Young Women for Change

YOUNG WOMEN FOR CHANGE

Young Women for Change (YWC), founded in April 2011, is an independent non-profit organization consisting of dozens of volunteer women and male advocates across Afghanistan who are committed to empowering Afghan women and improving their lives through social and economical participation, political empowerment, awareness and advocacy.
YWC was co-founded by Noorjahan Akbar and Anita Haidary.

Vision
Members of Young Women for Change are committed to promoting gender equality, empowering women and increasing Afghan women's social participation.

What makes YWC different?
YWC is one of the premier Afghan women’s advocacy movements founded by Afghan women for Afghan women. We are a growing grassroots feminist movement with a long-term vision for women in Afghanistan. It was established to empower women across the country and recruit them to the struggle for gender equality. YWC members are all volunteers.
In addition to awareness programs, we have held the very first anti-street harassment march in Afghan history, and will be conducting the first ever large-scale study of sexual harassment in Afghanistan soon.
We also work towards women's empowerment and increasing their access to education.

 http://youngwomenforchange.org

www.facebook.com/ywc.af

Young Women for Change
Contact Number :
+93(0) 793 358 677
Address :
Karte 4, Kabul, Afghanistan.
Email Address :
                                                                    info@youngwomenforchange.org

            Meet Anita Haidary

Anita Haidary, like other young Afghans, has experienced more in her 19 years than many of us do in a lifetime.

Anita Haidary was born in Kabul in August 1992 - four months after the creation of the Islamic State of Afghanistan, following the fall of the Soviet-backed Najibullah government.

At that time, Afghanistan had an interim government and the whole country was in a state of unsettled transition, with attrocities being committed by different factions.

In 1994, the Taliban took power in several provinces in southern and central Afghanistan.

On 27th September, 1996, the Taliban seized Kabul.

Notoriously, in regions under Taliban control, they imposed their political and judicial interpretation of Islam - forbidding women to work outside the home, attend school, or to leave their homes unless accompanied by a male relative.

While trying to gain further control, the Taliban committed systematic massacres against civilians, according to an extensive UN report.

When Anita was six years old, in 1998, her father - like many in the region - had to flee the country overnight. A month later, Anita followed with her mother and siblings, to start a new life in Pakistan.

In 2001, following the 9/11 attrocities, the U.S. and British air forces began bombing al-Qaeda and Taliban targets inside Afghanistan. Meanwhile, NATO, the European Union, Canada and India played a major role in the reconstruction of the country.

In 2003, her family felt it was safe to return to Afghanistan. Anita and her sisters and brother had to again adapt to new schools and a change in culture and language.

Some of Anita's high schooling took place in California, as part of the Future Leader Exchange Program (FLEX) and Youth Exchange and Study (YES) Program. She then returned to Afghanistan to finish high school in Kabul.

Anita went on to set up Young Women for Change (YWC) - together withNoorjahan Akbar -  a movement of young Afghan women and men advocating against sexual discrimination and inequality.

Chris Crowstaff asked Anita about her school life in Afghanistan, Pakistan and the USA.

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Early memories in Afghanistan

1)  What do you remember of your early childhood in Kabul?

I remember very few things about that period of my life.

My dad was running a family business. My mother was at home all the time. My grandfather homeschooled us so that we could learn how to read and write in Dari. My grandmother’s house was my favorite place to visit.

The best part of lunch times were going to my youngest uncle’s shop. He had a shop that rented music and film copies. His shop was situated very close to our house and I would take lunch to him once in a while; I just liked the loud music from his shop that covered the entire street.

I remember my neighbor’s girls going to school. My father loves flowers so we had a lot of them in our yard. The neighbor daughters would come and ask my dad if they could pick some flowers for teacher’s day.

But one day all of this was gone.

We woke up in the morning and my father was not there. I asked my mom and she said he had to go, but he will come back. Some people came to our door asking for my father and my mother told them he is not here.

I remember my mother took us to my grandmother's house so that their neighbor could take care of us.

When we were in my grandma's house I hated it because there was no one in there. The whole place was empty. After some days all my neighbors disappeared.

My paternal grandmother who was living in Pakistan came to Kabul. They started selling things from my parents' house. I remember her staying awake the whole night and packing little things for us.

She was the only one responsible for taking all of us to pass the border to Pakistan, all by herself - all five of her children and my mom - and no knowledge of the language in a strange country.  I remember her running up and down after us and the little belongings we were carrying.

After some days we went to Pakistan.

Refugees in Pakistan

2)   What was life like for you in Pakistan?

When we got to Pakistan, both my parents started working.

We were sent to torturing to learn Urdu and English.

After six months of classes I and my second oldest sister we were admitted to a private secondary school that was partially paid by Aga Khan Education Services (AKES) and rest was paid by my parents.

