Abstract:
The socio-political system of any country affects the lives of the citizens either in a progressive or in a deleterious manner. Similarly, the political mayhem in Afghanistan in the past few decades has impacted on the social life of the countrymen. More evidently, the women have writhed in anguish due to the ulterior motives of the male family members, the politicians and the warlords in Afghanistan. They have experienced horrifying episodes of their life in the Afghan world. Nevertheless, a few daring and determined women have carved a path of personal and public triumph. Due to their unflinching involvement to raise the position of women, Afghanistan saw some of the bravest women in the recent decades. Among many such women, Malalai Joya is one such prominent figure who rose to fame because of her dynamic involvement in several socio-political affairs. This research paper critically analyses Malalai Joya’s rejoinder to the socio-political pandemonium in Afghanistan as delineated in her book, ‘Raising My Voice’.
Key Words: political mayhem, Afghanistan, family, progressive, rejoinder.
Afghanistan has witnessed several rulers in the last one century. It is essential to explore the lives of women under a few prominent Afghan leaders as portrayed by Malalai Joya in her book, Raising My Voice. In the 1920s, throughout King Amanullah Khan’s rule, women enjoyed considerable freedom. As Malalai Joya expresses,
During the time of Amanullah Khan, education became compulsory for every Afghan. The first girls’ school was established in 1924. A group of girls was sent to Turkey for higher education, without having to wear the hijab, or Islamic covering, or be accompanied by a male relative, or mahram. Later on hundreds of girls went to school in foreign countries such as Germany, Russia and France. (215)
It is evident that as early as in 1920s, Amanullah Khan had realised the importance of Afghan girls’ education which invariably led to a great exposure for a few girls who got the opportunity to travel to other countries. It must be noted that a few foreigners/colonisers project that they would prefer to empower women in Afghanistan. But Malalai Joya is strongly against such a notion. She believes that the Afghans have contributed tremendously for the various women empowerment programmes in the country. She expressed openly in a courageous way that, “The freedom achieved by women was not the result of some invasion from the West, but from the development of our own society, our own political process and the struggle of democratically minded people of Afghanistan who risked death for their beliefs” (217). The girls’ migration to other countries, helps them to compare the socio-political practices of their native land and the foreign land. Consequently, women realise the different forms of subtle and overt atrocities meted out to women in their country. More importantly, when these women return to their country and express their dissatisfaction towards the inherent and unreasoned socio-political customs, one section of the society is broad minded to accept the new-found norms while another section of the society is obdurate to amend the prevailing norms in the society. It is essential to note that, it is the beginning of these conflicts between various sections of the society which leads to the gradual approval of the changed rational and reformist socio-political practices. The daring spirit of many women just as Malalai Joya has aided in the process of bringing transformative changes in the lives of Afghan women in the recent decades.
Although women enjoyed a lot of liberal practices during the 1920s, much to the fury of many fundamentalists and conservative religious scholars and other men, the liberal practices could not last long due to the extremely radical views of King Amanullah Khan in a culturally stringent county. Unfortunately, the king received a lot of criticism from many traditional rivals. In 1929, the king had to surrender his position due to the strong rebellion of a few staunch rivals supported by the British. As Malalai Joya expresses, “Amanullah Khan’s overthrow is considered a disaster in the history of Afghanistan” (216). The next ruler, Habibullah Kalakani’s first sanctioned act was to close all the schools. Sadly, due to the ulterior motives of such rulers, Afghanistan saw the decline in the socio-political standards of the country which invariably led to a series of wars in the country in the following decades. It must be noted that many historians and social critics have recorded the distinguished works of King Amanullah Khan. Incidentally, Kumara Jayawardena points out that, “As in Turkey and Egypt, Amanullah Khan then set out to modernise the country and referred to himself as a ‘revolutionary’; he introduced a Family Code in 1921 forbidding child marriage; he also encouraged girls’ schools and banned polygamy” (71). The King’s strong belief that the liberation of women from their existent inferior status would elevate the status of Afghanistan in socio-political facets of the country has certainly influenced many Afghan women to raise their concerns about their pathetic condition. Hence it becomes essential for the modern day political leaders to emulate certain ideologies put forth by King Amanullah Khan.
