Opening Minds with Media: Tolo TV in Afghanistan

This week, the New Yorker ran a piece on Saad Mohseni’s media company Moby Group – owner of Afghanistan’s most popular channel, Tolo TV. This channel stands out for its controversial content and its revolutionary portrayals of women and relationships. With millions of viewers and its envelope-pushing programs, Tolo TV has the potential to change decades-standing social norms in Afghanistan.

Launched in 2004, Tolo TV is home to Bollywood soap operas that portray love marriages and not only show unveiled women, but women with bare midriffs. It hosts Afghanistan’s most popular program, Afghan Idol (analogous to American Idol) which reaches a third of the population. And, despite Mohseni’s initial support for President Karzai, Tolo TV has presented critical news coverage of alleged voter fraud and corruption during the suspect 2009 elections.

According to the article, the channel is also the target of both fundamentalists and the government for its “un-Islamic” programming. Afghanistan’s Ulema Council deemed some shows as inappropriate and the minister of for information and culture demanded that Tolo TV remove the offending soap operas (even though the channel already censors sex scenes and blurs cleavage and even Hindu idols). Mohseni refused to comply and later faced criminal charges for keeping the soaps on the air. This act of defiance was not only a boon for free speech, but was instrumental in keeping more progressive (though admittedly not perfect – it would be more encouraging to see more women doctors, engineers and professors on air and not just measure progress through clothing women wear) portrayals of women on the air.

For better or worse, the media has a significant role in changing stereotypes and societal norms, and even influencing our behavior. The media in the US provides prominent examples of its reach into the personal lives of viewers. The Cosby Show and Fresh Prince of Bel-Air were some of the first popular television programs to depict educated, upper and middle class African American families, breaking decades-old stereotypes that had permeated popular culture for years. Sex and the City (despite the franchise’s dreadful movies, 1 and 2) was groundbreaking in its portrayal of financially successful and sexually empowered women. Formerly taboo topics ranging from STDs to sexual orientation, and even sex toys were tackled on the show. The media even influences the names expecting parents pick for their children. According to the Social Security Administration, Twilight monikers Jacob and Isabella were the two most popular baby names of 2009. By providing progressive programming, Tolo TV can too have widespread clout in Afghanistan. Tolo TV, despite its threats of censorship by the government, is in a great position of power and with that, has the potential to bring progressive change to Afghan society. By challenging the government in its refusal to remove programming and by portraying women, as well as male-female relationships in less conservative light, the channel offers a counterpoint to the androcentric norms that have been used to repress women for years.

Photo Credit: Flickr (image of interview on Tolo TV)

Creating an Afghanistan for Afghans

The situation in Afghanistan has posed quite a challenge for the Obama administration despite nearly a decade of US intervention in the region. Since the 2001 invasion, the US has lost over 1,000 service men and women in Afghanistan. Though estimates differ on the total number of Afghan causalities lost since the start of the war, according to the United Nations’ Annual Report on Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, 2009 proved to be an especially deadly year as “at least 5,978 civilians were killed and injured in 2009, the highest number of civilian casualties recorded since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001.” Most deaths were a direct result of Taliban activities in the region. Terrorism, women and human rights abuses, the opium trade, and economic woes top the list of problems plaguing Afghanistan, but policy makers have skimmed over a glaring issue facing Afghanistan: the lack of government legitimacy among the population has left Afghans without a voice, and in some districts, even sparked sympathy for the Taliban.

Several indicators point toward rampant disdain and distrust of the government by the Afghan people. The Washington Post reported that “In an assessment of 121 Afghan districts that it considers crucial to winning the war, the U.S. military found that only about one-quarter -- or 29 districts -- could be classified as sympathetic to the government.” More alarming, 48 districts were categorized as tolerant or sympathetic toward the Taliban. Some of this may be traced back to the reelection of President Karzai in 2009, which was both marred by fraud accusations and heavily contested by his opponent, Abdullah Abdullah.

