Zakiya N: Islam has many good things, but we Muslims don’t implement them. Islam says one thing, but Afghans are doing something different. That’s why many people in the world think that Islam is bad. They think that because Muslims [here] are like that, then Islam is, too. Islam is something quite different from the Muslims you see here. Islam is something that is useful for all human beings if it could be practiced the way it was supposed to be practiced.
Shakila: Another thing I like about Islam is that in the Quran, it tells us to be kind. I don’t see this practiced much in Afghanistan, but Islam tells us that it’s very important. We shouldn’t be aggressive, but peaceful. When family members are peaceful, they can understand each other better.
Dr. Yacoobi: Sometimes it happens that a father wants to marry his daughter to somebody and he receives a lot of money from that person. In reality, he is selling his daughter. In our human rights program, we teach girls that they can say "no" if they don’t agree to that marriage by using a quote from the Quran. We teach them that a woman can say, "No, my daughter is too young." Through those quotes, we are teaching women how to stand up and defend themselves, and it is working.
Peggy: I’m also interested in your thoughts about the headscarf. You say that you believe in the deeper tenets of Islam, but not so much in the superficial ones. What are your beliefs about the choice to wear or not to wear the head covering?
Shakila: There are some values in Islam that I question. For example, I can’t find any reason why Muslim women should wear the headscarf. I’ve heard many different answers. I’ve heard that it will make them more secure, but I don’t understand how. I’ve heard that a scarf keeps women from arousing men and makes them less provocative. My question is, why doesn’t Islam ask the man to control himself? Why should I do something to protect him from his own feelings? I think men should be responsible for themselves in this regard. Why would seeing my hair arouse a man? For me, hijab is about wearing modest clothes, but I don’t think it has anything to do with [concealing my] hair.
Dr. Yacoobi: It’s a mistake when you look at Muslim women and think they are weak because they wear hijab. These women are very strong, intelligent, and resourceful. Wearing hijab does not mean that someone controls them.
Women in the Kabul bazaar.
In Focus: Zainab
Zainab
I liked living in the village, but it’s impossible for widows to earn a living there. In Kabul I can work and live freely. In my village, people talked about me because I lived alone with my children without a man.
I met and Zainab at a literacy center aided by Church World Service (CWS). Even though there were only women there, she wore her burqa with the front veil raised, framing her face.
Zainab grew up in a Hazara village near Bamyan. At 18 she became engaged, and married two years later. Her husband died in a landmine explosion which also injured their oldest son. She now lives in Kabul and cleans houses to support her family. Besides learning to read, she earns money sewing quilts in a program run by the literacy center.
Peggy: Tell me about life with your husband.
Zainab: My husband was a good man, but he had a lot of debts. Finally, one of his creditors insisted on being paid, but we didn’t have any money. So I sold my wedding gold to pay the debt.
Peggy: Gold or other items a woman is given as wedding gifts belong to her personally, to support her in case her husband dies or divorces her. Her husband can’t legally take it from her. After Zainab gave her wedding gold to pay her husband’s creditor, she was left with nothing when he died.
Zainab: I gave up my gold freely. I loved my husband and the creditor might have killed him or taken my daughter away, so I told my husband that it was better for them to take my gold.
Peggy: When you were young, did you look forward to wearing a burqa like your mother?
This question caused an angry debate between Zainab and my translator, Shakilla S., who didn’t like what Zainab said and tried to elicit a more "politically correct" reply. To Shakilla’s credit, she told me that this was Zainab’s actual response:
Zainab: Yes, I liked the burqa when I was young and I like to wear it now. Actually, I don’t like it, but I’m used to it. I feel ashamed if I don’t wear it. It is hijab. I like it because it is good in Islam, it covers my body and people can’t see me.
3/Women’s Rights
Women’s activism has and will continue to play a huge role in securing the rights of Afghan women. Like their counterparts around the world, Afghan women who successfully fight oppression emerge as bold, empowered leaders. While the murders of women who stand up, speak out, or just go to work or school may silence and paralyze some, these killings make other women more determined.
The Afghan constitution states, "The citizens of Afghanistan have equal rights and duties before the law." However, without a commitment to this ideal in Parliament and the ministries, the words are empty. It is up to Afghan women and the men who support them to make sure that these words are actually implemented.
Although the US government touted saving Afghan women as one reason for intervening in Afghanistan, it is now apparent that without substantial support from women around the world, and especially those in Afghanistan, the rights and gains of Afghan women will be jettisoned as the US searches for a face-saving exit from a realm of increasing religious fundamentalism.
Soraya Sobhrang
Commissioner for Women’s Rights,
Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission
If somebody kills you for your ideas and you work for human rights or for your country, it is common. But women’s rights activists are dying in bed of natural causes. It’s better if they die fighting. And so we must be hopeful and work and not be afraid.
Just