Afghan publicizes fight for women's rights

Published Monday, March 16, 2009
By Carol Comegno, Courier Post Staff

At 14, Suraya Pakzad entered into an arranged marriage and had two children before graduating from high school in Afghanistan.

At her high school in Kabul, she and others later witnessed the headmistress murdered for not covering her face and head with a burqa.

Today, Pakzad, a teacher, the mother of six and the leader of Afghanistan's largest women's rights group, is on her second visit to the U.S.

She is touring as founder and executive director of the Voice of Women Organization in partnership with Traveling Mercies, a nonprofit charity formed by officers of Champion Fasteners of Lumberton, which manufactures industrial fasteners. That charity helps build public water systems in Afghanistan and undertakes educational and humanitarian projects at home as well as in Third World countries under the direction of Aldo Magazzeni.

"We need someone to pave the road for women and I have a strong commitment and passion to do it," said Pakzad, 41, who received the U.S. State Department's Women of Courage Award in 2008 from then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

"I cannot tolerate the pain of seeing women suffer. Being a mother of six children I want to change the path of others in the next generation and getting the award last year just reinforced my commitment."

She said women in her country not only suffer from forced marriages and spousal abuse but are still subject to terrorism from the Taliban, which is still trying to regain control of the government.

Pakzad will be in Burlington County for appearances two days this week -- Wednesday and Thursday -- in Mount Laurel and Medford.

A speech she is to deliver Thursday in the Medford Leas community center, 1 Medford Leas Way, at 7 p.m. is open to the public. She also will be honored at two events at the Mount Laurel campus of Burlington County College, a "Women of Inspiration" reception Wednesday and a luncheon Thursday.

Tonight she is to appear for an interview with MSNBC host Chris Matthews at 5 p.m. in Washington, D.C., and previously has been interviewed by CNN and served on a U.N. panel last week.

She started to hold meetings in secret in 1998 in her home in Kabul during the tyrannical rule of the Taliban and formally created the Voice of Women Organization after the Taliban fell. Pakzad said her group has become more visible and is now helping women to run for office and win elections under the new government.

She started schools for girls in homes, then created programs for women and children in prison, established shelters for abused women with counseling and legal assistance, and started food and health centers.

Her group then successfully pushed for the government of Afghanistan to sign the U.N. convention of elimination of violence against women, a resolution Afghanistan ratified.

"It was a great achievement by the government and for women," said Pakzad, who moved to Herat in 2006.

However, she said not all are receiving equal rights there, especially in the southern part of the country, where families are not willing to send girls to schools because of Taliban opposition.

"The progress that has been made in Afghanistan has been mostly in the institutional and legal framework of our country," she said.

Members of her organization live in fear of violence against themselves and their families almost daily, she said, comparing her struggle for women's rights in her country to "playing with fire."

"Security today is still a concern," she said.

She said she came back to the U.S. to share her views , humanize women in Afghanistan and raise funds for both Traveling Mercies and her organization.

With government support, Traveling Mercies built a water system with 2,800 meters of pipeline in 2008 in Herat for $20,000 that benefits 4,000 residents.

"We want people to know that these two nongovernmental organizations are working together to build water systems and to expose the violence against women," she said.

"With a small donation, we can change lives. This money goes directly to benefit poor people and provides safe water for thousands of families.

Magazzeni, director of Traveling Mercies and a partner in Champion Fasteners, met Pakzad in 2004 in Kabul while she was working with training programs for jailed women and on child day care and then assisted her in those missions.

Magazzeni said meeting her has been a blessing, calling her a "great human being" who has inspired him to continue his efforts. He said he is planning eight more water systems in Herat and elsewhere in Afghanistan and has started local school programs in South Jersey and Pennsylvania to solicit assistance.

Pakzad said she is optimistic about the future.

"When I come to a country like the United State and see women's freedoms, it gives me hope that one day we will be free in Afghanistan," she said.

Contact Carol Comegno at (609) 267-9486 or ccomegno@courierpostonline.com

This article can be found online here.

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Afghan helps spread the Voice of Women

Published Monday, March 16, 2009
By Kristen Coppock

Suraya Pakzad refused to be oppressed.

Living under Taliban rule, the Afghan woman founded a secret society, the Voice of Women Organization, to work toward female empowerment and freedom. She'll speak in Burlington County during several events Wednesday and Thursday in an effort to raise awareness about women's rights and the plight of those living in Afghanistan.

"I cannot see a woman suffering," she said. "We are half of the population of the world. We are created by the same God."

Married at age 14, Pakzad began her charitable group in 1998. At that time in Afghanistan, women weren't allowed to leave the house without being accompanied by a male relative and had limited access to health care. They were required to wear restrictive clothing and were denied education and employment opportunities.

"Everything went to men," said Pakzad. She has six children, including three girls, ages 5 to 23.

According to the U.S. Department of State, the government's interpretation of Islamic law also included violence against women, such as rape, abduction and forced marriage.

Those who defied or challenged the oppression of women put their lives at risk. But despite the danger to the happily married Pakzad and her family, she and other activists worked underground, providing girls with an education and job skills.

She said operating the underground organization was like "playing with fire." "It was constituted as an illegal act," she added.

Padzad began Voice of Women with one morning class in her home. As the demand for educating girls rose, friends volunteered to teach classes. She estimated the Voice has helped more than 300 girls.

When the Taliban regime fell, the Voice came out of hiding and applied to the government to become a legally recognized charity.

Pakzad and her organization now operate programs for business development and for incarcerated women and their children. The organization also helps female political candidates get elected, and creates centers that provide education, health and food to women and girls. The group also offers shelter, psychological counseling and legal assistance to abused women.

During her visit to the United States, which continues through March 25, the activist has speaking engagements at schools and other organizations around the Delaware Valley.

Last weekend, she was in Washington, where she was honored last year with the U.S. State Department's Woman of Courage Award. She said she's also working on a partnership between the United States and Afghanistan in support of women's rights.

"A country cannot truly prosper without contributions from its female population," she said.

Pakzad is being honored during the "Women of Inspiration" luncheon at the Mount Laurel campus of Burlington County College. On Wednesday, she's scheduled to speak during a BCC class and will be the keynote speaker and honoree during the "Women of Inspiration" event.

The next day, her itinerary includes a visit to Cinnaminson High School, a keynote speaking engagement during the "Lunch and Learn" program at BCC and an evening appearance at Medford Leas in Medford. Also on Thursday, Pakzad is scheduled to be presented with a proclamation from Freeholder Joseph Donnelly.

The activist's visit is being hosted by Traveling Mercies, a nonprofit humanitarian charity that was founded by Aldo Magazzeni. A partner in the Lumberton business Champion Fasteners, Magazzeni said he met Pakzad in 2004 during a trip to Afghanistan, where he went to "bridge cultural differences and create some relationships."

The friends' respective organizations now work together. With Traveling Mercies, the Voice of Women is building community water systems in the Herat Province, where it's based.

Contact Kristen Coppock at kcoppock@phillyburbs.com.

This article can be found online here.