| Arthur Bueno on Fri, 03 Sep 1999 23:42:05 +0200 |
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| Syndicate: Petition for support to women in Afghanistan |
Subject: Petition for support to women in Afghanistan Date: Fri, 3 Sep 1999 21:33:23 +0200 This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_001A_01BEF653.F36A48E0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Please spare a minute to read this mail. Thank you. The government of Afghanistan is waging a war upon women. The situation >is >getting so bad that one person in an editorial of the Times compared >the >treatment of women there to the treatment of Jews in pre-Holocaust >Poland. >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 a 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 >>stuffed into their homes, so that 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, who cannot find proper >>medication and treatment for severe depression and would rather take >>their >>lives than live in such conditions, has increased significantly. 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 >>on the street, even if they hold Ph.D.'s. There are almost no medical >>facilities available for women, and relief workers, in protest, have >>mostly >>left the country, taking medicine and psychologists and other things >necessary >to treat the sky-rocketing level of depression among women. At >>one >>of the rare hospitals for women, a 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 wasting away. Others have = gone >>mad >>and were seen crouched in corners, perpetually rocking or crying, most >>of >>them in fear. One doctor is considering, when what little medication >>that is >>left finally runs out, leaving these women in front of the president's >>residence as a form of peaceful protest. 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. >David Cornwell has said that those in the West should not judge the = >Afghan >people for such treatment because it is a 'cultural thing', but >>this >>is not even true. Women enjoyed relative freedom, to work, dress >>generally >>as they wanted, and 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 sub-human in the same of right-wing fundamentalist Islam. = It >>is >>not their tradition or 'culture', but is alien to them, and it is >>extreme >>even for those cultures where fundamentalism is the rule. Besides, if = we >could >excuse everything on cultural grounds, then we should not be >>appalled >>that the Carthaginians sacrificed their infant children, that little >>girls >>are circumcised in parts of Africa, that blacks in the US deep south = in >>the >>1930's were lynched, prohibited from voting, and forced to submit to >>unjust >>Jim Crow laws. Everyone has a right to a tolerable human existence, = even >>if >>they are women in a Muslim country in a part of the world that >>Westerners >>may not understand. If Iife can threaten military force in Kosovo in = the >name >of human rights for the sake of ethnic Albanians, then NATO and the >>West 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 support and action by the = people >>of >>the United Nations and that the current situation in Afghanistan will >>not be >>tolerated. Women's Rights is not a small issue anywhere and it is >UNACCEPTABLE >for women in 1999 to be treated as sub-human and so much as >>property. Equality and human decency is a RIGHT not a freedom, whether >one >lives in Afghanistan or anywhere else. > >1) Marianne Giroud, Zurich, Switzerland >2) Vera Koehli, Zurich, Switzerland >3) Hartmut Stiess, Zurich, Switzerland >4) Michael Sturm, Zurich, Switzerland >5) Adrian Jakob, Berne, Switzerland >6) Christian Jakob, Zurich, Switzerland >7) Barbara Rieker, Zurich, Switzerland >8) Chiara Lo Presti, Zurich, Switzerland >9) Kathrin Koch, Zurich, Switzerland >10) Gudrun Wassermann, Schvnkirchen, Germany >11) Maret Arndt, Kiel, Germany >12) Peter Bartels, Itzehoe, Germany >13) Priv.Doz. Dr. Fred Stevenson >14) Jeff Hollifield, Greenville, SC, USA >15) Irma Wolf, Berlin, Germany >16) Fiona Koster, Groningen, The Netherlands >17) Marlies Bodde, Groningen, The Netherlands >18) Jannie Van der Meer, Groningen, The Netherlands >19) Klaske Sikkes, Groningen, The Netherlands >20) Wietske Sikkes, Groningen, The Netherlands >21) Marjanne le Clercq, Apeldoorn, The Netherlands >22) Susan le Clercq, Nieuwegein, The Netherlands 23) Sandra A=EFdara, Paris, France >Please sign to support, and include your town and country. Then copy >and >e-mail to as many