My two other sisters and my brother were admitted to kindergarten at the same school and expenses were paid by both my parents. The school gave us tests and they admitted me to the third grade. So, I started school from third grade.

We soon had a had simple life again - but very different.

Slowly we became accustomed to the life in Pakistan. In the area where we living there were only a few Afghan families, living far apart. Their children were older than us.

We would barely see any Afghans around.

We were so young that we could not help my parents. My mother and father would cook and, in the morning, help all of us get ready for school.

We spent the whole day out of the house and came home late in the evening. The routine was basically school - to torturing classes - home for dinner - to religious classes - regular prayer - and then we walked back to my house with my mother.

This was our regular life for all whole time that we were there.

Back in Afghanistan

3)   What sort of challenges did you encounter when you returned to Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban regime?

After spending 5 years in Pakistan, returning to Afghanistan I saw many differences. Our entire house was broken; nothing was the way I remembered.

Because of spending less time with our parents in Pakistan, we lost most of the language.

When I was back to Afghanistan and we were admitted to schools. I was in 7^th grade. There were 40 students in my new school, compared to the school in Pakistan where there were 5 students.

I read all the Dari text in an Urdu accent and pronunciation. I had no idea about Pashto.  I couldn’t understand most of the text that was in Dari in other subjects. My father started tutoring us for Pashto and Dari. I had to change the way I spoke. I had to change the way I sounded.

I had to wear a scarf and longer clothes. I wasn’t allowed to talk in the class.

As I grew older I started facing more problems.

I couldn't live the way I wanted to. I couldn’t be the same person anymore. 

I kept fighting for it, but it almost seemed impossible. I didn’t have that perfect world anymore.

I could feel the difference. Things were better than what I had heard, but still the society needed to go through a lot of changes.

I got in a lot of trouble for fighting for freedom of speech in class, correcting teachers, speaking out against imposing religious ideas from my teachers and fighting for my grades.

I was tired of hearing my teachers saying because you are a girl; you can’t do this and that.

There was a time where I was lost; it was hard to accept all my teachers emphasising one thing and the way I grew up.

Changes

4)  Do you feel that life in Afghanistan has changed in any way over the years since your return? 

 Yes, I do see a lot of changes. However when I was younger, I didn’t know much about wider part of the society so I wouldn’t judge, but it is different. 

We hear news about suicide attacks.

Girls go to school. People are working more hours and there are many cars on the street.

Many school girls are older, since they missed the years of high school during the Taliban period. Women work more but the acceptance level is very low. 

When I was going to do my exam for the YES program, all my classmates were asking if I was allowed to do so.

I didn’t see anything wrong with it and I couldn’t find a reason why my parents would say no to it. Later, my parents were the main encouragement. Since my story, a lot of girls have been allowed to go to colleges in different parts of the world.

PART TWO 

19-year-old Anita has already experienced a lot of changes, which led to her attending school in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and the USA.

She is now in her second year of a four-year scholarship to Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts and majoring in Film Studies and Computer Science and minoring in Russian language.

Before starting at Mount Holyoke, she worked as a producer with TOLO TV,Afghanistan's most popular television station.

Summer jobs in Kabul have included working with the Afghan Human Rights Research and Advocacy Consortium (HRRAC) and Equality for Peace and Democracy (EPD) - a member of the Afghan Women's Advocacy Coalition.

Gender equality is an issue which is never far from the minds of many young Afghans, both women and men.

There are concerns that, in efforts to 'reach out' to the Taliban leadership, President Hamid Karzai may be forced to severely compromise on issues affecting women in particular.

It is hoped that such fears will be addressed at the International Conference on Afghanistan in Bonn, Germany, will take place on 5 December 2011.

Anita Haidary and Noorjahan Akbar are two young women who are particularly keen to ensure that the issue of gender equality is high on the agenda in Afghanistan.

In April 2011, Anita and Noorjahan set up Young Women for Change (YWC), a movement of young Afghan women and men advocating against sexual discrimination and inequality.

Chris Crowstaff asked Anita about the lives of young women in Afghanistan, and about her vision and hopes for the future.

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The Taliban

1)  How much influence do the Taliban still have in Afghanistan?

It depends, if we are talking about the Taliban as a group, then yes, it has influences over some provinces of Afghanistan. 

If we talk about ideology, then it has control over a lot of places - even if not physically, then certainly culturally, and in the thoughts that people vocalise.

This is so because we have freedom on paper only - we failed to put new regulations into action. We force people to do something without teaching them the reason behind it.

If people have believed something for years, it is hard to change it; it takes time.

Women are not allowed to go to school. Women accept it because they don’t think they have another choice. Men create those rules because they don’t understand the future effects of it.

