| Vrijwillige Internatiale Aktie on Sat, 04 Sep 1999 00:55:12 +0200 |
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| Re: Syndicate: Petition for support to women in Afghanistan |
At 23:42 03/09/99 +0200, Arthur Bueno wrote: >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 >24) John Jeano Amsterdam , The Netherlands >>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, webadmin.hchr@unorg.ch <<<mailto:webadmin.hchr@unorg.ch> >>> >>>and to: >>> >>>Angela King, >>>Special Advisor on Gender Issues and the Advancement of Women, UN, >>>daw@undp.org <<<mailto:daw@undp.org> >>> >>>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:webadmin.hchr@unorg.ch";;>webadmin.hchr@unorg.ch</A> = ><<<<A=20 >href=3D"mailto:webadmin.hchr@unorg.ch";;>mailto:webadmin.hchr@unorg.ch</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:daw@undp.org";;>daw@undp.org</A> <<<<A=20 >href=3D"mailto:daw@undp.org";;>mailto:daw@undp.org</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 <syndicate-request@aec.at> > in the body of the msg: unsubscribe your@email.adress > > > ------Syndicate mailinglist-------------------- Syndicate network for media culture and media art information and archive: http://www.v2.nl/syndicate to unsubscribe, write to <syndicate-request@aec.at> in the body of the msg: unsubscribe your@email.adress