Government legitimacy, however, is more than transparent elections; it is about the ability to produce results and provide security and social services without corruption. The US military’s study found that most Afghans believe that governmental corruption affects their daily lives. This is not surprising as a 2006 survey (PDF) conducted by Integrity Watch Afghanistan found that half of public services were believed to be the result of bribes. The government cannot sustain a sense of legitimacy among the people when it is tarnished by corruption and incompetence.

Afghan women are particularly impacted by the empty lip service paid to them by their government. For instance, while the government allots seats in both houses of Parliament for women, female politicians are often targeted in militant attacks. Less than two months ago a female Provincial Council member survived an assassination attempt after being targeted in a drive-by shooting. An Afghan Parliament member was also shot just a month before. The government has failed to give women a voice in Afghanistan by not providing adequate security against militants who want to extinguish their influence in the government.

When corruption trumps justice and government inaction or incompetence leads to loss of life or other destruction, it becomes obvious why Afghans do not overwhelmingly hold positive views of their government. Political legitimacy will only come when Afghans feel that the government represents them. In the meantime, the international community must do more to ensure that Afghanistan’s policies are representative of the Afghan people.

The US should continue to put pressure on the Karzai regime to stamp out bureaucratic corruption. Unconditional support for a leader entrenched in endless corruption scandals will only discredit the US in its efforts to rebuild Afghanistan, while increasing the risk of losing Afghan trust to the Taliban or other groups. NGOs should continue to serve as watchdogs during future elections and give Afghans confidence in their voting system. More importantly, both the US and NGOs should assist in building Afghanistan through social and humanitarian efforts aimed at strengthening institutions (such as healthcare and education). Much of these efforts should be targeted specifically at empowering women. As the world watches the developments unfold in Afghanistan, we should remain reminded that this is not just a war zone, but rather a state and nation building operation.

Image Source: flickr

Girls' School Bombed in Pakistan

A Pakistani middle school for girls was bombed late last night near Peshawar, which is in the northern region bordering Afghanistan. No one was injured in the bombing, but reports indicate that the attack completely destroyed the girls' school building. According to officials, this is the third school bombing this month in the Peshawar region.

Local official Farooq Khan told Agence France Presse that "the girls' middle school was badly damaged because of the explosion, now the school building is almost out of use. The classrooms, desks and chairs were also damaged."

In Taliban-controlled areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan, violence against schools that educate girls has been part of campaigns against the education of women. In Pakistan's Swat Valley, more than 130 primarily all girl schools have been destroyed in the past year, allegedly by the Taliban. In total, hundreds of schools have been destroyed in Pakistan's northwest region over the past several years. During the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, which lasted until 2001, Afghan girls were forbidden to attend school. To date, approximately 1,000 girls' or co-educational schools have been bombed or burned in Afghanistan.

Source: Feminist News

Photo credit: Umair Mohsin on flickr.com

Knowledge is Power: theme proves true worldwide

The first day of Feminist Majority’s Women, Money and Power Summit came to a mind-blowing end at The General Assembly on Women and Power. With moderator Amy Brenneman (long-time activist, but also known for roles on “Judging Amy,” and “Private Practice,”) FM’s president Ellie Smeal, Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez and three Afghan women scholars; the room was filled with such courage and life experience. A somewhat chatty person like myself couldn’t help but leave speechless.

The point was clear as day: Women’s rights should be assumed, just like any other human right. These rights are not only essential to the individual woman’s quality of life, but also a country’s development. As Amy Brenneman expressed: the more a country utilizes 50% of its population, the better (for areas of economics, ecology, education, security, community development, etc…) Above all, the birth place of a woman should not determine her rights or safety.

