DCMJ, October 27, 2021
Malalai Joya participated in the International World Peace Congress at IPB in Barcelona, Spain. She presented her speech about Afghanistan and met with several parliamentarians including Heika Hansal, Germany Parliament Member. She discussed the immediate need of Afghans in this crisis and urged the peace and human rights supporters to provide their help as much as possible.
Bellow is her speech transcript:
Twenty years after the U.S. launched their invasion and war, the people of my long-suffering country are right back where we started. After trillions of dollars spent, and hundreds of thousands killed and displaced, the Taliban flag is once again flying over Afghanistan.
As the youngest woman elected to Afghanistan’s Parliament back in 2005, my experience reflects the failure of the U.S. and NATO war – a policy that used women’s rights as a pretext for occupation but only managed to empower the most corrupt forces in our society.
The rise, and now the return, of the Taliban, and the ideological brothers of these extremists such as ISIS, al-Qaeda and dozens of other terrorist organizations in Afghanistan, is the result of decades of foreign intervention and corruption which has turned the hope of life and a relatively bright future into a terrible nightmare for our helpless compatriots. For twenty years now, I have given voice to my people’s struggle for freedom, independence, prosperity and social justice, and I have always been on the edge of protest against the Jihadi-Taliban fundamentalists and their bloodthirsty foreign masters. For more than four decades, these fundamentalists were mercenaries and creatures of the infernal organizations of the CIA, Mossad, MI6, Wawak/Savak and ISI, who killed our defenseless and innocent people and drove people from their homes.
The biggest treason of the U.S. to the Afghan nation is the submission of Afghanistan to the Taliban through a shameful deal helped by the puppet regime of Ashraf Ghani. With this action and giving amnesty and international recognition to terrorist Taliban who are in the blacklist of UN as wanted criminals in the name of peace agreement, US proved it once more that it has an inseparable bond with its lackeys.
Now, once again they brought Taliban to power under the name of a so called “peace”. In fact, the history is repeated in Afghanistan again and they disrespected and betrayed the values of democracy. This brutal war is far from over because a sinister dealing with a savage group armed and supported by foreign intelligence agencies will never bring peace and peace without justice is meaningless.
Looking back to the history, the US regime has committed war crimes and they did so even in their last operation in Afghanistan which caused the killing of many innocent Afghans including women and children.
Less than two months into this new Taliban regime, we can already see the brutality they will unleash against our people. Many of you know the bloodthirsty nature of Taliban so there is no need to go into details. I have said many times in the past and I repeat now that Taliban has not changed, nor have they become moderate, soft-spoken and humane.
In addition to the U.S. and its nefarious interests, regional powers have long been interested in intervention of our country and wanted to occupy or control Afghanistan — especially China, Russia, Pakistan, and Iran. Each of these countries have their own specific strategic interests, for their own benefits. Furthermore, countries like the UK, Germany, Turkey, Qatar, France and many others have contributed to the instability of Afghanistan pushing it back to dark ages for their own political, economical, and military interests. Women’s rights under the Taliban regime are non-existent and will include torture, beating with lashes, forced marriages, stoning, banning of music and deprivation of basic lifestyles, deprivation of education and jobs, and many more examples showing their misogynous and inhumane nature. A clear recent example is the women covered from head to toe in black Hijab at the University of Kabul and at the streets in Kunduz, Faryab and Kabul, who blindly came on stage with the slogan “Death to Democracy and Long Live the Emirate”. Although the Taliban brutally prosecuted Negars, Razias and dozens of other girls and women, they can never silence the call for women’s liberation and equality. Widespread protests against the absurd and rotten ideology of the Taliban have begun with the presence of progressive and fearless women. These incredible displays of courage are a source of hope for further effective movements and the nationwide women’s movement.
The catastrophe has caused many men and women to be unemployed and at the same time inflation has risen which will lead to extreme poverty. It is heartbreaking to see that some families have even had to sell their beloved children or their own kidneys or commit suicide because they could not feed their children.
I have repeatedly emphasized that the only way to save Afghanistan and to get rid of this catastrophic situation is solidarity of the progressive, democratic, and secular forces. If we want to have an independent, democratic, and prosperous Afghanistan in which men and women have equal rights based on democracy, people need strong solidarity to be free from fundamentalists and any foreign interventions. For two decades I have been repeatedly saying that “no nation can give liberation to another nation.” Now I insist again that only nations can liberate themselves.
Afghans are courageous and determined people, and even in these dark times for our country we will find new ways to unite and fight for our liberation. International solidarity and support are crucial at this time. Do not forget the women of Afghanistan, just because the U.S. and other NATO troops have gone home. We are more determined than ever to come together to make sure that one day the true flag of our country will fly over an independent and free Afghanistan. I also want the international solidarity of the justice loving and progressive movements, individuals, parties and activists around the world not to forget Afghanistan and join their hands with the progressive intellectuals and activists in Afghanistan.