Malalai Joya, an Afghan woman, is a social crusader, former politician, writer and a philanthropist in a country which has been plagued with many social issues which require immediate attention. Malalai Joya emphasises that women were strongly against the official Soviet rule in Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989. The multiple external invasions which have had a greater impact on multi-ethnic Afghanistan by destroying tremendously. Due to the 1978 Soviet invasion, the Afghan political situation quickly deteriorated. People had to take refuge in foreign countries. Women were devoid of minimal rights they enjoyed. Women already suffering from patriarchal, social and political oppression had to suffer more because of domestic violence, rape, psychological and physical trauma, shattered families and death. The Afghan women expressed their displeasure by staging several demonstrations against the Soviet regime. Unfortunately, due to a public expression of disapproval or indignation, several women were slaughtered. As a result, “It was during this era that RAWA – the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan – was established by Meena and some other women intellectuals in Kabul” (Joya, 218). It is commendable to learn about the way the Afghan women dealt with multiple forms of violence meted out to them. In times of adverse situations, instead of succumbing themselves to the superior forces, they rose above these violations, subjugations and harassments and created a decent and responsible position in the patriarchal Afghan society for themselves and also for several other Afghan women. The establishment of RAWA by Meena and others serves as a testimony for such noticeable acts by women. Consequently, this would result in the acceptance of women as their equals by men and include their services in the developmental activities of the nation.
Malalai Joya’s fame reached its highest level, after her exceptionally outspoken speech at the constitutional Loya Jerga of 2003 in the United States of America. Nushin Arbabzadah expresses that,
At that time, Joya was an independent voice and had the audacity to make a relevant, but politically explosive comment. She said that the inclusion of war criminals threatened to undermine the assembly’s legitimacy, that Afghans risked missing out on a historical chance for justice. . . . Joya was driven by a burning desire for justice. (230)
Malalai Joya’s deep concern for her fellow Afghans and her inherent resolution to serve the nation made her to accept multifarious challenges which she faced in the odyssey of empowering the Afghan men and women. In any country, it is highly indispensable for such brave citizens to voice out the atrocities amidst supposedly supreme powers in the country. Unless there are strong oppositions against the irrational or illogical socio-cultural or political practices, it is extremely difficult for any country to elevate itself to the status of a developed country.
Malalai Joya is extremely critical of the way women are treated in Afghanistan. She strongly criticises the various regimes in Afghanistan, which have not liberated the women from the trauma of multiple endless sufferings. The most ghastly acts are carried out by men to preserve their superior position. Many Afghan men are not ready to accept women as their equals due to their irrational patriarchal attitudes. As Chris Beasley rightly comments, “Woman becomes a rag-bag of repressed elements that cannot be allowed within the masculine. Once again in the ‘different but complementary’ approach men are linked to rationality, to civilisation. By contrast women are associated with the non-rational or irrational” (7). Though, both men and women should be treated in a similar manner, in most situations, women become the scapegoats of male domination in Afghanistan.
Women in Afghanistan endured extreme forms of subjugation, violence and cruelty especially during the rule of the Soviets, the Mujahideen and the Taliban. They were relegated to the position of ‘hopeless women’, ‘illiterate women’ or ‘worthless women’ by the Afghan men to preserve the male hegemony which has been prevalent over the centuries in most parts of Afghanistan. Though women endeavoured to elevate themselves and many other women to a better position, they were condemned severely. To the illiterate women community, men would use religion as a device to instill the belief that women are not supposed to take up certain tasks. Many illiterate minds would accept inequality as part of their life. However, few spirited and resilient women, even amidst severe opposition and dangers involved, endeavoured in getting education, taking up jobs or starting a new business. They paved their way to emerge triumphant in the gloomy world of patriarchal system in Afghanistan. Interestingly, Afghan women found several ways to bring themselves to the fore and became a part of the nation building process.
