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Three Short Takes on Afghanistan printable version

07 Apr 2011: posted by the editor - Afghanistan

Afghan Women Behind the Wheel
By David Swanson
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN
I've been fortunate to meet some very talented photographers and film-makers here in Afghanistan. We're planning an Afghan Film Festival for the United States this fall.

One film director Sahraa Karimi has produced an engaging and illuminating documentary called "Afghan Women Behind the Wheel." When she told me the title with a bit of an accent, I thought the last word was "Veil." It could almost as well have been. The film is about the limited rights and options of women in a country that is not just poor and war-ravaged, but in which many men passionately believe women to be inferior.

The movie has great footage for anyone wondering what life in Kabul looks like, and it tells the stories of a number of women who learn to drive. In a scene that drew laughs from all the Afghans watching it with me, a driving instructor tells them "Another important thing is traffic lights, even though we don't have any." He goes on to explain what red, yellow, and green mean. I'm told there are a few traffic lights, but I haven't seen them.

Something else you won't see much of is women drivers. The women in the movie are violating a taboo. When they begin driving, vicious rumors are spread about them, including that they are working! It's actually very hard for anyone to find a job in Afghanistan, and driving lessons cost a good percentage of the average annual income.

Some of the women in the movie are in fact working, one in a health clinic, one in a school, and one decides to become a taxi driver. She describes an unloved childhood and a forced marriage to a man 18 years her senior, a man who abused her. She enjoys the sport of Kabul driving, not a skill easily learned by anyone. Her story resembles the others' -- fathers prefer sons, sons inherit property, marriages are forced.

The taxi driver sees driving as the one thing she is able to do, and she is terrified of not being able to afford the gasoline to continue doing it. She dreams that cars might run on water. The same woman builds a house herself and loves it, but is afraid that her stepfather next door might hurt her or her children, and so lives in an apartment. Better times and changes come into her life, which is quite touching and revealing.

I certainly hope to see many more women driving in Afghanistan. If women are going to lead a movement, as they must, to reject both the U.S. occupation and the Taliban, they cannot remain in the position of children always asking for a ride.

See http://afghanwomenbehindthewheel.com

Educators in Afghanistan
http://warisacrime.org/node/57390
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN
I joined a delegation of Afghan Youth Peace Volunteers for a meeting with interested professors at a private university in Kabul on Wednesday.

After a presentation from our side, the professors each spoke in turn. Unlike some previous meetings, there were no real denunciations of the very idea of peace. But the first professor to speak, the ony woman in the group, explained how horrible the wars of the past 40 years had been, all of which she blamed -- reasonably enough -- on the United States. During the civil war, she said, nine groups divided up and fought over Kabul. Not a living thing could be seen in the streets. So, people welcomed the Taliban for security even if they had to give up schools. They were focused on living through the night. She wanted peace, but would simply not stand for any negotiating with the Taliban.

The next professor spoke of the need for first steps, including education, including the education of young people to love peace, to be part of a culture that manages to make peace with peace. Thus far, he said, there has been a lot of talk but little effective education. Books and media that introduce peace are needes, he said. He also proposed bringing members of different ethnic groups to live in the same neighborhoods, through control of apartment rentals and other means. This strikes me as a very good idea.

The third professor made some of the same points and urged cooperation between civil society groups abroad and in Afghanistan. And the fourth emphasized the need for love and friendship. He also recommended using peace music to reach people, and focusing on the development of sports and nonviolent work as alternatives to joining in the fighting.

These are people who know what needs to be done. They could do it better if we stopped bombing their country for a couple of minutes.

Blood in the Streets of Afghanistan
http://warisacrime.org/node/57387
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN
Afghanistan is full of wonderful people and could be a really terrific place to live. But first my government back home in the United States would have to stop murdering civilians over here.

I can't join in antiwar rallies over here, where I would be happy to speak against the crimes of my own government, because it's not considered safe for foreigners, especially Americans, to go near such scenes. Why? Well, imagine if this were happening in the United States and a citizen of the nation responsible were to come visiting:

A definite pattern has been established of killing civilians from the air and on the ground.

The United States has made clear its intention to continue and escalate this behavior.

On the first of March two U.S. helicopters hunted down and slaughtered, one-by-one, nine young boys gathering firewood.

Recently released photographs show U.S. soldiers posing with the corpses of people they've killed for sport.

Just this Monday troops reportedly killed an innocent shopkeeper.

On Tuesday, a raid killed six.

On Wednesday a convoy ran over three.

Elsewhere, soldiers ran two over and shot a third on Wednesday.

Dear Afghanistan, I would love to stay and apologize, but I must be going. I hope to see you in better times, to drink your tea, ski your mountains, and marvel at your people in a future era of peace, Inshallah.

Tags: Afghanistan

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