with all our strength 2-17-09

Afghan women were victims of frequent personal sacrifice, death threats, imprisonment, torture, and many other horrible things. RAWA was founded in 1977 by a woman named Meena. she was a college student, and she planned to help Afghan women toward the peaceful creation of a free Afghan democracy. This battle for freedom is faught without violence. It was weird to think that a woman was literally worth one half of a man. The birth of a daughter was accompanied with sadness, because the woman was not providing sons for her husband. This seems rediculous, but it's how these women lived.

The Taliban controlled the country from 1996 to 2001. There were very strict rules placed on everyone. For example, girls over eight were banned from school. Women could not work outside the home. They were not allowed to see male doctors (even though women were banned from work). In public, they had to weara burqa, which covers their entire body, with a small space to see through. There were numerous other rules that were made against women, and punishment for breaking these rules was very harsh. There was the presence of poor treatment of women for many years before the Taliban as well. This poor treatment left most women with psychological problems such as post traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety.

RAWA gave women a chance for some hope in their lives. One woman, named Salima, became a RAWA member at age 17. She left her family, moved to Pakistan, and continued her education in a RAWA school. RAWA members are not allowed to tell anybody what they are doing, so it was a very big deal for her parents to allow her to leave, and put her in the hands of people that they did not even know. Many women who joined this organization had to change their names to protect them and their families.

Meena, RAWA's leader, was very important to all of the members. Meena was assassinated by enemies of the organization.

During the mid to late 1950s, women were making more advancements and gaining more access to employment. Also, the 1964 Constitution gave both mena nd women the right to free democratic vote for the first time. Men and women gained equal status in other spheres as well. RAWA helped so many women, and it was very brave for all of them to join this organization.