In a country like Afghanistan, where several administrations have had long lasting impact on the social, cultural, political and pecuniary aspects of the country, it is not possible to leave out the striking influences the Taliban have had on the Afghans. When the Taliban officially arrived in Afghanistan in 1996, there was extreme happiness as the citizens believed that they could enjoy a safe and secure life. “But unfortunately their hopes quickly turned into ashes. The Taliban repeated the same crimes committed by their jihadi brothers. And their security was like that of a graveyard” (Joya, 38). In such a life-threatening scenario, Joya was keen on bringing about a massive change in the socio-political set up of Afghanistan. Thomas Barfield observes that, “The Taliban drove women from all public arenas, banned their education, and enforced a strict code of veiling and seclusion. Law breakers could expect harsh Islamic punishments not seen in Afghanistan for many generations'' (262). Barfield’s observations are so conspicuous to comprehend the extreme gender based proclamations which hampered the social life of millions of Afghan women during the Taliban’s sovereign rule.
Joya reminisces her father’s encouraging words, who ensured that his daughter stood up for the cause of people. His words always became a beacon of light for all her socio-political endeavours in her country. Though the entire country was under the grasp of the Taliban by the end of the 21st century, Malalai Joya had the mettle to run a secret school for girls. As the girls were completely deprived of education due to the edicts of the Taliban, the girls risked their lives to be literate and skill oriented. Unfortunately, she would not get the full support from many Afghans which disturbed her immensely to carry out any philanthropic works. Similarly, as Nivedita Menon expresses, “the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) had, for decades, struggled against the Taliban, with no support or recognition from anywhere” (158). In majority of the cases, it becomes very difficult for Afghan women who do not have the exposure to the outside world to be courageous enough to be involved in any programmes in support of women’s empowerment. Regrettably, the Afghans were so drowned in their socio-political ideologies, they were not in a position to unravel the possible advantages of empowering women by providing good education or suitable jobs. The social system legitimised the cruelty or violence meted out to the Afghans. Lack of education or exposure to the outer world vetoed the Afghans to bring in progressive reforms in the country.
The atrocities of the Taliban in the name of women’s protection curbed women of many basic rights. Women had no proper health care during pregnancy or so. Women were devoid of education, marrying someone of their choice, and so on. In an interview with Ahmed Rashid, Nasiba Gul cries out that, “Islam says women are equal to men and respect should be given to women. But the Taliban’s actions are turning people against even Islam” (Taliban, 110). The sacred religion Islam disseminates that both men and women are equivalent and no gender has the right to claim themselves as superior. Inopportunely, the Taliban tainted the image of the Islam religion by using religion to discharge their odious duties. Although many men and women were initially happy with the arrival of the Taliban in Afghanistan, as the former assumed that the Taliban would bring in long lost peace, security and a way of life, their dreams were soon shattered by the Taliban. The dreadful acts of the Taliban proved their assumptions to be completely wrong as they witnessed violence and despair almost day after day.
Malalai Joya accentuates that women were prepared to become conscious that Islam and legal system had rules in favour of women too. However as Mehta remarks,
Although theoretically every Afghan woman had a chance at an education, not all women could seize that precious opportunity. Islam wasn’t keeping these women from moving forward; the traditionalists and their cultures were women’s greatest obstacles in their quest for equality. It was patriarchy, threatened by the prospect of women’s empowerment that hindered women’s use of their legal rights. (106).
As Mehta mentions, to perpetuate the superiority of men and inferiority of women, the latter were made to grow up as an illiterate, inefficient and incapable section of the society. Some women accepted those assumptions and supported putting women down and acted as stumbling blocks in the growth of women, both at the personal and professional fronts. In such a disturbing social space, Malalai Joya emerges successful by involving herself in educating the young Afghan population on various socio-political characteristics of their country.
To conclude, it must be noted that, Malalai Joya is named after Malalai of Maiwand, a popular Afghan woman freedom fighter, who played a pivotal role in 1880 during the second Anglo-Afghan war. Possessing the distinctive characteristics of such a revolutionary, Joya has contributed in the process of restructuring several facets in the Afghan social and political system. It becomes very crucial for anyone relegated to the marginal status to voice out the traumas and desolations they undergo to ensure they transform not just their lives but also of the entire marginalised community. True to the title of her book, Raising My Voice, Malalai Joya has been raising her voice in the public forums and has been partially successful in her attempts to provide better facilities for the battered Afghan women. Indubitably, her life experiences as a social crusader, former politician, writer and a philanthropist serve as great reminders and directives to the younger generation to fight against the oppressive system. The feministic approach arrayed by Malalai Joya has positively impacted on the millions of Afghan women in the rigid patriarchal society of Afghanistan.
References:
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