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RELEASED: Mar. 21, 2002
DANVILLE, KY-Centre College will present a lecture by Neesha Mirchandani from the Afghan Women's Mission on March 24 at 7 p.m. in Weisiger Theatre on Centre's campus. The lecture, entitled "Women Negotiating Power in Afghanistan," will provide insight into the world of RAWA, the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan.
RAWA was established in Kabul, Afghanistan in 1977 as an independent political/social organization of Afghan women fighting for human rights and for social justice in Afghanistan. RAWA has received many accolades for its documentation of human rights abuses — sometimes using tiny video cameras hidden under burquas at great personal risk. This group of women has led peaceful demonstrations to demand democracy and human rights for their people. As native Afghans, RAWA's humanitarian work successfully reaches the Afghan people as other mainstream aid agencies cannot.
Mirchandani is on the board of directors of the Afghan Women's Mission (AWM), an organization founded in 2000 to raise awareness about the situation in Afghanistan and specifically the plight of Afghan refugees. AWM's goal is to support programs run by RAWA. These programs include Malalai Hospital, schools for women and girls as well as boys, emergency refugee aid, orphanages and RAWA's awareness-raising activities.
Mirchandani speaks frequently about RAWA's political positions and humanitarian work in the refugee camps in Pakistan as well as within Afghanistan. RAWA is the oldest political and humanitarian feminist organization in Afghanistan. It has advocated freedom, democracy, secularism, women's rights and human rights for more than 20 years.
The lecture will provide an in-depth view of the refugee camps and relate stories of real Afghans who have suffered 23 years of war and continue to suffer today.
Mirchandani comments, "You will leave this session knowing that Afghan women are not faceless, voiceless or nameless — they are revolutionary, courageous and strong. These women are the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan, and we invite you on the journey of their struggle, past, present and future."
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