| 0 |
VOA
19980305t64
.1800.2603
NEWS STORY
| 1 |
International Women's
Daye354
is
this coming Sunday, March eightht66
.
| 2 |
A major focus of International Women's Day is the
plighte2
of Afghan women.
| 3 |
Special
eventse67
are being
organizede3
by the
European Commission
and
individual nations in
Europe
,
North America
, and other parts of the world.
| 4 |
Lisa Schlein
reports from
Geneva
.
| 5 |
Afghanistan
has been
ate355
war for
twenty yearst70
,
leavinge6
a large part of the
country's male population
deade72
or
ine356
exile.
| 6 |
The
United Nations
sayse7
women
and children
makee8
up about
seventy-five percent
of the Afghan population.
| 7 |
An Afghan
refugee in
Switzerland
,
Homira Atimadi
, is a senior official of a group called the
International Working Group
on Afghan Women.
| 8 |
The group has branches in
Pakistan
,
Iran
,
Europe
,
Australia
, and
North America
.
| 9 |
Ms. Atimadi
sayse10
Afghan women have been
victimse74
of severe
violationse75
of human rights
fors76
the past twenty
yearst77
and she
sayse12
she
seese13
no
ende78
to the
miserye79
.
| 10 |
She
sayse15
security under
the fundamentalist
Taleban
government is
bettere80
, but everything else is
worsee81
.
| 11 |
Women do not
becomee18
victimse82
of armed
attacke20
, but they do not have the
righte85
to
worke21
.
| 12 |
And
todayt87
, the right to work is
equale90
to r- the right to survival.
| 13 |
Ms. Atimadi
sayse23
the
ware24
has
createde25
a nation of widows.
| 14 |
Women have
becomee26
the sole
supporte27
of their families.
| 15 |
Yet, the Taliban have
forbiddene28
them to
worke29
.
| 16 |
She
sayse30
this
putse31
the very existence of women's families
ate358
risk.
| 17 |
She
sayse34
the
plighte35
of women in urban areas is
greatere94
than that which exists
in rural parts of the country.
| 18 |
In cities, such as the capital Kabul, women
are totally
dependente95
on international
aide38
for
survivale353
.
| 19 |
Ms. Atimadi
sayse40
the
women of Kabul
symbolizee351
the suffering of all the women in
Afghanistan
.
| 20 |
The
aime96
is to
bringe97
in not only the focus on women's right to education,
access to work, but
looke45
beyond that and
looke46
at the roots of, uh of these
problems.
| 21 |
These are only the symptoms of the problems that are
facinge48
Afghanistan
.
| 22 |
For women in
Afghanistan
to be
ablee352
to
realizee51
their rights,
there have to be
conditionse101
of peace and justice.
| 23 |
Ms. Atimadi
sayse55
that is the primary
focuse359
of her group, peace and
justice.
| 24 |
She
sayse57
her group is
appealinge104
to individuals, to the international
community, and to the combatants and people of
Afghanistan
to
stope60
the
bloodlettinge105
which has
torne61
the country apart.
| 25 |
Lisa Schlein
for
VOA News
,
Geneva
.
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