Pakistan: Afghan Women Lead Protest at U.N. Offices
Afghan women pleaded for help and attention to their suffering in a protest led by the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) at U.N. offices in Pakistan.
In a one-page letter, RAWA criticized the U.N.'s efforts to form a joint government between the Taliban and Northern Alliance. Explaining that the Taliban's northern opposition has not treated Afghans much better than the Taliban, the group wrote, "We demand to know why the United Nations and other world bodies insist on delivering the destiny of our people into the hands of fundamentalist murderers."
RAWA also decried the fact that the people of Afghanistan have received relatively little help or attention from the international community, as compared to the people of Kosovo. "Is it because European blood is (more important) than the blood of the people of Afghanistan?" the letter questioned.
Huma Saeed spoke on behalf of the protesters, saying, "We get only silence from the international community....we need help."
RAWA had scheduled an anti-Taliban march last December but was forced to cancel it after members of the Taliban threatened to break the legs of protesters.
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