FM then personalized these ideas with the case study of Afghanistan. Between Amy, Ellie and the three scholars (each who had lived in Afghanistan during the Taliban regime, but moved to the United States for the right to education,) personal stories were shared. Stories of both passive resistance, like teachers taking class attendance and then dismissing the girls, of aggressive resistance, like protesters throwing acid at young women on their way to school: No matter the circumstance, each time, the Afghan women would keep returning, keep pushing on. One Afghan scholar told us that when she was kept back from school, because of the Taliban, she begged and pleaded with people to secretly teach her. When that fell through, she trained herself through old textbooks. Each of the three expressed a yearning to go back or work towards a better Afghanistan, either through teaching, politics or medicine. The stories were harsh, but the courage and the passion these girls have is so beautiful.

Congresswoman Sanchez reiterated this message of global solidarity by showing that women’s safety is one of her great priorities, particularly human-trafficking (something that is so often brushed under the rug for later.) Sanchez also pushes other females on the hill to dive deeper on global relations, leading trips of newer employees to conflict areas like Iraq so that they can have a realistic perspective when voting.

All in all, Ellie Smeal said, we must do everything within our means: we cannot abandon our Afghan/ global sisters.

After this panel, I can’t help, but want to divide into two: one person to go to the hill to speak out, one to go the library to absorb all like a sponge.

photo credits: United Nations Photo from flickr.com

Afghanistan Is the Most Dangerous Place in the World For Women

Coverage of Afghanistan in the US media rises, falls and occasionally just disappears. But it's been in the news a lot recently mainly because the public's support for the war is at an all time low. Just this morning key US generals in the country stated that if more troops aren't poured into Afghanistan, the US may have to admit "mission failure."

But what about the women? After all it was in their name that this war was waged for eight years ago, right? Remember? Well, now even women's groups are at each other's throats over whether or not the US should pack up its bags and leave Afghanistan, forget about the war, forget about the women and call it a day. The argument is that the US presence isn't making a difference for Afghan women's rights, so why stick around?

This is a very dangerous position to take on the war. 70% of Afghan women suffer from domestic violence, making it the most dangerous place in the world to be a woman according to UNIFEM (United Nations Development Fund for Women). Recently President Hamid Karzai not only rigged the elections, but signed the Shiite Family Law, which basically makes it legal for a husband to starve his wife if she refuses to satisfy his sexual needs.

There is no question the US mission there is "misguided", to be diplomatic, but what is the alternative? What will happen to not only Afghan women, but the women of the region if the US leaves?

Watch this video and see if you can come up with some answers. Failing Afghan women means failing all women. Don't doubt that even for a second. Join the Feminist Majority Foundation's Campaign for Afghan Women and Girls today.

Afghan Election - High Stakes and Women Being Left Out

On Thursday, Aug. 20, the polls will open for Afghanistan's presidential election. This is the first election since the U.S. led invasion in 2001, to be primarily run by Afghans, and as you can imagine, in a country that's been the site of conflict for decades, the election process has many faults. The validity of the election is threatened by potential fraud, disenfranchisement of women, strict voting regulations and threats of violence from the Taliban.

Women's votes are at particular risk due to the fact that polling locations are sex-segregated, and the country's Independent Election Commission estimates that there is a shortage of approximately 13,000 female poll workers; meaning women who do intend to vote, will have no polling place at which to do so.

Additionally, immense voter registration fraud is suspected. While male voters' ballots must include an ID photo, women's are not required to do so. Sima Samar, Chair of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, is extremelely concerned by the unusually high number of female voter registrations coming from traditional and conservative regions, and suspects voter fraud.

Other threats to the general election, and even moreso, to women's ability to leave home and cast their ballot, are Taliban threats of violence. Despite a government-issued request that international media not cover any election-day violence so as not to further scare and deter voters, current President, Hamid Karzai, has urged voters to cast their ballots no matter what. Additional peacekeeping troops will be deployed to protect voters.

Photo courtesy of flikr.com

Newsday Tuesday: August 18 Edition

Good afternoon everyone! Today is one of our campus organizer's birthday! Happy brithday Val!

