Hertfordshire UK
> 241) Clare Anthony, Narrogin, Western Australia
> 242) Kate Macgregor, Narrogin, Western Australia
> 243) Tom Dukovcic, Perth, Australia
> 244) Jono King, Perth Western Australia
> 245) Ali Weston, Perth Western Australia
> 246) Jacquie Reid, Perth Western Australia
> 247) Ro Watson, Perth Western Australia
> 248) Simone Jane, Kununurra Western Australia
> 249) Darren Brady, Kununurra Western Australia
> 250) Damon Zevzekidis,Kununurra. WEST. AUST.
> 251) Joanne Johnson, Wickepin Western Australia
> 252 Dixie Dougall, Wickepin Western Australia
> 253) Karen Avery, Wickepin, Western Australia.
> 254) Colleen Fulford Wickepin. Western Australia
> 255)Ned Crossley, Narrogin, Western Australia
> 256) Avril Baxter, Narrogin, Western Australia
> 257) Craig Vincent, Narrogin, Western Australia.
> 258) David Keynes, Fremantle,Western Australia
> 259) Lisa Watson, Canberra,Australia
> 260) Denise Chang, Port Vila, Vanuatu
> 261) Geoff McConnell, Port Vila, Vanuatu
> 262) Kate Pettit, Canberra, Australia
> 263) Nick Ryan, Brisbane, Australia
> 264) Tracey Rooney, Newton, MA, USA
> 265) Mary McDonough, Mashpee, MA, USA
> 266) Gail Robertson, Falmouth, MA, USA
> 267) Jean Block, Albuquerque NM USA
> 268) Genevieve E. Freier, Saint Paul, MN USA
> 269) Jeneane Flipp, Stillwater, MN USA
> 270) Deb Romie, Vadnais Heights, MN USA
> 280)Tammy Vose, Woodbury, MN USA
> 281)Kim Salisbury, Eden Prairie, MN USA
> 282)Juliet Grigsby, St. Paul, MN USA
> 283) Laura Moss Gottlieb, Madison, WI USA
> 284) Peter Gottlieb, Madison, WI USA
> 285) Rita L. Moss, Carbondale, IL USA
> 286) Marilyn Devine, Elkton, MD, USA
> 287) Liz Hill, Paris, France
> 288} Petronela Harris, Woodland Hills, Ca. USA
> 289) Mary Douglas, Canyon Country, CA. USA
> 290) Mary-Margaret Leverett, Van Nuys, CA, USA
> 291) Margaret Ann Leverett, Van Nuys, CA, USA
> 292) Angela Janine Leverett, Van Nuys, CA, USA
> 293) Elaine Newland, Newhall, CA, USA
> 294)  Sue Cobbs, Herlong, CA USA
> 295)  Laurinda Corron, Chico, CA USA
> 296) Colleen Harvel, Chico, CA USA
>
> DIRECTIONS: PLEASE COPY this email on to a new message, sign the bottom
and
> forward it to everyone on your distribution lists. If you receive this
list
> with more than 300 names on it, please e-mail copy of it to:
> sarabande-AT-brandeis.edu. Even if you decide not to sign, please be
> considerate and do not kill the petition.
>
>
>      --- from list postcolonial-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---297 Barry
Price London England



     --- from list postcolonial-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---