Witnesses of Mercy for Peace and Reconciliation

79 WITNESSING MERCY FOR PEACE AND RECONCILIAT ION slam is the predominant religion in Afghanistan, with Sunni Muslims forming approximately ninety percent of the pop- ulation. Though it is a societal force for cohesion, Islam has played a complex role in the history of Afghanistan, some often described it as a cause of backwardness due to a low literacy rate and poor educa- tion among the Muslims. Afghanistan has relied heavily on the Muslim clerics ( ulema ), who fill ritual, juridical, medical and educational roles at village and tribal levels, while providing leadership to counter threats to the com- munity’s religious beliefs and practices. Over the past four decades of Russian invasion and civil wars, the fate of women has varied with the politi- cal climate and has often been harsh and cruel. Rounds of political violence, a lack of law and order, religious extremism, and decades of warfare have exacerbated historic and traditional subordination to men. In short, the centrality of women’s issues fluctuates with changing political tides; too often, they are not given priority. I, like many other Afghan women, demonstrated cou- rageously to challenge the violation of our rights. The success of my strategy was based on the patient teaching of Islamic ideals with the help of the most influential community members such as community and religious leaders. In late 1990s, I was a young woman growing up from the time of the Russian invasion and completing my education as the Taliban government was being torn down. I started my social work at the camps in Peshawar in early 2000 where I was living a refugee life with my family. Then I moved to Kabul in 2002 with the estab- lishment of the new government under the leadership of Hamid Karzai. After two decades of war, the environ- ment was hostile and every new change was considered as anti-Islamic and as propaganda. I contracted polio, which permanently affected my left leg, but this disability proved to be a lucky turn- ing point in my life as I was the only girl child of a family who was allowed to attend school. I continued my education until I got two masters degrees, one in International Relations and the other in Sharia Law. My view of Islam was influenced by modern scholars and professors from institutions such as Al-Azhar University in Egypt. Discovering fundamental differences among modern and classical scholars, I determined to learn Arabic so that I could read the Qur’an and the Hadith unaided. These were transformative days for me and I finally became convinced that the Qur’an’s true con- ception of women contrasted drastically with what I had been told all of my life. I found verses on women working, and stories of the Prophet Muhammad prais- ing women for doing social work during his time. With the light ( Noor ) of Qur’anic guidance, I estab- lished the Noor Educational and Capacity Development Organization (NECDO) with the intention of casting away the darkness of ignorance through education – the most important and sustainable solution for helping the Afghan people into the future. The ambition is to pro- vide sites of education for women, particularly within densely populated areas. Thus NECDO, established in 1999, gave rise two years later to a smaller NGO called Noor Educational Center (NEC), which focused on capacity building for women through literacy and Qur’anic education classes, with a focus on teaching women about their rights as reflected in the Qur’an. From my perspective, Afghan women not only need to be empowered socially and financially, but they also need to be empowered as peacekeepers in their fam- ilies and communities, whether the issue is domestic violence or conflict with a husband. Through simple activities, NECDO peace education trainers help par- ticipants understand that, while they may not be able to change their situation, they can change their attitude to it. I know that, like their mothers, children are often victims and suffer psychological problems. That’s why NECDO began a programme called Home Schools through which children are invited to special events in rooms rented in their neighbourhoods. Once there, they enjoy creative art projects, storytelling, puppet shows and music sessions, all designed to relay messages about peace and the management of conflict. Peacebuilding is a cumulative process, not least in its goal of inspiring ever larger numbers of people and various segments of society to contribute to the work of relationship-building and constructive social change. Important among the tools of the peacebuilder is the Jamila Afghani I