کابل پرس

Refugees should be welcomed with dignity and respect by Australia

Shiko Zaher — 2010-05-16T05:59:48Z

“How can…Politicians, who have families of their own, whom they love; be so indifferent when it comes to the sufferings of other human beings?” By Jose Ramos Horta, 2nd President of East Timor, who lived in exile in Australia from 1975-1999.

Friends, it has been said that East to West, home is the best. When home can no longer provide shelter, can longer protect you and your family, when home becomes hell; fleeing is no longer an option but an act of despair to save yourself and your loved ones. I have been a refugee and have lived through pain, miseries and uncertainty as the future looked no better or brighter than the dark and dismal past. I come from a land where the powerful speak and dictate through the barrel of the gun, where the gangs cash in on drugs, where being a woman is a crime, where minorities are shot and killed on sight on daily bases. I come from a place where people have bore the brunt of the international power play during the cold war and beyond, a land that, with every passing year, recedes another decade into the abyss of the past, a land whose people have nowhere to go and nowhere to hide.

Friends, next federal election is just around the corner and yet again, in an election year in Australia, refugees' rights and status are being pushed into question and brushed aside. Refugees arriving by boat make up only a very small fraction of all the immigration but the spin doctors are having a hay day, playing on people's insecurities and the refugees' helplessness.

Article 14 of the Human Rights Declaration states and I quote:

"Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution. This right may not be invoked in the case of persecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations."

The recent decision by the Australian federal government to halt processing of the application of Afghan Hazara and Tamil refugees is in direct violation of this declaration, one to which Australia is a signatory. For those who follow the news and are aware of the ground realities, it is obvious that the conditions in both countries are such that if the individuals are returned back, they will not be heard from or about. More than a few of the refugee returned from Nauru are dead as an indirect consequence of them being left no choice but to gamble with their lives, and many have paid dearly.

The Australian government's appealing phrases “durable security” and “improved circumstances” are the inappropriate terms used for the current situation in Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. The so-called democratic establishment is a farce setup mainly by Islamist warlords responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands and it has for some time been gradually assimilating fundamentalist Taliban into its ranks - a sham that has become so obvious that Karzai refers to the Taliban as his brethren, his children; and has threatened to join their ranks. Furthermore, his brother and cronies lead one of the biggest drug cartels in the world.

Shiite Family Law, known as rape law by the human rights activists is an example of the "legal reform" Kevin Rudd's Government refers to. This law, which completely goes against the human rights and human dignity, was the result of political bargaining between Karzai and his team of religious fanatics as they sought to legalise marital rape, child marriage and gender apartheid, in particular; the Hazara women. (Additionally, the free press are constantly threatened and censored as official government acts— in particular the blocking of KabulPress.org by the Afghan government this year.—ed.)

The question arises, how can the Australian government ignore an issue this serious, even though it's clear that the peoples of Afghanistan have always been the victims of war, terror, genocide and persecution. There has been extensive coverage of these issues and related events on the media, so it's hard to believe anyone could be unaware that these countries have been and are still being ruled by corrupt systems, warlords, religious extremists and human rights violators.

There are many places in Afghanistan that are completely ruled by the Taliban and their al-Qaeda partners, there is also a significant number of foreign armies in direct conflict with the Taliban. This leads to a very unstable society, therefore Afghans do not feel safe and secure under the Karzai administration, who being the president and claiming his role to be a leader of peacekeeping and peacemaking in Afghanistan, chooses to elect governors of various districts, that the observers and media suggest maybe in link with Taliban.

If, according to Australian government, Afghanistan is ‘evolving' or has “improved circumstances”, why are Australian soldiers being sent in large numbers to various unsafe parts of Afghanistan? Why are our young men and women being put in danger? Why should the families of our soldiers suffer the grief and worry if the government is telling us that Afghanistan has “improved circumstances”? Why?