There is an old saying that says, “You shouldn’t let your women to be educated because they turn into witches”.

The quote is ingrained and powerful, despite its absurdity.

It is widely believed that women will bring evil to society if they are educated. The most effective way to stop women being educated is to say that education will harm us... the idea of women turning evil if they are educated.

Without education, women are simply puppets moved by different male members in the society. It is scary, to think that you can be led like a puppet.

We need to teach the men that we are not puppets. We belong to society as much as they do. We are not here to lead them but to participate.

Foreign intervention

2)  Would you like to comment on overseas involvement in Afghanistan - particularly the UK and US military intervention?

Well their involvement is good; however, it depends at which level they are involved.

They have sent their soldiers to protect us. We thank them for that but, as a country, I believe there are certain limits we have to set for them. 

I think we really need them to give their skills to our soldiers, rather than feeding us today and, when tomorrow comes, they leave and we have nothing to hang on to.

I really think they should invest more in empowering our police and soldiers.

Change from within

3)  Do you feel that the oppression of women in Afghanistan is best dealt with by Afghans themselves? Is there anything the international community can do to help?

 I believe that only way for Afghanistan to change is when the changes come from inside the society and from Afghans.

They need to learn and believe in it. They have to understand the problems and find solutions. They know the society best.

We have to educate them; find youth who are awake and can feel the pain. They will help their society.

It is impossible for a few people to fix everyone.

The important part is for the idea to grow.  And that can happen when someone is from the same place and speaks in the same language as you speak. It is easier to understand that. 

No one can help Afghanistan, unless they do it themselves. . .  I strongly believe that movement and change has to come from within the society.

No one can do anything for us unless we do it for ourselves.  And then the international community would be able to help more with skills, education and finance.

Islam and male interpreters

4) What would you say to people who feel that Islam is the cause of women's oppression in countries such as Afghanistan?

I wouldn’t ever say Islam is the cause.

It is people who causes problems.

There is no religion in the world that says to harm humans. Islam has given rights to women more than to anyone.  It is not followed well.

Religion has been used by male interpreters who have used religion for their own benefit.

The Prophet’s daughter and wife were the closest to him.  He was the one who stopped Arabs from burying their girls alive.

According to Islam, it is duty of every man and woman to be learning and to be educated. If the religion puts that as a duty then how can it be against it?

Likewise most of the other examples are like that.

Challenges

5)  What is it like to be travelling between Afghanistan and the USA for your studies? How do you adapt to the differences?

 Every time I go and come back the feeling is very different. I knew very little about my country.

After traveling I learned more and started appreciating good parts of my culture. 

It is different because since starting college I am more attached to my country.

I used to always think about problems and it would stop me sleeping, but now I have a goal in life.

Every time I go back I find more things to connect with and ways to fix the problems. I don’t believe that nothing can change in Afghanistan. Education definitely gives one more power to do things, or to have more influence.

I know most of my friends have the same feeling.

My country doesn’t have to be like this, it can change.

Young Women for Change - staying positive

6)  You describe YWC as a 'dream come true'. Could you talk more about that and your reasons for setting up YWC?

After returning back to my country and truly living there with full understanding, I always wanted to do things.

Whoever I met always told me that is impossible. I never stopped believing that it is possible.

It is hard but not impossible.

I always organised small projects in places I lived - but it did not make a big impact.

Until we started working as YWC.

It is an organization that I was thinking of but couldn't completely envisage.

I wanted to work with young people.  It is what we need - to bring in people from different places, different religions and different ethnicity.

Difference makes us powerful - and we will show that through YWC.

We are different in every way, different ethnic groups, religion and working filed, but we have one point in common and that is the idea that we want to work for Afghanistan and want to change it, regardless of the problems we face.

The future

7)  What are your plans for the future with regard to your documentary work and your vision for YWC?

 I am a second year film and computer science student. I decided to study film and learn how to make documentary after working with TOLO TV.

While working there, I learned about the power of media, especially in country like mine - where most people can’t read and write, but they can understand when I speak. 

I want to use film to get our messages across. I truly believe that YWC is the voice for every Afghan.

We are tired of the same problems and people repeating our problems to us. It is time to change it. 

YWC will be joined by all Afghans, if not in person but they will all carry this idea which is what we need.

The Street Harassment protest was a step to tell people that there are problems and hiding them won’t help. Simply talking about it only will not help either - so we had a campaign.

We have lectures to educate people. Now I am working on a documentary that will talk about the streets and show the results of what we are doing in this society for so-called “correction of women” - we have to pay big price for it in the bigger picture. 

We have more projects that are mostly based on society and working closely with society.

We are also working on connecting the police to people. 

We are working on bringing new ideas to schools and to the lower 'stratas' of the society.