On February 4, 2022, the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) commemorated the 35th anniversary of the martyrdom of Meena, the founding leader of RAWA. The program was attended by a number of members and supporters of RAWA from different parts of Afghanistan. There were speeches, poetry, revolutionary songs, as well as excerpts of received solidarity messages from different world progressive organizations, parties and individuals.
At the beginning, the host said:
"Today, we commemorate the epic woman, who, thirty-five years ago, sacrificed her life for her great ideology. We sincerely thank each and every one of you for attending this event during the rule of the theocratic and fascist regime of Taliban and during the difficult days of poverty, misery and cold.
Meena was only 22 years old when she laid the foundation of RAWA, with the aim of salvaging the women of our country, and at the age of 31, she lost her life with a heart full of great aspirations. In her short life, she taught her followers the great lessons of struggle, courage and resistance, and to never stay silent against the enemy, even for a moment."
She added:
"Sisters! During the twenty years that the United States had occupied our homeland, under the guise of democracy, human rights, and women's rights, Afghanistan became the stronger hub for fundamentalists, terrorists and the most corrupt and insecure country in the world; majority of the US minions embezzled and looted as much as they could; the vast majority of women were deprived of everything, except for the corrupt and yes-women who made to the top, due to their supererogation to the arc-criminals of the ruling regime. Despite the cascading of billions of US dollars, domestic and sexual violence, abuse of women, enforcement of medieval laws, honor killings, forcing women into prostitution, became routine.
The Taliban are a tool in the hands of the destructive and bloodthirsty US government, which were replaced by their Jihadi and Technocrat brothers, and whenever they do not meet the needs of the American masters, they will be refurbished as ISIS."
The poem, "Oh Secret Fire", was recited.
A video clip dedicated to Iranian women political prisoners was shown at the event, and inspiring quotes from several of their writings were read.
Then RAWA activist spoke on the current situation and the stand of the organization on some burning issues:
"Fortunately, Afghan women are aware enough that Taliban can no longer impose any of their Stone Age laws on them. If Taliban are trying to deprive women of education and the right to work, they know that with this policy, women can be suppressed and their cries can be neutralized and thrown out of the political life. A woman who has no share in the economy of society, automatically becomes the slave of a man. Therefore, women's movements must defend these women's rights to the last extent. If every women's movement do not put the struggle against fundamentalism, imperialism and for secular democracy on its agenda, that uprising will be swallowed up by traitorous rulers.
In the period of despotism and oppression, even the small freedom-loving and progressive movements have profound effect on society as a whole and should not be underestimated. The Taliban are now so shivered by these small protests of women that they are arresting and repressing them because they know that from these seemingly small movements, bigger waves of justice-seeking movements will emerge and overthrow their shaky rule. However, the significant condition is to be noted, that we shouldn’t be afraid of imprisonment and torture. Majority of the revolutionaries have turned the prison into the biggest battlefield and have made a deep impact on thousands of others in order to continue on their path."
Referring to the current situation in our tormented homeland, she added:
"Taliban are currently cheerishing with the power and the gun and the support of the United States, Pakistan and other countries, but it will not last long because this group is hated by the people. This bunch of terrorists have gained the hatred of the people with their explosions, suicide bombings, killings and strange backwardness. The Taliban were created not by the people but by foreign intelligence, and just as the other despotic regimes in Afghanistan which have fallen one after another, Taliban are also doomed to destruction.
In the recent days, we have seen the Taliban were invited to the Norwegian summit, which has been well received by the United States and its allies. Naturally, the United States prefers to recognize the Taliban under the guise of an all-inclusive, participatory government, and many of tricks. The hosting by Norway and the opening of the doors of Europe to the Taliban means that the Western Governments, nourishing criminal, the rule of the Taliban or any other fundamentalist and savage force is not important; they only want a puppet government in Afghanistan to act according to their aims and regional strategy.
Worst of all is the invitation of puppet and pro-establishment women like Mahbooba Saraj, who for years, under the name of women, filled their pockets of US dollars and have acted according US policies. In the past, some showpieces of the West, such as Habiba Sarabi, Fauzia Kofi, Nahid Farid, etc. have also played a treacherous role in Doha, each of whom had become an indirect spokesperson for the Taliban. A large number of awaken Afghan women have clearly stated that these women do not represent Afghan women and that Afghan women can never forgive the Taliban for their crimes and betrayals."
In the event, a clip containing pictures and quotes of women fighters and prisoners of Iran such as Sepideh Qulyan, Zeinab Jalalian, Athena Daemi, Nasrin Sotoudeh, Marzieh Amiri, Neda Naji, etc. was shown. And the presenter added:
"The history of the struggles of the masses of Iran is full of the existence of revolutionaries who each sacrificed their lives to keep the flag of resistance and revolution of this land high and red. These great people are not only an inspiration to the Iranian revolutionaries but also a role model for us. On the one hand, the bloodthirsty Islamic regime of Iran is always trying to silence the political activists and opponents by torture and terror, however, on the other hand, we have epic figures such as Farzad Kamangar, Shirin Alam Holi, Shahrokh Zamani and Baktash Abtin who did not surrender, and left the most obvious examples of humane honor and resistance."
A Persian hymn, Sun of Freedom, and a Pashto hymn, Salute to Meena, were performed by several members of RAWA, and an instrumental piece, composed by a young artist dedicated to Meena, was played.
In the very oppressive conditions of the bloodthirsty Taliban regime, the main message of the event was to emphasize on the steadfast continuation of the path of Meena until the dawn of freedom and justice.
