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Afghan women's group fighting for equality

Afghan refugee women walk wearing veils in a tent camp near the village of Khwaja-Bahauddin in Takhar province, Monday. PHOTO: AP

They have been called Maoists, spies for the Soviet Union, for Pakistan and now the US.

They work undercover, breaking the hardline rules of Afghanistan's Taliban militia and angering religious conservatives with their liberal politics in Pakistan.

But the aptly-named Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) says they are just trying to improve the plight of women in what is seen as the most repressive patriarchal society in the world.

One of the few political Afghan women's groups, the organization claims 2,000 members, mostly among the huge Afghan refugee community in Pakistan.

Its aggressive media campaign has reached worldwide audiences through the Internet and evoked the sympathies of Western feminists, particularly in Washington and also in Hollywood.

But RAWA has little support among Afghan refugees here in the northwestern Pakistani border city of Peshawar.

"It's their leftist activities and ideology -- our people have suffered too much under leftists," said Khorshid Noori, head of the Afghan Women's Network.

"We respect their opinions and they are intelligent, open-minded individuals, but people are bitter and allergic to any leftist thought."

With only a handful of women's voices contributing to the debate over Afghanistan's post-Taliban future, RAWA's is one of the loudest, and they are not afraid to make their point in a strident, uncompromising language which some see as alien to Afghan culture.

Few are spared RAWA's wrath, from the Taliban to the armed anti-Taliban opposition and even other women's groups.

Salima, 33, a RAWA member who teaches girls at the Khaiwa refugee camp near here, was unapologetic.

"We do not compromise our beliefs like other groups do," said Salima, who, like other RAWA members, gave only her first name. "We encourage the spirit of debate and we encourage independence. This is what gives us our strength."

Shakiba, who works in the organization's publication committee, was equally unrepentant.

"We believe it's our responsibility to expose corrupt leaders, including women's groups," the 24-year-old said.

The Taliban have sworn to kill any RAWA members they find in Afghanistan.

Yet RAWA still claims to run 100 girls schools, income-generating projects such as sewing and carpet weaving, literacy schemes and political courses on women's rights in the deeply impoverished country.

In relatively liberal Pakistan, RAWA operates a school and clinic in Khaiwa refugee camp and a few other schools in Peshawar and Islamabad. Yet even here, due to fear of Islamic "fundamentalists" and pro-Taliban extremists, RAWA members use pseudonyms and travel with bodyguards.

"The fundamentalists are agai-nst women. They do not count women as human beings. We have won the respect of men and women by making a lot of sacrifices," said Salima.
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