In the rest of the world, lots has been going up to, so let's get to it: it's Newsday Tuesday!!

Urgent News

The US Department of Justice has withdrawn the federal marshals charged with protecting Leroy Carhart, MD, one of the few physicians in the country who provides late abortions.

Middle East
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced Sunday that he will appoint at least three women to his cabinet. If approved, these appointees will be the first women cabinet ministers since Iran's Islamic Revolution in 1979.

Iranian authorities allowed Esha Momeni, an American graduate student and feminist activist who was imprisoned and then detained by the Iranian government, to return to the US Thursday. Momeni's passport had been confiscated by the Iranian government after her release from the notorious Evin prison in November 2008.

Iranian opposition leader Mahdi Karroubi announced that he has received reports of jailers raping prisoners during the government crackdown on protesters after June's disputed presidential election.

The controversial Shia family law that restricts the rights of Shia women in Afghanistan was published in the country's official Gazette on July 27th, making the law's provisions official. President Hamid Karzai published the law as he courts fundamentalist Shia mullahs in advance of the presidential elections scheduled for next week.

National Rulings

A jury in Florida awarded Alejandra Ramos and Maria Onelia Maco Castro, two women hired to work as nannies, $125,000 in back wages and damages and found the couple that employed them guilty on five counts, including violating labor and human trafficking laws.

A federal judge ruled Monday that the Gay-Straight Alliance at Yulee High School in Florida must be permitted to meet on campus and be granted the same privileges as other student clubs.

The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruled that Belmont Abbey College discriminated against its employees on the basis of sex by denying them health care coverage of contraceptives, through removal of coverage for oral contraceptives, voluntary sterilization, and abortion.

Reports and Polls

Equality California, California's largest LGBTQ advocacy organization, released a report Wednesday urging gay rights activists to wait until 2012 to repeal Proposition 8.

A poll released Saturday by CBS and the New York Times indicates that just 53 percent of American adults support military women serving in combat roles. The poll also found 83 percent support women serving in support roles for ground troops. The US currently restricts women from direct combat roles in infantry positions or in the Special Forces.

Global Happenings

The International Olympic Committee voted Thursday to add women's boxing to the 2012 Olympics in London.

Fourteen Nobel Laureates released a letter Tuesday urging the United Nations Security Council to take action to support fellow Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. Suu Kyi has been detained for 14 of the last 20 years and was sentenced yesterday to 18 months of house arrest after temporarily housing an American who swam to her lakeside property unannounced.

The Organic Laws and Statues Bureau of Taiwan's legislature has released a report suggesting changes to the nation's abortion laws to give women greater control over their reproductive rights. The bureau proposes that women should be able to obtain abortions without spousal consent.

Photo courtesy of Matt Callow on flikr.com

New Legalized Gender Discrimination in Afghanistan

Yesterday Human Rights Watch learned that the revised Marital Rape law in Afghanistan was passed and published in the official Gazette on July 27. Although the amended legislation promised by the Afghan government no longer includes marital rape, it includes equally oppressive laws against women. Most notable, the law allows Shia men to deny wives of food if they refuse to perform thier husbands' sexual demands. Aditionally, the law states that guardianship of children belongs exclusively to fathers and grandfathers, and allows rapists to avoid prosecution if they pay "blood money" to make up for any injuries caused to thier rape victim.

Not only is does this legislation strip women of some of thier most basic human rights, it is also unconstitutional according to the Article 22 of the Afghan constitution which states that men and women have "equal rights and duties before the law". Additionally, this legislation defies the international convention CEDAW, which Afghanistan has signed to end discrimination against women. Although President Hamid Karzai promised to amend the previous marital rape law, it has been speculated by many feminist groups that the president supported this pathetic alteration in order to garner support from religious conservatives for the upcoming election on August 20.