people as possible. If you receive this list with >more >than 50 names on it, please e-mail a >copy of it to: >> >>Mary Robinson, >>High Commissioner, >>UNHCHR, [email protected] <<<mailto:[email protected]> >> >>and to: >> >>Angela King, >>Special Advisor on Gender Issues and the Advancement of Women, UN, >>[email protected] <<<mailto:[email protected]> >> >>Even if you decide not to sign, please be considerate and do not kill >>the petition. Thank you. >> >>It is best to copy rather than forward the petition. >> >> ------=_NextPart_000_001A_01BEF653.F36A48E0 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD W3 HTML//EN"> <HTML> <HEAD> <META content=3Dtext/html;charset=3Diso-8859-1 = http-equiv=3DContent-Type> <META content=3D'"MSHTML 4.72.3110.7"' name=3DGENERATOR> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=3D#ffffff> <DIV> <DIV>Please spare a minute to read this mail. Thank you.<BR><BR>The = government=20 of Afghanistan is waging a war upon women.=20 The<BR>situation<BR>>is<BR>>getting so bad that one person in an = editorial=20 of the Times compared<BR>>the<BR>>treatment of women there to the=20 treatment of Jews in pre-Holocaust<BR>>Poland.<BR>>Since the = Taliban took=20 power in 1996, women have had to wear burqua<BR>>and have been beaten = and=20 stoned in public for not having the proper attire,<BR>>even = if<BR>>this=20 means simply not having the mesh covering in front of=20 their<BR>>eyes.<BR>>One<BR>>woman was beaten to DEATH by an = angry mob=20 of<BR>>fundamentalists for accidentally exposing her arm while she=20 was<BR>>driving.<BR>>>Another was stoned to death for trying to = leave=20 the country with a man<BR>>>that<BR>>>was not a relative. = Women are=20 not allowed to work or even go out = in<BR>>>public<BR>>>without a=20 male relative; professional women such as=20 professors,<BR>>>translators,<BR>>>doctors, lawyers, artists = and=20 writers have been forced from their = jobs<BR>>>and<BR>>>stuffed into=20 their homes, so that depression is becoming so=20 widespread<BR>>>that<BR>>>it has reached emergency levels. = There is=20 no way in such an extreme<BR>>>Islamic<BR>>>society to know = the=20 suicide rate with certainty, but relief workers = are<BR>>>estimating that=20 the suicide rate among women, who cannot find = proper<BR>>>medication and=20 treatment for severe depression and would rather=20 take<BR>>>their<BR>>>lives than live in such conditions, has = increased significantly. Homes<BR>>>where<BR>>>a woman is = present=20 must have their windows painted so that she can=20 never<BR>>>be<BR>>>seen by outsiders. They must wear silent = shoes so=20 that they are never<BR>>heard.<BR>>>Women live in fear=20 of<BR>>>their lives for the slightest misbehavior. Because = they=20 cannot work,<BR>>>those<BR>>>without male relatives or = husbands are=20 either starving to death or<BR>>>begging<BR>>>on the street, = even if=20 they hold Ph.D.'s. There are almost no medical<BR>>>facilities = available=20 for women, and relief workers, in protest,=20 have<BR>>>mostly<BR>>>left the country, taking medicine and=20 psychologists and other things<BR>>necessary<BR>>to treat the=20 sky-rocketing level of depression among women. = At<BR>>>one<BR>>>of=20 the rare hospitals for women, a reporter found still,=20 nearly<BR>>>lifeless<BR>>>bodies lying motionless on top of = beds,=20 wrapped in their burqua,<BR>>>unwilling<BR>>>to speak, eat, = or do=20 anything, but slowly wasting away. Others have=20 gone<BR>>>mad<BR>>>and were seen crouched in corners, = perpetually=20 rocking or crying, most<BR>>>of<BR>>>them in fear. One = doctor is=20 considering, when what little medication<BR>>>that = is<BR>>>left=20 finally runs out, leaving these women in front of the=20 president's<BR>>>residence as a form of peaceful protest. It is at = the=20 point where the<BR>>>term<BR>>>'human rights violations' has = become=20 an understatement. Husbands have<BR>>>the<BR>>>power of life = and=20 death over their women relatives, especially=20 their<BR>>>wives,<BR>>>but an angry mob has just as much = right to=20 stone or beat a woman, often<BR>>>to<BR>>>death, for = exposing an=20 inch of flesh or offending them in the = slightest<BR>>way.