Fawzi koofi - one of the icon of women human rights in afgan

Yesterday went to fawzi koofi talk At the arts house. The reason that prompted me to go was the fighting spirit of hers -

She spoke about her reason of 'fighting' - its for the basic rights of women. For the current generation of women. For the future generation of women. For the transformation. For change.

She also shared : To us, the violence against them could be seen as a form of silencing. However on a positive note, it could be also seen as a victory where the violence happens because their voice has been heard and the taliban is now fearful of their influence. And this helps to exemplify their cause and give strength to women, giving them a greater voice.

Next she shared about the culture of men in her country. In family. - the issue of family violence. Due to religion teaching and also them under the Taliban ruling they have grown up under the trend of conservatism where they have the misconception to protect the women they need to make sure they understand the rules, listen eg wear the burqa so it will tempt others hence the importance of them having power and control. And they do it by violence. By using fear. By not supporting the women's education - forbidding them to go to school ; to drive etc 

Why education?  "stop education, you will kill a nation" if you kill individuals, you won't. Think about north korea. Lack of knowledge will keep their people in. 

Then of course we touched on the topic of politics where she is planning to run for presidential election in 2014 and the issues they are looking into and preparing. Where will happen when the unites states withdraw their troops from afgan in 2014? Will power struggle create chaos? How will the people react under uncertainty? For the current generation, how can one use social media to facilitate transparency with the elections and promises by politicians? 

Joining her was also another upcoming women politician



For this event, we were able to 'dwell' in the justice chambers which seemed like an apt place for the conversation. As a women in Singapore, I never felt strongly about inequality about women and men and hence women issues never struck a strong chord within me.
However hearing from her, made me realize indeed out there in the world, such division does exist. And they have to fight even for a very small basic right that we all take for granted living in a developed world. Though many say glass ceilings exist, which I personally don't really agree because I believe strongly its a choice, lets remember at least we have our basic rights given to us.

Also reminded me of the old days where people drown girls because they want a male.
Reminded me of my literature text " Sing to the Dawn"

Wishing both of them all the best.