It is completely unacceptable for women, or for any human being to be so horribly discriminated against under the law. The dignity and quality of life of the women of Afghanistan is being tossed around by male political and religious leaders more interested in power than in equality, safety, and the well being of the Afghan society as a whole. This legislation cannot be ignored by the international community, or by feminists around the world. Let President Obama know that it is important to you that he pressure the next Afghan President to repeal this legislation and guarantee the Afghan women the fundamental rights that they deserve. Call your representative today!

The Feminist Majority Foundation is committed to achieving full political, social and economic freedom and equality for the women and girls of Afghanistan, through the Campaign for Afghan Women and Girls and the Feminist Campus Afghan Women's Health Initiative.

Afghanistan on the Silver Screen

Last week a group of FMF and Ms. interns took a little after-work field trip to see the Sundance award winning documentary, Afghan Star. Here at the FMF, Afghanistan is a daily topic of conversation as one of the organization's major prioritites is the Campaign for Afghan Women and Girls. This summer, the west coast FMF interns have been working with board member Helen Cho to give new life to the campaign, so we thought it would be very appropriate to educate ourselves more about Afghanistan through Afghan Star.

Afghan Star follows an Afghan tv show of the same name which emulates shows life American Idol. Although there is nothing too controversial about a show like this in the United States, in a country that has faced war for the past thirty years and was transformed under the rule of the Taliban, the show is revolutionary. Under the rule of the Taliban from 1996-2001, music was outlawed completely, and today it is still considered blasphemous by the Muhajideen and religious elite. Although the top contestants are now famous among the 11 million fans of the show (1/3 of the country's population), it has also put thier lives in danger, particularaly for the three female contestants (3 out of 2000).

As the documentary states, this seemingly trivial television show is groundbreaking in Afghanistan because for many of the younger generation, sending in a text message vote for thier favorite contestant is the first time they have participated in a democracy in which the vote of a man and a woman are equal. Furthermore, it is significant that contestants from all ethnic and tribal backgrounds share the same stage as equals.

Afghan Star is a deeply moving and eye opening educational experience. As you follow the contestants through their experience, particluarly Setara, the 21 year old woman who faces death threats daily because she danced on stage, or the young female engineering student who constructs her own satellite each week out of house hold items in order to tune in to the show, you will be angered, terrified, inspired, and humbled.We applaud and thank the film's director Havana Marking for her remarkable contribution to our education and understanding of Afghanistan. Check here for a theater near you! www.zeitgeistfilms.com/afghanstar/

Midwives make huge difference

The Feminist Majority Foundation has worked for years to help Afghan women on the issues that are important to them. Those include increasing girls' access to education, supporting women's groups in Afghanistan, and promoting women's health and security.

Maternal mortality is shockingly high in Afghanistan, and is certainly one of the biggest issues facing women in that country. One of the ways to help Afghan women receive safe maternal healthcare is to train women to be midwives. CNN has an article today about just how needed and effective it is to have women helping other women.

Healthcare is lacking in many regions, and according to the article, many men refuse to have their wives see male physicians for cultural reasons. Having midwives not only solves that issue, but it also provides women with a valuable job in their society.

Trained midwives are helping pregnant women who face numerous difficulties survive. If we want to decrease the devastatingly high maternal mortality rates in the world, one answer lies in training women in communities to be midwives. If you're looking for a valuable way to help women survive and live safer lives in Afghanistan, you should check out FMF's Afghan Women's Health Campaign.

Photo courtesy of www.flickr/advocacy_project

Newsday Tuesday: July 21 Edition

Not only does Tuesday mark the furthest point from Monday, but also means it's time for Newsday Tuesday! Let's start the week off with a bang and highlight some of the feminist standouts of the past week!