<BR>>David=20 Cornwell has said that those in the West should not judge the=20 >Afghan<BR>>people for such treatment because it is a 'cultural = thing',=20 but<BR>>>this<BR>>>is not even true. Women enjoyed relative = freedom,=20 to work, dress<BR>>>generally<BR>>>as they wanted, and drive = and=20 appear in public alone until only 1996 = -<BR>>>the<BR>>>rapidity of=20 this transition is the main reason for the depression = and<BR>>>suicide;=20 women who were once educators or doctors or simply used=20 to<BR>>>basic<BR>>>human freedoms are now severely = restricted=20 and<BR>>>treated as sub-human in the same of right-wing = fundamentalist=20 Islam. It<BR>>>is<BR>>>not their tradition or 'culture', but = is=20 alien to them, and it is<BR>>>extreme<BR>>>even for those = cultures=20 where fundamentalism is the rule. Besides, if = we<BR>>could<BR>>excuse=20 everything on cultural grounds, then we should not=20 be<BR>>>appalled<BR>>>that the Carthaginians sacrificed = their infant=20 children, that little<BR>>>girls<BR>>>are circumcised in = parts of=20 Africa, that blacks in the US deep south = in<BR>>>the<BR>>>1930's=20 were lynched, prohibited from voting, and forced to submit=20 to<BR>>>unjust<BR>>>Jim Crow laws. Everyone has a right to a = tolerable human existence, even<BR>>>if<BR>>>they are women = in a=20 Muslim country in a part of the world=20 that<BR>>>Westerners<BR>>>may not understand. If Iife can = threaten=20 military force in Kosovo in the<BR>>name<BR>>of human rights for = the sake=20 of ethnic Albanians, then NATO and the<BR>>>West can certainly = express=20 peaceful outrage at the oppression, = murder<BR>>>and<BR>>>injustice=20 committed against women by the=20 Taliban.<BR>>><BR>>>STATEMENT:<BR>>>In signing this, = we agree=20 that the current treatment of women = in<BR>>>Afghanistan<BR>>>is=20 completely UNACCEPTABLE and deserves support and action by the=20 people<BR>>>of<BR>>>the United Nations and that the current=20 situation in Afghanistan will<BR>>>not be<BR>>>tolerated. = Women's=20 Rights is not a small issue anywhere and it = is<BR>>UNACCEPTABLE<BR>>for=20 women in 1999 to be treated as sub-human and so much = as<BR>>>property.=20 Equality and human decency is a RIGHT not a freedom,=20 whether<BR>>one<BR>>lives in Afghanistan or anywhere=20 else.<BR>><BR>>1) Marianne Giroud, Zurich,=20 Switzerland<BR>>2) Vera Koehli, Zurich, = Switzerland<BR>>3) =20 Hartmut Stiess, Zurich, Switzerland<BR>>4) Michael Sturm, = Zurich,=20 Switzerland<BR>>5) Adrian Jakob, Berne, = Switzerland<BR>>6) =20 Christian Jakob, Zurich, Switzerland<BR>>7) Barbara Rieker, = Zurich,=20 Switzerland<BR>>8) Chiara Lo Presti, Zurich,=20 Switzerland<BR>>9) Kathrin Koch, Zurich, Switzerland<BR>>10) = Gudrun=20 Wassermann, Schvnkirchen, Germany<BR>>11) Maret Arndt, Kiel,=20 Germany<BR>>12) Peter Bartels, Itzehoe, Germany<BR>>13) Priv.Doz. = Dr. Fred=20 Stevenson<BR>>14) Jeff Hollifield, Greenville, SC, USA<BR>>15) = Irma Wolf,=20 Berlin, Germany<BR>>16) Fiona Koster, Groningen, The = Netherlands<BR>>17)=20 Marlies Bodde, Groningen, The Netherlands<BR>>18) Jannie Van der = Meer,=20 Groningen, The Netherlands<BR>>19) Klaske Sikkes, Groningen, The=20 Netherlands<BR>>20) Wietske Sikkes, Groningen, The = Netherlands<BR>>21)=20 Marjanne le Clercq, Apeldoorn, The Netherlands<BR>>22) Susan le = Clercq,=20 Nieuwegein, The Netherlands</DIV> <DIV>23) Sandra Aïdara, Paris, France<BR><BR>>Please sign to = support,=20 and include your town and country. Then copy<BR>>and<BR>>e-mail to = as many=20 people as possible. If you receive this list = with<BR>>more<BR>>than 50=20 names on it, please e-mail a<BR>>copy of it = to:<BR>>><BR>>>Mary=20 Robinson,<BR>>>High Commissioner,<BR>>>UNHCHR, <A=20 href=3D"mailto:[email protected]";;>[email protected]</A> = <<<<A=20 href=3D"mailto:[email protected]";;>mailto:[email protected]</A>&= gt;<BR>>><BR>>>and=20 to:<BR>>><BR>>>Angela King,<BR>>>Special Advisor on = Gender=20 Issues and the Advancement of Women, UN,<BR>>><A=20 href=3D"mailto:[email protected]";;>[email protected]</A> <<<<A=20 href=3D"mailto:[email protected]";;>mailto:[email protected]</A>><BR>>><BR>&= gt;>Even=20 if you decide not to sign, please be considerate and do not = kill<BR>>>the=20 petition. Thank you.<BR>>><BR>>>It is best to copy rather = than=20 forward the petition.<BR>>><BR>>></DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML> ------=_NextPart_000_001A_01BEF653.F36A48E0-- Arthur Bueno V2_Organisatie Rotterdam Eendrachtsstraat 10 3012 XL Rotterdam tel. 010.206.7272 url: www.v2.nl fax. 010.206.7271 ------Syndicate mailinglist-------------------- Syndicate network for media culture and media art information and archive: http://www.v2.nl/syndicate to unsubscribe, write to <[email protected]> in the body of the msg: unsubscribe [email protected]