We, the undersigned, strongly believe that women's rights are human rights; that principles of freedom and democracy come before property interests; that durable peace cannot exist in the absence of disarmament. We are extremely concerned about the terrible suffering inflicted on the women and girls of Afghanistan today. Since their violent takeover of the Afghan capital Kabul, in 1996, the Taliban militia group has gained control of most of the country and has imposed a brutal system of laws which effectively make women and girls into prisoners in their own country.

Women and girls are prohibited from working, going to school, or seeking medical treatment. Female doctors are banned from working. Male doctors are not allowed to examine women. Hospitals refuse to accept women patients. Homes with women are forced to have their windows painted so that women cannot be seen. Women cannot leave their homes unless accompanied by a close male relative. Women who venture out in public must wear a burqa, a garment which completely covers from head to toe, leaving only a small mesh covered opening to see. Women who wear white socks, noisy shoes, or show any part of the body other than hands and feet are beaten and punished. An elderly woman whose burqa exposed a bit of her ankle was punished by being flogged with a metal cable until her leg was broken. Women are banned from laughing in public.

Afghanistan is truly a human rights disaster which requires the international community's utmost attention. We urge you to do everything in your power to:

• Condemn strongly, and at every opportunity, the savage violation of human rights, especially women's right to work, education, medical treatment, and mobility in Afghanistan.
• Press the governments of Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia to repeal their recognition of the Taliban as the ruling power of Afghanistan. Any group that professes to be the "official" government of Afghanistan should not be granted recognition by the U.N. until human rights are restored.
• Impose sanctions on transnational corporations that currently do or plan to do business with the Taliban.

We cannot embark on the 21^st Century and claim any progress in the improvement of the human condition if we remain dormant to the suffering that goes on in Afghanistan right now. The women and girls of Afghanistan need our support, our solidarity, our immediate action.

Signed by:______________________________________________________________

Signed by:______________________________________________________________

Name, Address, City/State, Zip Code, Country

If you believe as we do that women's rights are human rights, that all human beings are entitled to the same economic, social, civil and political opportunities, then please take a moment to print out the petition, sign it, cut along the dotted lines, and send it via traditional mail to any (or all) of the following people:

• President Clinton, The White House, Washington, DC 20500;
• Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Dept. of State, Washington, DC 20520;
• Secretary-General Kofi Annan, The United Nations, New York, NY 10017;
• Mary Robinson, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Palais des Nations, 8-14 avenue de la Paix, CH 1211 Geneva 10 Switzerland.

According to a recent study by OMB Watch, a nonprofit research group in Washington, DC, politicians pay more attention to letters, calls, and personal visits, than e-mails. Feel free to edit or print out extra copies of this petition for your friends, family, and neighbors to sign. Remember that one individual letter won't save the world. It's the cumulative impact of everyone's efforts, however small or seemingly insignificant, that will ultimately achieve the elimination of human rights abuses.

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Copyright 1999, Project Blue Flower. Last Updated: September 10, 1999.

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