• Former police officer Debra Hartley, who has been walking 225 miles from her home in Effort, Pennsylvania , arrived in Washington, DC Monday. Her mission is to raise awareness on sex bias that impacts women in law enforcement. Hartley hopes to meet with First Lady Michelle Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder to discuss policies that would address this issue. Hartley left her post in 2003 after filing complaints that she was treated differently than her male co-workers.
• After more than 60 years of fellowship, former President Jimmy Carter issued a statement last week announcing he is leaving the Southern Baptist Church due to their treatment of women.
  
• Judy Chu won the special election for California's 32nd Congressional District last Tuesday and was sworn in today as the first Chinese-American woman in Congress.

Global
Iranian women's rights activist, lawyer and journalist Shadi Sadr was beaten and arrested by plainclothes police officers last week. Several men approached and seized Sadr without displaying a warrant, beat her with batons when she tried to escape before forcing her into a waiting car. Sadr founded Zanan-e Iran (Women of Iran), the first website dedicated to women's rights activism in Iran.

The 41st Bulgarian Parliament elected their first female speaker, Tsetska Tsacheva last week.

Natalia Estemirova, a journalist and human rights advocate in Chechnya was abducted from her home and killed last Wednesday. This is on the heels of an escalation in amount of human rights abuse in Chechnya where there has been at least 50 kidnappings and 4 deaths so far this year.

Last Friday, 13 Sudanese women were arrested and 10 flogged for wearing pants. The floggings occurred after the women were arrested by public order police enforcing Sharia law, which stipulates that women are expected to dress in traditional attire and Western-style clothing is frowned upon. The women were each fined, pled guilty and received lashes immediately.

Finance Minister Surendra Pandey and the Nepalese government released a budget for fiscal year 2009/2010 last week, which includes a cash incentive for men who marry widows.

Federal
Last week, the Obama administration filed a legal brief that reverses a Bush administration policy that prohibited battered women from seeking asylum in the US. The brief suggests that battered women are covered by the definition of refugees and asylees, however, the new policy of asylum will not protect women who are victims of genital mutilation.

Congresswomen and global health administrators held a briefing on Capitol Hill last Tuesday to highlight the issue of maternal health in Afghanistan. According to UNICEF, Afghanistan has the second-highest maternal mortality rate in the world.

States
An Illinois law requiring parental notification before abortions for teenage girls was ruled constitutional by a federal appeals court in Chicago lasted Tuesday. Originally passed in 1984, the law mandates that physicians notify the parents at least 48 hours before the abortions of girls 17 or younger.

Photo courtesy of [sic!]ut.at on flikr.com

Ellie Smeal on Afghanistan

HuffingtonPost.com is featuring a great post by FMF President and Co-Founder Ellie Smeal and FMF Board Member Helen Cho on why we simply cannot abandon Afghan women and girls.

In the past few days, there's been a lot of talk in the blogosphere, critiquing FMF for being an organization that promotes non-violence (in fact, it's a cornerstone of our mission statement!) and yet has recently rejected the call from some to pull out of Afghanistan. As Ellie and Helen so eloquently state,

"We cannot endorse this position because the cost to women and girls would be too high and the U.S. responsibility for the current failed state of affairs in Afghanistan is too heavy. If the U.S. were to pull out of Afghanistan, the United States would be once again breaking our promise to the Afghan people, and the country would likely fall under Taliban control."

Read the entire post. Tell us what you think.

For more information on the Feminist Majority Foundation's Campaign for Afghan Women and Girls, check out http://feminist.org/afghan/! To take action with our Afghan Women's Health Campaign (raising funds to support Afghan midwives combatting the second highest maternal mortality rate in the world), click here.

Photo courtesy of Norma Gattsek.

Weaving Their Way to Independence: How One Non-profit Organization Is Fostering Female Empowerment and Development in Afghanistan

The book “Be the Change,” is a compilation of interviews and profiles of some of the world’s most successful philanthropists. One philanthropist’s work in Afghanistan is particularly impressive because it has grasped, all at once, the interconnectedness of development in terms of education, employment and access to healthcare.

