WUNRN
Afghanistan: Fatima Galiani - Promoting Women's Rights Under Islam
30/05/2006: "War is the ugliest thing that people can
experience," said Fatima Galiani, a courageous woman activist who has spent more
than 25 years rebuilding ruined Afghanistan from a devastating war. (The Jakarta
Post)
Galiani, Director of Afghanistan's Red Crescent, was in the
village of Ubud, Bali, last weekend to work together with hundreds of prominent
individuals across the world pledged to make the world a more peaceful and
better place for future generations.
"The continuous war and insurgency
in my country claimed thousands of lives, and destroyed the hopes and future of
so many people. Women and children have always been the most vulnerable victims
of war," said 52-year old Galiani, who enthusiastically took part in every
session of the 2nd Quest for Global Healing conference.
Softly spoken
and intelligent, Galiani has been renowned as the "tigress of Afghanistan" who
bravely spoke to defend the rights of Afghan women and to fight for a democratic
Afghanistan.
"The people of Afghanistan are still suffering from the war
and I'm here to spread their message across the world," said Galiani, looking
fresh in a red veil and black floral dress.
In Ubud, Galiani said, she
could share her experiences with people from different parts of the world, and
from diverse cultural, social and religious backgrounds.
"This is a
place where people listen to each other's problems and pay each other respect.
This is what all people in the world should do -- respect differences," she
said.
Although this was Galiani's first visit to Indonesia, she said
that she felt close to the country and its people. "I live just next door to the
Indonesian Embassy and I know I have millions of Muslim sisters and brothers
here," she said.
Galiani is a daughter of Pir Sayed Ahmed Galiani, a
former leader of the National Islamic Front of Afghanistan who fought against
the Soviet occupation in the l980s. While her father struggled to free his
country from foreign occupation, Galiani was an effective spokesperson who
carried her father's message to the Western world.
At that time a
moderate spiritual leader of a Sufi Muslim sect, Ahmed Galiani was considered to
be a top candidate for the post of interim prime minister.
In l989, the
Soviet troops withdrew but that did not bring peace, giving way instead to a
disastrous civil war and the rise of fundamentalism in Afghanistan.
Her
father was jailed and died while incarcerated. Her brother was executed by
Soviet and Afghan communists when he was a young man.
"The Taliban
government successfully brought the Afghans, especially women, to its engineered
`Dark Age.' There was no place for women in politics, education, in society or
even within their own families," recalled Galiani sadly.
In the name of
religion (Islam), the Taliban denied the rights of women in Afghanistan, who
make up 60 percent of the country's population.
"The image of Islam in
the Western world is so pass‚ and narrow-minded -- of women clad in black
burkhas (a long-dress that covers the entire head and body) and a man with a
gun, or a terrorist. It's so misleading, and a misinterpretation," she said.
Muslim women have been completely ignored for a very long time. "In my
opinion, not only were they (Muslim women) ignored and misunderstood in the
world, but also the majority of them were misinformed about Islam," she said.
She said there are many educated women in the Muslim world. Many have
become good doctors, scientists, bankers or teachers but rarely experts in
Islamic law and religion.
"Women have made a mistake in thinking that it
is not their role to be educated and equipped with substantial knowledge on
Islam," she noted.
During her exile, Galiani fled to London and entered
a Muslim college there where she studied the Koran and Islamic law extensively,
which later qualified her to become one of the few women to participate in the
Loya Jirga (Afghanistan's grand council).
Most Muslim women, she said,
do not know what Islam is and the rights of women within it. "That has created
the best opportunity for men to abuse this situation and enforce male-oriented
traditions, or whatever suits them to oppress women," she explained.
Many regulations and traditions forcefully imposed on Muslim women in
Afghanistan, in Middle-Eastern countries and elsewhere (including Indonesia,
which has the world's largest Muslim population) were not based on the Koran.
"They (the regulations) are not Islamic at all. Unfortunately, most of
us did not know about this and did not have courage to fight for our own
rights," she said.
"I have to take up this difficult struggle because
there have been so many injustices against women in the name of my religion.
This misuse of religion is one of the reasons why Islam has been completely
misunderstood by the West and its people," she said.
To eliminate this
continuing misperception and misunderstanding requires drastic reform from
within Islamic society. "We cannot expect people (in the West) to change. We
should make a change from inside, especially with regard to men in Islamic
society," Galiani said.
First, it is the duty of Islamic leaders to make
men understand the true teaching of Islam. The Prophet Muhammad always treated
women with dignity and equally.
"Do Muslim families educate their girls?
Do husbands respect and treat their wives properly? Do women have their voices
heard in the family and society? "These are some questions that should be in the
mind of every Muslim man," she said.
Under the present government,
Afghanistan has just approved a new constitution that promotes women's rights,
human rights and democracy. Galiani was one of its architects.
"We are
trying to adopt this beautiful constitution within the formal school curriculum
and to persuade the government incorporate it into its policies," she
maintained. Galiani added she was encouraged to see the improvement of women's
status in her country.
"This situation has not yet become the norm. But
after going through decades of living in `hell,' women are now beginning to see
opportunities and to have real hope," she expressed.
There were currently
many women in the government, in parliament and in the business, education,
medical and scientific fields, something impossible under the Taliban regime.
"Can you believe that Afghanistan made higher education available for
women in the l920s? We had women in parliament in the l960s and women and men
had equal pay for the same job, at a time that Western women were still fighting
for it. That all went after the war, she exclaimed.
Galiani's
contribution was chronicled in a documentary titled Peace by Peace: Women on the
Frontlines. Fully supported by her husband, Professor Anwar Ahady, Galiani has
appeared extensively in the Western media and world stage to articulate women's
rights in the Muslim world.
"I call on Muslim women everywhere in the
world to get up and stand up for their rights. We must tell the world that we
are open-minded and tolerant, and that we must be respected," she said,
determinedly.
Features - May 15, 2006
Rita A. Widiadana, The Jakarta
Post, Ubud, Bali
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