Urgent: Afghan woman activist speaking today and tomorrow at Sacramento City College

They will kill me but they will not kill my voice, because it is the voice
of all Afghan women. You can cut the flower, but you cannot stop the coming
of spring.”
Malalai Joya

Sacramento City College Peace and Justice Coalition, International Studies Program,
Cultural Awareness Center, and Staff Resource Center
present
Malali Joya, Afghan Woman Activist and Parliamentarian on Nation-wide Tour
“Bringing the voice of the innocent of Afghanistan to the world”.  

This public event will be held at Sacramento City College, 3835 Freeport Blvd.,
Sacramento, CA 95822.  Please come.
Monday April 16 at 7PM, Lillard Hall 101
Tuesday April, 17 at Noon, Auditorium 06
For more information, please contact Riad Bahhur at 916-650-2738 or Hakeem
Naim 916-320-9433. Students with special needs please contact the Disability
Resource Center

Malalai Joya

In a recent profile the BBC referred to her as "the most famous woman in Afghanistan." Joya first gained international attention when she publicly denounced warlords at the 2003 Constitutional Loya Jirga (traditional grand assembly) in Kabul.

Since then she has survived numerous assassination attempts and is routinely threatened by the powerful men she criticizes. She now requires armed security guards and travels incognito inside Afghanistan. Her courage in standing up to the warlords has earned her great popularity among the people of Afghanistan. In September 2005 she ran for election to the 249-seat Afghan National Assembly as a representative of Farah Province and won the second highest number of votes in that province.

For the second time since her election to the Afghan Parliament, Malalai Joya will visit the United States on a multi-city speaking tour to share her experiences with Americans. Her primary message is that, contrary to media reports and White House officials, Afghan women are far from liberated. In fact, warlords, supported over the years by the US, are among the greatest threats to women's freedom today. For more information, visit http://www.malalaijoya.com.
 
Ellen Schwartz, Co-Chair
Women's International League
for Peace & Freedom
(916)369-5510
(916)835-4330 (cell)