While I try to end the week with a bit of art or inspiring prose or poetry, no can do this week because I am mad, really mad. Upon awakening this morning to find that Barack Obama had won the Nobel Peace Prize, the first thing I did was to look at the top of my screen to see if I was on The Onion website or whether perhaps the Yes Men had hijacked the headlines. No such luck.
While Obama is trying to decide whether to send 40,000 more troops to Afghanistan or maybe invade Pakistan, and having not achieved one single peaceful thing except maybe getting a Harvard professor and a Boston policeman to sit down with a beer–he is getting this coveted prize? To be sure, Kissinger won it too, which was revolting, but really??
Ironically this comes a day after a teacher at my son’s school won a coveted teaching award that came with a $25,000 award (which the teacher said he would spend mostly on books for his students) which is a pittance compared to the almost $1 million Nobel award (let alone the amount the U.S. spends on military expenditures). One wonders whether Obama will use any of his prize to help the victims of the destructive folly over which he presides.
Imagine the good that would be done if honors such as this were awarded to people like Rep. Barbara Lee who was the lone vote against this war and continues to speak out against it. Then perhaps we could truly wage peace.
To honor this sham of an award, please read this account from RAWA about what peace looks for the women in Afghanistan that we supposedly liberated. And then, please send a donation to help RAWA in their very important work.
Self-immolation has been practiced in alarming rate by desperate Afghan women who lack access to justice and protection. (Photo: Paula Bronstein)
Twenty five years old Shafiqa set herself on fire in Jowzjan province in Northern Afghanistan, Abdul Rahim, the chief investigator to Police department of Khanaqa said.
He added, after the incident one of the neighbors informed the police and they transferred Shafiqa, who was badly burned, to the Shebrghan (center of Jowsjan) local hospital.
Doctor Abdul Satar Paygham, the chief of Jowsjan public health considered her health condition critical and said that her burn is sixty percent.
The chief investigator of Khanaqa says that Shafiqa has lost her parents years before and according to her neighbors she has been beaten by her brothers consistently.
He added that the incident is under investigation and yet the real reason of the suicide is not specified.
The two brothers of Shafiqa who were present in the public health of Jawsjan refused to talk.
Zahra Areeb the director of Jawsjan Women’s Affairs condemning any type of violence against girls and women says that during the current year five girls and women has committed suicide in this province but they have been treated in the hospital and have survived after the suicide.
According to Ms Areeb, domestic violence, mistratment of the families and bounding girls and women inside the houses are the factors of self-immolation.
Maghferat ‘Samimi’ the in charge of Human Rights Commission in Jowsjan, Faryab and Sarpul, condemning violence against Shafiqa said that the incidents of sexual abuse and self-immolation is more than the figures that a number of organizations and government officials in these three provinces report.
Samimi added: Most of the people never ask the government officials to solve the cases of murder and violence against girls and women as they see the the weakness and corruption of government officials and police to interrogate their problems.
Although Afghanistan’s Independent Human Rights Commission has not published the exact number of violence against women this year, but according to their information, in year 2008 the number of violence against women was recorded as 2000 cases, which was comprised of 77 rape cases.
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