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Rights group wants female Afghan MP Joya reinstated

Afghan female lawmaker Malalai Joya drinks water after a press conference in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Monday. Afghanistan's lower parliamentary house voted to suspend the outspoken female lawmaker, who has enraged former mujahidin fighters now in Afghan President Hamid Karzai's US-backed government. PHOTO: AP

A leading international rights group yesterday urged the Afghan parliament to reinstate a female MP who was suspended after saying her colleagues were "worse than cows and donkeys."

Malalai Joya, one of the country's most high-profile female politicians, was voted out of the lower house on Monday by her fellow MPs over the comments, which she made in a television interview.

The journalist who conducted the interview said Joya had said parliament was worse than a stable because in a stable, at least, there are "cows which provide milk and you have got donkeys which can carry loads."

"They are worse than cows and donkeys -- they're dragons," she said.

In a statement, Human Rights Watch said she should be reinstated immediately and urged parliament to revise procedures which it said restricted freedom of speech.

"Malalai Joya is a staunch defender of human rights and a powerful voice for Afghan women," said Brad Adams, the rights watchdog's Asia director. "Joya's comments don't warrant the punishment she received."

The group said that while parliament's rules of procedure forbid lawmakers from criticizing one another, MPs had regularly done so without anyone else having been suspended.

"The article banning criticism of parliament is an unreasonable rule that violates the principle of free speech enshrined in international law and valued around the world," Adams said. "The Afghan parliament should be setting an example by promoting and protecting free expression, not by stamping it out."
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