Issue 26, September 2011

The Afghan Women's Writing Project

We believe the right to tell one’s story is a human right.  

The volunteer-based AWWP empowers oft-silenced Afghan women to share their voices with the world. 
Who am I
Your support helps Afghan women tell their stories through our online and on-the-ground workshops. Above, a writer in Kabul begins to write on the theme “Who Am I?”

 
Issue 26
 September 2011

Greetings!

 

Writers and readers around the world are telling the story of the Afghan Women’s Writing Project (AWWP). This month AWWP was featured in the International Herald Tribune/New York Times, where reporter Nilanjana S. Roy pointed out that “Afghanistan was recently named the world’s most dangerous country for women. . .” and as  AWWP Founder Masha Hamilton put it, ”It’s when women write about the tough stuff going on in their lives that empowerment happens.”  

What can you do to support AWWP?  Consider bringing the voices of our writers to your school, local bookstore, or cultural arts venue through AWWP Presents, or invite a volunteer mentor or team member to your local Rotary Club through our Rotary Partnership initiative (contact us). 

 

Donate to AWWP and support our work to empower Afghan women.Your contribution will make a real difference and help us supply laptops and flashdrives, open new workshop opportunities beyond Kabul and Herat Province, and expand our oral history project.

Stretching halfway through a workshop
Stretching halfway through a workshop.

You can make a donation via our secure online payment facility.

As little as $10.00 will support our work to provide sanctuary for women to write. Whatever amount you decide to donate, rest assured that your money will be put to good use.   

 

And as always, please remember to share your comments with the writers, on our website .  Many write in secret and some walk miles to send us their work.  Your encouragement for their words and acts helps them know they are not writing in isolation. 

from “In Ghr, Women’s Voices Still Unheard”

Ghor Province
CAFOD photo

… This was my first trip to Ghr Province and the violence, while it surprised me, was normal to the women there.

The woman’s story gave me strength to work harder. I said to myself, “We always claim we work for women, but what have we done for the women who live under these bad circumstances? They suffer from violence and do not know about their rights….”

 

By Seeta

from “The Blue Cage”       

Burqua-clad woman in shadow

Who am I under the blue burqa?

I want to fly from this blue cage.
I want to feel love and peace.

I want to take a pen and write dreams of freedom on the world walls.

 

- by Arifa 

Click here to read all of Arifa’s poem, and leave your comments.  

from “The U.S. Embassy Attack”      

I went to the senior managers to ask permission to go home. They said they would not take responsibility for my safety. I accepted this and prayed to Allah as I left the office.

Kabul US Embassy bombing 2011

CNN photo

Outside I could hear clearly the exchange of fire. Police were shouting at everyone not to walk slowly, but to run and keep our heads lowered, as they were firing rockets and mortars that could hit anywhere.

This was a strange situation. The police were telling not just men but women like me to run for safety.

-by Saifora 

Click here to read all of this essay, and leave your comments.

from “Rain’s Owner”

children's shoes in rain
photo by James Lee

When everywhere was dim like a grave,

When just the voice of a cricket was heard in the reticence of night,

I understood from the tears of the moon that there is no morning.

Even the moon was tired from shining in the inexorable night of the world.

And wanted to say goodbye as the sun left the polluted sky.
But it was surrounded by the circle of wild stars grinning and guarded

because they needed light.

There was no word about affection. No place for interest.

A child was running under the rain, screaming and dancing.

The purity of water became muddy like the eyes of friends.

His only mate was rain. He washed his pains by it and played.

But suddenly he became afraid. Even rain had an owner.

by Zainab 

 

 Read the rest of Zainab’s poem by clicking here.

from “Born in an Iran Refugee Camp”

baby peeking
photo by Emilio Morenatti

A baby girl was born in 1985, but the family was not happy at her birth. They wanted a boy. She was the second child; before her came a sister.  

But with time, the family thought she was sweet. They named her Nasima.

The girl lived for three years in the Shams Abad refugee camp in Iran and she liked her baby life. She didn’t know that she was a refugee. She did not ask, What is a refugee? What are the problems of refugees?

by Nasima 

 

 Read the rest of Nasima’s poem by clicking here.
In This Issue
In Ghōr, Women’s Voices Still Unheard
The Blue Cage
The U.S. Embassy Attack
Rain’s Owner
Born in an Iran Refugee Camp


More photos from
workshops at “The Writers Hut” in Kabul and our new location in Herat.

woman writing on notebook

Quick Links

 

In Memorium 

 

AWWP lost our great friend and supporter Barbara Drummond Mead in August. Barbara, who ran Reading Group Choices with her husband Charlie, often spoke out on behalf of AWWP and sent funds to support the  writers.  

At her eulogy, Charlie shared Barbara’s four rules for living: have fun, nurture family, nurture friends, and read, as it will make you a better person. 

Security Notice

 

The security situation can be difficult for many women in Afghanistan, especially those who are determined to further their education or those who frankly tell their stories. Out of concern for their safety, AWWP will not use family names or specific locators.

The right to tell one’s story is a human right.

With gratitude for sharing in our commitment to bring forward the voices and stories

of Afghan women,

The AWWP Team

Contact Information

If you would like information on the project, or how to donate money, time, computer resources, or any kind of technical/business expertise that might help promote and strengthen The Afghan Women’s Writing Project’saims and goals, then please contact us at:

Rachel de Baere, Director
rachel@awwproject.org

 Please click here for other inquiries or
to send your comments about AWWP

 

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