Friends, the fabric of our nation is such the vast majority of us come from refugee stock whether our parents, grandparents and forebears came due to poverty, war, famine, diseases and more. We have made a nation that should be the most tolerant, open and welcoming to all refugees. Let's reaffirm our will to support refugees in their moment of despair, such as stated in the second verse of the Australian National Anthem, “For those who've come across the seas, we've boundless plains to share”.

Abolishing women's rights: revisiting the Afghan Parliament's "Shiite Family Personal Status (Rape) Law"

Shiko Zaher — 2009-10-15T05:44:18Z

I am from a distant place; a place, whose plights are hardly felt beyond its geographical borders; a place where women's wail bears no meaning; a place where a group of religious fanatics can disregard all the values and norms of a human society. I am talking to you on behalf of the women whose cries are unheard from the far corners of the country of my origin, on behalf of victims of abuse and persecution, on behalf of the women of Afghanistan who have no say in their lives, whose very personal behavior is to be approved by the male members of the family and who have to breathe the way their husbands want. These are not jokes, but a few of the bitter realities in the post-Taliban Afghanistan, where you are made to buy one's idea and religion according to which women are “incomplete human beings or the second gender”.

The recent shameless move by the religious leaders being backed by the legislative institutions in Afghanistan poses serious challenges for everyone who believes in human rights and human dignity, it is a red light to the success and effectiveness of the efforts of the international community in the post 9/11 Afghanistan. The new “rape law” drafted in Mashhad, Iran, passed by the Afghan Parliament and signed by Hamid Karzai is not a minor incident but part of a religious strategy which can legalize any inhuman acts, such as stoning and flogging the women; no doubt, if allowed, the next step would be a different version of what Afghanistan experienced in 1990s and what is going on in Pakistan.

Women of Afghanistan have always been the victims of idealist arrogance. For centuries now women have been denied the rights to inheritance, choose their own partner in marriage, and work; either by government decree or by their own husbands, fathers, and brothers. Schools for girls have been burned down, girls have been victims of acid attacks, many of the women who cannot bear these issues commit suicide and many more have undergone physical and psychological torment for daring to venture into new horizons. Many more, including prominent activists and professionals have been shot and killed.

The fall of Taliban brought with it a temporary moment of hope for a better future for all people especially women. Unfortunately, despite the passage of 8 years, endless promises and little action, little has changed. Women are forbidden to work, leave the house without a male escort, in most parts of the country women are still not allowed to seek medical help from a male doctor, they undergo marital rape, and they are forced to cover themselves from head to toe and so on so forth. 90% of these women are still unable to put across their problems. The really painful aspect of these developments is the implementation of these barbaric laws right under the eyes of the civilized world, developed nations and in the name of democracy.

Article 132 and 177 of this Rape Law requires wives to submit to their husbands' sexual demands. The law thereby, legalizes marital rape.
Another article automatically strips divorced mothers of the custody of their children. Other articles legalize polygamy and allow husbands to wed their wives' sisters and cousins. The law forbids women to leave the house without the permission of their husbands or fathers except under unspecified ‘exceptional circumstances' and it goes from bad to worse. All of this designed by a bunch of lunatic fanatics whose aim is to keep arrogance and ignorance alive and victimize the most vulnerable of human beings as much as they can and so long as they can.

I urge you all, I urge the international community, I urge the noble citizens of this country, and I urge the Australian government to help us help Afghan women seek justice. I urge you all to do your part in raising the alarm over the Rape Law and other horrible developments in Afghanistan.

It is sad that while the soldiers give their lives trying to protect a fragile state against Taliban extremists, another bunch of extremists sit in powerful and protected positions in the Afghan government and seek to implement Talibanization in a different name. A fundamentalist government, extremist legislators, Islamist warlords and Stone Age laws are not worth the commitment of the international community; persecutions of women and minorities as official policy, religious fundamentalism are not worth the lives and efforts being put in danger by the soldiers from the International community.

Peace

Salam, This is my speech from a protest held on 12/05/2009 in regards to the "Rape Law" passed in Afghanistan. Your feedback on this topic would be appreciated. Many thanks.

Photos by Robert Maier