Connie Duckworth and her “hope by design” non-profit organization, Arzu, provide sustainable income to the women of Afghanistan by providing materials, which enable women (particularly widows) to create and sell high-quality Afghan rugs to high-paying American customers. One rug already exists in the White House.

Yet, Duckworth’s organization goes one step further. As Duckworth states, “It’s not about entitlement. It’s about dignity.” So, in exchange for supplies and a 150% profit of each rug, Afghan weavers must sign a social contract. Every family must send all its children to school and all women (regardless of age) must attend Arzu-sponsored literacy and numeracy classes. Additionally, in order to combat the second highest infant mortality rate in the world, Afghan women must also register with Arzu and agree to travel (at no cost) to health care centers for pre and postnatal care. These rules are mandatory and enforced.

Much like Afghanistan itself, the Afghan rug-making industry has been ravaged by 23 years of constant warfare, resulting in a disrupted supply chain and displaced artists. Afghan women have been weaving for centuries, but until now, the sale of these rugs has been conducted through countless middlemen who often leave female artists out of compensation altogether. Now, with Arzu’s help, 700 women engage in their economy, free from the dangers of economic slavery.

Connie Duckworth's story is that of the first female sales and trading partner at Goldman Sachs who, after years of success, joined the Afghan Women's Council and realized she could not only help other women, but also enable them to become financially, intellectually and physically independent. Arzu is a brilliant model for development and female empowerment.

The cost of an education in Afghanistan

Since 1996 the Feminist Majority Foundation has worked to create awareness and action in response to the conditions of women and girls in Afghanistan. As we have known for many years, the conditions for all in Afghanistan, especially women and girls, have greatly deteriorated and demand a return to outrage and calls for action.

I am particularly disgusted by the attacks on young Afghan girls who seek an education. In addition to endless intimidation and threats, extremists have resorted to acid attacks and, most recently poisoning of 61 girls yesterday and an additional 84 young Afghan school girls today.

During the rule of the Taliban regime, Afghan girls were not allowed to attend school to receive an education, resulting in generations of illiteracy and lost promise. A recent Newsweek article tells of the great danger that has come with this new found opportunity.

The Afghanistan Ministry of Education says that 458 government schools (mostly in the south) are closed due to threats of violence, leaving 400,000 boys and girls at home. In the 2008 school year alone—from March 2008 to March 2009—22 students and teachers were injured (including a November acid attack that left 15 girls and teachers scarred in Kandahar province). Another 33 were killed, a ministry spokesperson reports.

In Home-Schooling, Sadiqa Basiri Saleem, a young Afghan woman, tells of her seven-year struggle to create schools for young girls in rural Afghanistan. Despite the dangers for all, students and teachers continue to come to the make-shift schools in the homes of private citizens with hopes of a brighter future for all of Afghanistan. I can only hope that it is a future that values the contributions and worth of women and girls.

Photo credit: Newsweek, Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Newsday Tuesday, May 5th Edition

The Cool:
The US Senate starts us off on a good note, reintroducing the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act which would include crimes committed on the basis sexual orientation, gender identity, gender, and disability as hate crimes under federal law. The House gave the OK to the bill, passing it on a 249-175 bipartisan vote. Thanks for saying no to hate, Congress!

We have the Senate to thank for the next tidbit, too - former Kansas governor Kathleen Sebelius (photo at right) was confirmed as the new Secretary of Health and Human Services, rounding out President Obama's new cabinet.

Finally, a big cheer for the 8 year-old Saudi Arabia girl who won a divorce from a 47 year-old man.

The UnCool:
The Missouri State House approved restrictions to Emergency Contraception in the Show Me State by passing an amendment to allow pharmacies to refuse to stock EC, also known as the morning-after pill or Plan B. The California Supreme Court also refused to hear an appeal in a sexual orientation expulsion case from a Lutheran high school.

