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Just to survive in Afghanistan is a daily act of bravery as
the conditions are so desperate. Joya, a deeply religious
person from a poor family, cannot afford to think that she
cannot make a difference to the women of Afghanistan. She
works with local Islamic religious leaders because that is
the only way to reach people in her community. Despite
massive amounts of money, medical supplies and food going to
Afghanistan from the United States, faith-based groups here
have not offered to help the people of Joya’s country like
they could.
 Whenever she speaks, Joya talks about the importance of
solidarity. She thanks feminists and human rights defenders
from around the world; and she credits specifically
Women
for Women International and
Revolutionary Association of the
Women of Afghanistan (RAWA). But I find our responsibility —
our part of the solidarity as U.S. women — more difficult to
grasp since our country seems so much a part of the problem.
“Solidarity for Afghan women is to recognize that people
like Malalai Joya exist and that you do not have to import
leaders into the country,” said Vina Nadjibulla, a UN
representative of United Methodist Church who is also from
Afghanistan. “Solidarity is understanding that local
leadership arises even in the worst situations. Solidarity
is supporting (Joya’s) work without taking it over.”
It is difficult in the U.S. to stand in solidarity or
witness to the world’s suffering when we are confronted with
so many mixed messages. When the U.S. invaded Afghanistan
after in October 2001, many in women’s movements were
confused and even misled by the claim that our country was
liberating Afghan women. Nadjibulla suggested American women
should challenge U.S. foreign policy when it uses women as
an excuse for military intervention.
 Joya renews my hope, but her story and other stories like
hers are disheartening because we often do not know the
reality of how our government actions are ignoring — or even
harming — women in other countries. None of the stories of
the peacemakers I have met are finished. After surviving the
horrors of war, most of them are just beginning the real
work of rebuilding their communities. For us to stand in
solidarity, we must ask them directly what their needs are,
and then we must spread the word by telling others,
including our government. Only then can we tell others about
them, and find ways to begin building peace together.
Emily Freeburg is
assistant to the director at the Lutheran Office for World
Community at the United Nations in New York.
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Women
Braving Peace (continued)
