The Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) has a world-wide network of supporters who comprise of freedom-loving, anti-fundamentalist, and anti-war groups and individuals. On Meena’s 29th martyrdom anniversary, RAWA received several messages of solidarity from these wonderful supporters. A few of these warm messages were read in the function held to commemorate Meena’s martyrdom in Kabul.
CISDA (from Italy)
Dear comrades, friends, sisters,
You are gathering today to commemorate the martyrdom of Meena, an extraordinary woman whose struggle and courage inspired millions of people around the world. Every step we take, we are guided by her exemplary bravery. Her memory never ceases to fill our hearts and minds with love and respect.
On this day of remembrance, we strongly wanted to be there with you all, to remember Meena all together, united. Dear sisters, thanks to your commitment and struggle, Meena has crossed the borders of your nation and become a universal example of struggle.
We first learned from Meena that any humanitarian effort must be accompanied by a broader project of political transformation of the society. Without this project, any humanitarian effort would be vain.
Meena taught us that each one of us - regardless of our age - can be the unstoppable engine of this change.
We established CISDA, this small yet strong Italian organisation, primarily to support RAWA and honour the sacrifice of Meena. We have devoutly followed your work and activities for 15 years, and today we are proud of the choice we made.
The love we feel for you is eternal and grows stronger every day.
Dear comrades, in memory of Meena, do not surrender but carry on your struggle, we are by your side. Let’s build together a better world, a world we want to feel proud of.
a greeting to all the companions of CISDA
Network Afghanistan (From Germany)
Greetings to the RAWA gathering on the twenty ninth martyrdom anniversary of Meena:
Our most heartfelt greetings to our friends who have gathered today to commemorate the twenty ninth martyrdom anniversary of Meena. In our thoughts and our spirit we are with you to keep the legacy of Meena alive.
Her courage, strength and determination to fight for women’s rights, real democracy and social justice continues to inspire women in Afghanistan - and beyond.
Her wisdom and political foresight have proven to be all too true:
Meena warned in the early 1980ies about the danger of the support given to the fundamentalist mujaheddin groups by the western governments. She foresaw the disastrous effects that this support will have for women's rights and human rights. The warnings were not acknowledged and followed by the governments. Today we know that her warnings became all too true.
Even after the catastrophic experience with fundamentalist rule in Afghanistan the western governments did not chance and continued to cooperate with islamist organizations or their supporters: in Afghanistan after 2001, in Syria and in other parts of the world. Only with the determination of democratic and feminist revolutionary movements fundamentalist power and ruling will be defeated. The Kurdish struggle, particularly of the Kurdish women's movement, is a strong inspiration. Not only in the defeat of islamist attempts to gain control, e.g. in Kobani/Rojava, but also in overcoming a state-centric order. Their experiences of a self-organized life is an example we can all learn from and become part of with building up self-organized collectives and networks at the places where we live: Germany, Europe, Afghanistan, Asia... This is not only a dream, but an utopia that has been started... not at least with people as Meena.
We in Germany are learning from your continuous difficult and courageous struggle for women’s rights, against oppression and occupation and for a better, just society in Afghanistan. We are deeply impressed and inspired. We wish you all strength to continue with your powerful organizing for freedom and democracy.
Just recently the German government has celebrated 100 years of Afghan-German friendship. We want to let you know, that we do not agree with the form of friendship that is existing between the German government and the Afghan government. Because the German government is sending military to Afghanistan and is responsible for the massacre of about 150 civilians in Kunduz in September 2009. The funding and cooperation of the German government given to the Afghan government is support to a government full of criminals and to a government which is not taking care of the needs of the population.
But instead we believe in the possibility of a Afghan-German friendship that can develop between the people at the grassroots of societies who struggle for justice and peace. In Germany many people do not agree with the policies of the German government in support of the Afghan government. Many parts of the German society do not want German soldiers to be sent to Afghanistan. Many Germans do not agree with the racist treatment of Afghan refugees by the German bureaucracy.
There are women and men in Germany who want to establish a closer relationship between social movements and struggles in Germany and in Afghanistan. We want to overcome the system of occupation and neo-colonialism. We in Germany have to fight our government as you have to fight yours. We want to ally ourselves with you and get together in the struggle.
No justice – no peace!
Network Afghanistan
February 2015
Matilde Adduci (from Italy)
Greetings from Italy!
Today I would like to draw attention to the importance of the work that RAWA – the Association founded by Meena – has been relentlessly doing in the last decades.
In the last 29 years, RAWA has been a powerful, truthful and uncompromising voice in the struggle for women’s rights, human rights, substantial democracy and social justice.
RAWA’s activists have been bravely denouncing the grim reality of the double threat of imperialism and fundamentalism in Afghanistan (and in the world), and in so doing they serve as an inspiration to all the freedom-loving people in the world.
In the face of the darkness, poverty and violence affecting the people of Afghanistan, Rawa’s activists and their brave supporters in the country continue to keep alive the sparkle of hope for a better future. A future in which every woman and man will enjoy the right to freedom and self-determination; a future in which there will be an end to every form of exploitation of human being by human being; a future of peace in which every child will have the possibility to develop her or his own full potential.
RAWA is able to keep this sparkle alive through its relentless action aiming at denouncing the real causes of the sufferings of the poor, knowing that through this consciousness the poor will be finally able to claim their own rights. At the same time, RAWA is also doing a relentless effort to respond to the sufferings of Afghan people.
In so doing, RAWA is a bright example of the way in which it is possible to struggle uncompromisingly for a better world ‘without ever loosing tenderness’.
For all these reasons, I think that we can loudly and proudly say today that Meena lives in RAWA’s action, as well as in our own hearts.
Thank you for your inspiring example!
Matilde Adduci