On the global scene, human rights violations against juveniles are continuing in Iran, with the execution of Delara Darabi as the most recent example. In Afghanistan, there is rising concern about potential voting fraud for Afghan women as the August election approaches.

One Night Only: FMF's Fifth Annual Global Awards

6am flight from Washington Dulles non stop to LAX for one night only. What would you do if you had that ticket in your hands? Well, if it was to attend the annual Feminist Majority Foundation's Global Women's Rights Awards in Los Angeles, you would have your bags packed in 5 minutes flat! And that's exactly what I did.

Beyond the overwhelming glamor of the event was a cause that couldn't be farther from the opulence of the setting at the Beverly Hills Hotel. For the last five years, FMF has held these awards in LA to honor the immeasurable courage of women who risk their lives to fight for women's rights.

This year's awards addressed how women in the US are mobilizing to protect the lives of women in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and media pioneers whose work brings us the stories of women and girls around the world. With the recent resurgence of the Taliban and the US's renewed and newly coupled strategy in the region, FMF knew the time was now to breathe new life into our Campaign for Afghan Women and Girls, formerly the Nobel Peace Prize nominated (2002) Campaign Against Gender Apartheid in Afghanistan.

The three hour event, hosted by Mavis and Jay Leno, started with a live auction, followed by dinner and a panel discussion featuring the honorees. The list of honorees read like a roll call of some of the most amazing women in the world: CNN's Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour, Roja Bandari of the Iranian One Million Signatures Campaign, Janet Johnson Bryant of the Liberian Mass Action for Peace, Billie Heller from the National Committee on CEDAW (The UN Women's Treaty), Abigail Disney and Gini Reticker, producer and director respectively of Pray the Devil Back to Hell.

Beyond the glitz and glamor, at the core of the event was the fact that the return of the Taliban has brought a brazen military assault on the women of both Afghanistan and Pakistan. Shariah Law has been introduced in the SWAT province of Pakistan; acid attacks on girls going to school in Afghanistan are rising. The possibility that women's rights in these countries could roll back to the Dark Ages is a real and palpable threat. Unless women, both here and around the world, say NO: Not on our watch. And that is exactly what FMF President Eleanor Smeal urged the audience to do.

Christiane Amanpour spoke at length of her past and recent travels to Afghanistan, and shared with us her stories of the women she met there. Amanpour said that the Afghan people had helped the US fight and defeat the Taliban post 9/11, and paid with the destruction of their country and the deaths of countless civilians. She said every woman in Afghanistan is strong, every woman struggles. And when asked what the one thing they want the most for their children, Afghan women all say education. Before food, before health care, before security, she said they all stipulated that without education, the children of Afghanistan would not have an opportunity to determine the course of their own futures, and to lead lives better than those of their parents.

All I could think about were the words of Afghan feminist and activist Dr. Sima Samar who was recently in our Washington office recounting stories of young girls being burnt by acid on their way to school, having their teachers shot in front of them by the Taliban- she had no shortage of horror stories. Except for the fact that they weren't just stories: They were real accounts of what was happening in Afghanistan everyday. We simply cannot forget the women of Afghanistan again. Losing in Afghanistan would be detrimental to every single women's rights movement in the world.

Iranian activists Roja Bandari and Yasmin Manaucheri accepted FMF's award for their Million Signature Campaign on behalf of their sisters in Iran. Although they head the campaign in the US, they dedicated the award to their colleagues in Iran who have been subject to endless harassment and arrest by the Iranian government for more than two years because of their online campaign for women's rights.

The work of each honoree made me reflect on the amazing the spirit of the global women's movement. No matter how oppressive a regime is, be it in Iran or Afghanistan, a women's movement resisting the oppression exists. Be it underground or out in the open, resistance is there, women are organizing. I have no doubt that the spirit of these global movements have the power to win. But we must fight alongside with them. After all, our futures and destinies are interdependent with theirs- now more than ever.