 |
 |
> >> -----Original Message----- > From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]] > Sent: 09 November 2001 12:30 > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Fwd: Please sign this PETITION > > > Dear Friend, > Please read this, sign it and forward it. There's more to these Taliban >chaps than you see on the news. Makes an eye-opening read. > Best, George > > > > Subject: Fwd: Please sign this PETITION > Date: Sat, 29 Sep 2001 20:02:32 -0700 (PDT) > > This was recently featured on Oprah and she mentioned > this e-mail petition. If you decide not to forward > this, please > send it back to me with a note indicating such. This > is an > actual petition, and "signatures" will be lost if you > drop the > line. Please take 3 minutes out of your life to do > your part. > > Madhu, the government of Afghanistan, is waging a war > upon women. Since the Taliban took power in 1996, > women have had to wear burqua and have been beaten > and stoned in public for not having the proper attire, > even if this means simply not having the mesh covering > in front of their eyes. One woman was beaten to death > by an angry mob of fundamentalists for accidentally > exposing her arm(!) while she was driving. Another was > stoned to death for trying to leave the country with a > man that was not a relative. > > Women are not allowed to work or even go out in > public without a male relative; professional women > such as professors, translators, doctors, lawyers, > artists and writers have been forced from their jobs > and restricted to their homes. Homes where a woman > is present must have their windows painted so that she > can never be seen by outsiders. They must wear silent > shoes so that they are never heard. Women live in fear > of their lives for the slightest misbehaviour. > > Because they cannot work, those without male relatives > or husbands are either starving to death or begging > the street, even if they hold Ph.D.s. At one of the > rare hospitals > for > women, a reporter found still, nearly lifeless bodies > lying motionless on top of beds, wrapped in their > burqua, unwilling to speak, eat, or do anything, but > slowly wasting away. Others have gone mad and were > seen crouched in corners, perpetually rocking or > crying, most of them in fear. When what little > medication that is left finally runs out, one doctor > is considering leaving these women in front of the > president's residence as a form of protest. > > It is at the point where the term "human rights > violations" has become an understatement. Husbands > have the power of life and death over their women > relatives, especially their wives, but an angry mob > has just as much right to stone or beat a woman, > often to death, for exposing an inch of flesh or > offending them in the slightest way. > > Women enjoyed relative freedom: to work, to dress > generally as they wanted, and to drive and appear in > public alone until only 1996. Women who were once > educators or doctors > or simply used to basic human freedoms are now > severely restricted and treated as subhuman in the > name of right-wing fundamentalist Islam. It is not > their > tradition or 'culture,' but it is alien to them, and > it is > extreme even for those cultures where fundamentalism > is the rule. > > Everyone has a right to a tolerable human existence, > even if they are women in a Muslim country. If we can > threaten military force in Kosovo the name of human > rights for the sake of ethnic Albanians, citizens of > the world can certainly express peaceful outrage at > the oppression, Murder and injustice committed > against women by the Taliban. > > STATEMENT: > > In signing this, we agree that the current treatment > of > women in Afghanistan is completely UNACCEPTABLE > and deserves action by the United Nations and that the > current situation overseas will not be tolerated. > Women's Rights is not a small issue anywhere, and is > UNACCEPTABLE for women in 2000 and 2001 to be > treated as subhuman and as so much property. Equality > and > human decency is a fundamental RIGHT, not a freedom > to be granted, whether one lives in Afghanistan or > elsewhere. > Directions > PLEASE COPY this email on to a new message. Sign > the bottom and forward it to everyone on your > distribution > lists. (including the person who sent it to you) If > you receive > this list with more than 300 names on it, > please e-mail a copy of it to: > <mailto:[log in to unmask]>> > > Even if you decide not to sign, please be considerate > and do not kill the petition, just return it to the > person who sent it to you. > > 1) Anne Archer, Los Angeles, CA > 2) Kelly Preston, Los Angeles, CA > 3) Eve Darling, Sheridan, OR > 4) Dawn Darling, Los Angeles, CA > 5) Bill Goode, Los Angeles, CA > 6) Salila Travers, Austin, TX > 7) Ed Long, London, England > 8) Andrew Heddle, England > 9) John Carlton > 10) Mairead Carlton > 11) David Gayler > 12) Racheal Pearson > 13) Barbara Blake > 14) Joanne Mc Cullagh > 15) Neil Martland, England > 16) Steve Tayles, England > 17) George Prall, Birmingham, England > 18) Gary Duxbury, Bolton, England > 19) Katie Duxbury, Bolton, England > 20) Gaël Grand, France > > > > > > Gael Grand mobile in France: 0670871750, int: +33670871750 *************************** ADVERTISEMENT ****************************** For ALL the latest Soccer news on your club, GAA sports results and the latest on your F1 stars plus much more check out http://sport.iol.ie/sport. Sport On-Line.... It's a passion