posted 08-30-99 04:58 AM ET        

Bishop

>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 stuffed into their homes, so that depression is becoming so
>widespread that it has reached emergency levels.
>
>There no way in such an extreme Islamic society to know the suicide
rate
>with certainty, but relief workers are estimating that the suicide rate

>among women, who cannot find proper medication and treatment for severe

>depression and would rather take their lives than live in such
>conditions, has increased significantly.
>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 misbehavior. Because they cannot work, those without male
>relatives or husbands are either starving to death or begging on the
>street, even if they hold Ph.D.'s.
>
>There are almost no medical facilities available for women, and relief
>workers, in protest, have mostly left the country, taking medicine and
>psychologists and other things necessary to treat the sky-rocketing
>level of depression among women. 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. One doctor is considering, when what little medication that is
>left finally runs out, leaving these women in front of the president's
>residence as a form of peaceful 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, dress generally as they wanted, and drive
and
>appear in public alone until only 1996. The rapidity of this transition

>is the main reason for the depression and suicide; women who were once
>educators or doctors or simply used to basic human freedoms are now
>severely restricted and treated as sub-human in the name of right-wing
>fundamentalist Islam. It is not their tradition or 'culture', but 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
>in 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 support and
>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

>it is UNACCEPTABLE for women in 1999 to be treated as sub-human and so
>much as property. Equality and human decency is a RIGHT not a freedom,
>whether one lives in Afghanistan or elsewhere.
>1) Suzanne Dathe, Grenoble, France
>2) Laurence COMPARAT, Grenoble,France
>3) Philippe MOTTE, Grenoble, France
>4) Jok FERRAND, Mont St Martin, France
>5) Emmanuelle PIGNOL, St Martin d'Heres, FRANCE
>6) Marie GAUTHIER, Grenoble, FRANCE
>7) Laurent VESCALO, Grenoble,FRANCE
>8) Mathieu MOY, St Egreve, FRANCE
>9) Bernard BLANCHET, Mont St Martin, FRANCE
>10) Tassadite FAVRIE, Grenoble, FRANCE
>11) Loic GODARD, St Ismier, FRANCE
>12) Benedicte PASCAL, Grenoble, FRANCE
>13) Khedaidja BENATIA, Grenoble, FRANCE
>14) Marie-Therese LLORET, Grenoble,FRANCE
>15) Benoit THEAU, Poitiers, FRANCE
>16) Bruno CONSTANTIN, Poitiers, FRANCE
>17) Christian COGNARD, Poitiers, FRANCE
>18) Robert GARDETTE, Paris, FRANCE
>19) Claude CHEVILLARD, Montpellier, FRANCE
>20) gilles FREISS, Montpellier, FRANCE
>21) Patrick AUGEREAU, Montpellier, FRANCE.
>22) Jean IMBERT, Marseille, FRANCE
>23) Jean-Claude MURAT, Toulouse, France
>24) Anna BASSOLS, Barcelona, Spain
>25) Mireia DUNACH, Barcelona, Spain
>26) Michel VILLAZ, Grenoble, France
>27) Pages Frederique, Dijon, France
>28) Rodolphe FISCHMEISTER, Chatenay-Malabry,France
>29) Francois BOUTEAU, Paris, France
>30) Patrick PETER, Paris, France
>31) Lorenza RADICI, Paris, France
>32) Monika Siegenthaler, Bern, Switzerland
>33) Mark Philp, Glasgow, Scotland
>34) Tomas Andersson, Stockholm, Sweden
>35) Jonas Eriksson, Stockholm, Sweden
>36) Karin Eriksson, Stockholm, Sweden
>37) Ake Ljung, Stockholm, Sweden
>38) Carina Sedlmayer, Stockholm, Sweden
>39) Rebecca Uddman, Stockholm, Sweden
>40) Lena Skog, Stockholm, Sweden
>41) Micael Folke, Stockholm, Sweden
>42) Britt-Marie Folke, Stockholm, Sweden
>43) Birgitta Schuberth, Stockholm, Sweden
>44) Lena Dahl, Stockholm, Sweden
>45) Ebba Karlsson, Stockholm, Sweden
>46) Jessica Carlsson, Vaxjo, Sweden
>47) Sara Blomquist, Vaxjo, Sweden
>48) Magdalena Fosseus, Vaxjo, Sweden
>49) Charlotta Langner, Goteborg, Sweden
>50) Andrea Egedal, Goteborg, Sweden
>51) Lena Persson, Stockholm, Sweden
>52) Magnus Linder, Umea ,Sweden
>53) Petra Olofsson, Umea, Sweden
>54) Caroline Evenbom, Vaxjo, Sweden
>55) Asa Pettersson, Grimsas, Sweden
>56) Jessica Bjork, Grimsas, Sweden
>57) Linda Ahlbom Goteborg, Sweden
>58) Jenny Forsman, Boras, Sweden
