The subtitle of this remarkable woman's book, "The Extraordinary Story of an Afghan Who Dared to Raise Her Voice," does not do justice to the magnitude of the heroism displayed by Malalai Joya in Afghanistan. Here in the United States, we love to complain about our government, and exposing hypocrisy, nepotism, and corruption makes great sport (see Michelle Malkin's book). But we live in a blissful political Eden compared to Afghanistan.
Joya's father lost his leg in the fight against the Soviet occupation, so from her earliest memories she was no stranger to sacrificing for freedom. Much of her childhood was spent in refugee camps in Pakistan. Sharing the love of learning she got from her parents, she began teaching girls in underground schools. After gaining some noteriety as a teacher, a women's group asked her to return to Afghanistan to teach in secret schools under the nose of the Taliban. After the Taliban fell and parliamentary elections were held, Joya became the youngest person in parliament.
She quickly gained a reputation as being an outspoken critic of the new government, which, with the strong support of the U.S., was made up of the warlords who had terrorized Afghanistan, and, in some cases, the Taliban itself. She writes that "intolerance, brutality, and the severe oppression of women in Afghanistan" does not characterize only the Taliban's regime, but that "some of the worst atrocities in our recent past were committed during the civil war by the men who are now in power." She says that the U.S. "wanted a civil war in Afghanistan, since it was afraid of the huge quantity of weapons in the hands of the mujahideen." After 9/11, the U.S. supported the Northern Alliance in the defeat of the Taliban, but "Afghan people believed that they were no better than the Taliban."
Given the opportunity to represent her region in parliament, Joya spoke out, criticizing the fact that the government was made up of so many warlords and their supporters. Rather than sit in a position of power, they should be tried for their war crimes. The first time she spoke in session, her microphone was turned off. In two years in parliament, she never spoke without her microphone being turned off. Not only did she gain notoriety, fame, and the adoration of the common people of Afghanistan, she also became the subject of threats and physical attack, even by her fellow members of parliament, and was the target of multiple assassination attempts.
I have heard the anti-war rhetoric of the American left, and I ignore it. They so frequently mischaracterize the role of the U.S. abroad that they have not credibility with me. But Joya, writing from the perspective of a Afghan woman, is highly critical of U.S. involvement--she would say occupation--of Afghanistan. American officials tout the freedom and education of women, but the plight of women is still as dismal as ever. Most of the country is not governed by the government, but by warlords and drug lords. And the Americans are holding up a regime that is tainted by a large number of war criminals. Joya calls for a full withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, and is optimistic that "democratic-minded individuals and parties" will "fight the influence of extremism and bring real democracy to our country."
I wish I shared her optimism. The U.S. has badly failed the Afghans terribly, supporting and arming first one group of thugs and now another. The U.S. presence in Afghanistan has made matters worse for a generation, but, given the current regime, I don't see how getting out will make matters better. I do find it hard to disagree with Joya when she writes: "For successive U.S. governments, their own military, regional, economic, and strategic interests have been considered before everything else and they have been ready to sacrifice millions of Afghans to meet these interests. Their nice words about 'human rights,' 'justice,' 'freedom,' 'liberation,' democracy,' and so on are nothing more than lies. They put no value on the lives of Afghan people."
A book like this makes me happy to be an American. One representative calling the president a liar draws shock and disbelief in the United States. During sessions of parliament, Joya is shouted down, called a whore and worse, physically attacked, had her hair pulled out--all by other members of parliament. My prayer for Afghanistan is that peace and true democracy will come to pass in that country. I have a feeling that the current generation's grandchildren and their grandchildren will look back to Malalai Joya as part of the answer to that prayer.
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