WOMEN IN AFGHANISTAN

I'm in my Lazy Boy -- Mac on lap -- and looking out the window to our black and white world -- gray clouds above the black veins of the trees. Memories of the vibrant colours of Mexico have begun to fade. Adjusting to the return to Canada has been smooth. That Cathy was with me for the last week in Mexico has been very helpful. Besides our tans, we share our perceptions and appreciation of Mexico.

As well, our International Support Worker group of students gathers Monday through Thursday at Loyalist College to reflect on issues of culture shock and the patterns of return. We look ahead to the times when we might be taking leadership in immersion experiences in other cultures.

Tuesday was Shrove Tuesday. It was also International Women's Day. Our group marched with the women of Belleville and then gathered as one of our members raised in Africa addressed an assembly at the CORE centre, Belleville, about the experience of women in other countries. We remark on the absence of younger women at the event.

Afghanistan. The other event advertised for International Women's Day was a presentation by the NGO "Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan." I attend this event in the evening at the Belleville library. This NGO, among a number of projects that support women in Afghanistan, pays for teachers who teach girls. The teachers and the girls brave the threats of the Taliban.

Our two presenters, Susanne Schurman and Madeliene Tarasick of the Kingston area, are retired from teaching. They are energetic and obviously committed to their volunteer work. Madeliene has administrative experience as a former superintendent of schools and just recently took on the position of President of the Board of "Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan." The presentation goes some way to explaining why these two women are committed to the work of this organization.

I put the story in my own words. Both are successful career women who can look back on a life of opportunities and struggle. They see that women have made gains in Canada and they do not understand why Afghan women should be denied these gains. Each has been shocked at the approach to women taken by the Taliban. Women are forbidden work outside the home. They are told to be shrouded outside the home and threatened with mutilation or death if they leave the home unaccompanied by a family member. Girls are forbidden school. They are not to learn to read and to write.

Whatever one's view of NATO's and Canada's ongoing military presence in Afghanistan, support for the education of women appears a postive action. The situation as it now stands suggests that without the continuing military presence education for girls and women would not be happening. Anecdotal information indicates that the Taliban view is very much a minority view in Afghanistan. Afghan children want an education. However, school stops with child marriage. The one hope is that the husband may see value in education as a result of the wife's increased earning capacity.

CIDA has funded the projects of this NGO in past with a grant of $500,000. The question today is why has CIDA not renewed funding for the training program for teachers? How can an interested person help? Madeliene explains that the Kingston area chapter (there are 12 in Canada) is open to the participation of both women and men. One can help by making donations and putting on fund-raising events. To the Belleville crowd she suggests that they could also start a separate chapter in Belleville. Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday. I bring home pancake makings and maple syrup for a late supper and begin the shift into Lent.