>59) Nina Gunnarson, Kinna, Sweden
>60) Andrew Harrison, New Zealand
>61) Bryre Murphy, New Zealand
>62) Claire Lugton, New Zealand
>63) Sarah Thornton, New Zealand
>64) Rachel Eade, New Zealand
>65) Magnus Hjert, London, UK
>67) Madeleine Stamvik, Hurley, UK
>68) Susanne Nowlan, Vermont, USA
>69) Lotta Svenby, Malmoe, Sweden
>70) Adina Giselsson, Malmoe, Sweden
>71) Anders Kullman, Stockholm, Sweden
>72) Rebecka Swane, Stockholm,Sweden
>73) Jens Venge, Stockholm, Sweden
>74) Catharina Ekdahl, Stockholm, Sweden
>75) Nina Fylkegard, Stockholm, Sweden
>76) Therese Stedman, Malmoe, Sweden
>77) Jannica Lund, Stockholm, Sweden
>78) Douglas Bratt
>79) Mats Lofstrom, Stockholm, Sweden
>80) Li Lindstrom, Sweden
>81) Ursula Mueller, Sweden
>82) Marianne Komstadius, Stockholm, Sweden
>83) Peter Thyselius, Stockholm, Sweden
>84) Gonzalo Oviedo, Quito, Ecuador
>85) Amalia Romeo, Gland, Switzerland
>86) Margarita Restrepo, Gland, Switzerland
>87) Eliane Ruster, Crans p.C., Switzerland
>88) Jennifer Bischoff-Elder, Hong Kong
>89) Azita Lashgari, Beirut, Lebanon
>90) Khashayar Ostovany, New York, USA
>91) Lisa L Miller, Reno NV
>92) Danielle Avazian, Los Angeles, CA
>93) Sara Risher, Los Angeles, Ca.
>94) Melanie London, New York, NY
>95) Susan Brownstein , Los Angeles, CA
>96) Steven Raspa, San Francisco, CA
>97) Margot Duane, Ross, CA
>98) Natasha Darnall, Los Angeles, CA
>99) Candace Brower, Evanston, IL
>100) James Kjelland, Evanston, IL
>101) Michael Jampole, Beach Park, IL, USA
>102) Diane Willis, Wilmette, IL, USA
>103) Sharri Russell, Roanoke, VA, USA
>104) Faye Cooley, Roanoke, VA, USA
>105) Natalie Edwards, Charlottesville VA USA
>106) Cyndy Williams, Charlottesville, VA USA
>107) Donna Hall, Lynchburg, Va USA
>108) Robin Hinkle, Lynchburg, VA USA
>109) George Vass Venice, FL USA
>110) Martha Ferris, Moncks Corner, SC USA
>111) Teresa Smith, Charleston, SC, USA
>112) Terry Longo, Orlando, FL, USA
>113) Charlotte Downs, Orlando, FL, USA
>114) Laura M. Connaughton, Orlando, FL USA
>115) Ronit Doran, Tel Aviv, Israel
>116) Iris Berenstein, Johannesburg, South Africa
>117) Lynne Jeffreys, Johannesburg, South Africa
>118) Sharon van Heerden, Johannesburg, South Africa
>119) Lizelle Mc Mahon, Johannesburg, South Africa
>120) Frik du Toit Suid Afrika
>121) Glenda Warrin, Cape Town, South Africa
>122) Andrew le Roux, Cape Town, South Africa
>123) Nathea Beukes, Cape Town, South Africa
>124) Johan Wiesner, Toowoomba, Australia
>125) Retha Wiesner, Toowoomba, Australia
>126) Leon de Villiers, Toowoomba, Australia
>127) Leslie Willmers, Cape Town, South Africa
>128) Wayne Jacobs, Cape Town, South Africa
>129) Davlynne Lidbetter, Cape Town, South Africa
>130) Gunnar Blondal, Oslo, Norway
>140) Hjortur Blondal, Reykjavik, Iceland
>141) Hordur Sigurjonsson, Reykjavik, Iceland
>142) Barbara Eriksson, Gislaved, Sweden
>143) Peter Z"ta, Smalandsstenar, Sweden
>144) Carina Bergwall, Smalandsstenar, Sweden
>145) Mathias Johansson, Stockholm, Sweden
>146) Jessica Eriksson, Stockholm, Sweden
>147) Chris Eriksson, Stockholm, Sweden
>148) Carina H-glund, Stockholm, Sweden
>149) Louise Westin, Stockholm, Sweden
>150) Elisabet Bergstr-m, Stockholm, Sweden
>151) Pia Sander, Malm-, Sweden
>152) Anna Hall�n, malm-, Sweden
>153) Johanna Bengtsson, Stockholm, Sweden
>154) Anette Bergstr-m, Stockholm Sweden
>155) Carin Jurdahl, Stockholm, Sweden
>156) Petra Allerstig, Stockholm, Sweden
>157) Tony Landin, Stockholm, Sweden
>158) Ronny Kannerberg, Stockholm, Sweden
>159) Carina Lindkvist, Stockholm, Sweden
>160) Cecilia Olson, Stockholm, Sweden
>161) Gunnar Stenvall, Stockholm, Sweden
>162) Torgil Leifsson, Stockholm, Sweden
>163) Peter Lindblom, Jonkoping, Sweden
>164) Terese Isaksson, Jonkoping, Sweden
165) �sa Olsson, Jonkoping, Sweden
166) Annelie Borjesson, Jonkoping, Sweden
167) Ir�ne Gr�ndahl, Trollh�ttan.Sweden
168) Jens Westergren, G�teborg, Sweden
169) Daniel Jansson, G�teborg, Sweden
170) Jonas Jonlund , G�teborg, Sweden

> Melissa Buckheit , Brandeis University

posted 08-31-99 04:25 AM ET            

>>By waking the public awareness, raise international opinion and call for aid from UN (like it said what�s the difference between Kosova and Afghanistan) But it�s not really about religious beliefs this is extreme even for muslims !