Please Read, Sign, and Forward

May 7, 2001

I know this is too true and so dreadful. Oprah actually had a show about this atrocity. This is an actual petition, and "signatures" will be lost if you drop the line. Please take 3 minutes out of your life to do your part. Rather than just forwarding, you will need to cut and paste to your own newly made e-mail and to your address list.

Madhu, the government of Afghanistan, is waging a war upon women. Since the Taliban took power in 1996, women have had to wear burqua and have been beaten and stoned in public for not having the proper attire, even if this means simply not having the mesh covering in front of their eyes. One woman was beaten to death by an angry mob of fundamentalists for accidentally exposing her arm(!) while she was driving. Another was stoned to death for trying to leave the country with a man that was not a relative.

Women are not allowed to work or even go out in public without a male relative; professional women such as professors, translators, doctors, lawyers, artists and writers have been forced from their jobs andrestricted to their homes. Homes where a woman is present must have their windows painted so that she can never be seen by outsiders. They must wear silent shoes so that they are never heard. Women live in fear of their lives for the slightest misbehavior.Because they cannot work, those without male relatives or husbands are either starving to death or begging the street, even if they hold Ph.D.s. Depression is becoming so widespread that it has reached emergency levels. There is no way in such an extreme Islamic society to know the suicide rate with certainty, but relief workers are estimating that the suicide rate among women must be extraordinarily high: those who cannot find proper medication and treatment for severe depression and would rather take theirlives than live in such conditions. At one of the rare hospitals for women, a reporter found still, nearly lifeless bodies lying motionless on top of beds, wrapped in their burqua, unwilling to speak, eat, or do anything, but slowly wasting away. Others have gone mad and were seen crouched in corners, perpetually rocking or crying, most of them in fear. When what little medication that is left finally runs out, one doctor is considering leaving these women in front of the president's residence as a form of protest. It is at the point where the term "human rights violations" has become an understatement. Husbands have the power of life and death over their women relatives, especially their wives, but an angry mob has just as much right to stone or beat a woman, often to death, for exposing an inch of flesh or offending them in the slightest way. Women enjoyed relative freedom: to work, to dress generally as they wanted, and to drive and appear in public alone until only 1996. The rapidity of this transition is the main reason for the depression and suicide; Women who were once educators or doctors or simply used to basic human freedoms are now severely restricted and treated as subhuman in the name of right-wing fundamentalist Islam. It is not their tradition or 'culture,' but it is alien to them, and it is extreme even for those cultures where fundamentalism is the rule. Everyone has a right to a tolerable human existence, even if they are women in a Muslim country. If we can threaten military force in Kosovo the name of human rights for the sake of ethnic Albanians, citizens of the world can certainly express peaceful outrage at the oppression, murder and injustice committed against women by the Taliban. (See Directions at End)STATEMENT: In signing this, we agree that the current treatment of women in Afghanistan is completely UNACCEPTABLE and deserves action by the United Nations and that the current situation overseas will not be tolerated. Women's Rights is not a small issue anywhere, and it is UNACCEPTABLE for women in 2001 to be treated as subhuman and as so much property. Equality and human decency is a fundamental RIGHT, not a freedom to be granted, whether one lives in Afghanistan or elsewhere.

1) Giuliana D. Black, Daly City,CA,USA2) Mariam Nayiny, Palo Alto,CA,USA3) Sunaina Gulati-Ruh, Palo Alto,CA,USA4) Megan McCaslin, Palo Alto,CA,USA5) Blake Halliana, San Francisco,CA,USA6) Kit Henderson, Sacramento,CA,USA7) Sara Myers, San Francisco,CA,USA8) Ellen Tilden, San Fransisco,CA,USA9) Vanessa Ross, San Francisco,CA,USA10) Jenna Shaw- Battista, San Francisco,CA,USA11) Jeanne Racik, Berkeley,CA,USA12) Julie Silas, Oakland,CA,USA13) Renee Longstreet, Tarzana,CA,USA14) Susan Johnson, Encino,CA,USA15) Kenneth Johnson, Encino,CA,USA16) Terri Treas, Los Angeles,CA,USA17) Amy Retzinger, North Hollywood,CA,USA18) Babette Crooms, Los Angeles,CA,USA19) Olivia Kienzel; Santa Barbara,CA,USA20) Sean Dexheimer, Los Angeles,CA,USA21) Elio Chavez, Jr., Pasadena,CA,USA22) Gregory Kastigar, Los Angeles,CA,USA23) Robert Collie, Los Angeles,CA,USA24) Jeff Garvin, Brea,CA,USA25) Tricia Allen, Sherman Oaks,CA,USA26) Joleen Nordstrom, Hollywood,CA,USA27) Theresa Donahoe, Martinez,CA,USA28) Jennifer Horn, Concord,CA,USA29) Roxanne Ryan, Alamo,CA,USA30) Miriam Tyler, San Jose,CA,USA31) John Burns, San Jose,CA,USA32) Kristin Lynn Minick, Fort Worth,TX,USA33) Jeff Neal, Marietta,GA,USA34) Anna Neal, Marietta, GA,USA35) Frances Murley-Fort Worth,TX,USA36) David Murley-London,England,UNITED KINGDOM37) Jillian Dykhouse, Colleyville,TX,USA38) Bonnie Dykhouse,Colleyville,TX,USA39) Nancy Williams, Colleyville,TX,USA40) Georgene Farr, Sterling Heights,MI,USA41) Joanne Arensberg, Riverview,MI,USA42) Luann Ouellette, Vermillion,SD,USA43) Sandie Sullivan, Vermillion,SD,USA44) Troy Nelson, Minneapolis,MN,USA45) Joseph Miller, Minnepolis,MN,USA46) Kathleen Miller, White Bear Lake,MN,USA47) Jerry Marquis, Mpls.,MN,USA48) Julie Stokes, Coon Rapids,MN,USA49) Tracy Ford, Blaine,MN,USA50) Sheila Lawrence, Monticello,MN,USA51) Brenda Kitchen, Westlake Village,CA,USA52) Teresa Burke, Sherman Oaks,CA,USA53) Bruce Ehrlich, Sherman Oaks,CA,USA54) Yllania Francis, Los Angeles,CA,USA55) Drew Hedin, Los Angeles,CA,USA56) Laura Paridon, Laguna Woods,CA,USA57) Jeanie Hagedorn, Des Moines,IA,USA58) Sue Christensen, Des Moines,IA,USA59) Sybil Finken, Glenwood,IA,USA60) Luke Finken, Earth61) Doug Gerace, Lincoln,NE,USA62) Cheryl Gerace,NE,USA63) Sheri Lew,CO,USA64) Raven Grace,Boulder,CO,USA65) Martha M.Mertz,EL,MI,USA66) Colleen R. Cooper,Okemos,MI,USA67) Barbara J. Sawyer-Koch, East Lansing,MI,USA68) Margaret A. Meyers, Okemos,MI,USA69) Mary Helen Espes, Okemos,MI,USA70) Maureen Kirchhoff, Allenspark,CO,USA71) Bart Johnson, Err, FRANCE72) Sharon O'Connor, Olympia,WA,USA73) Nancy Irving, Tbilisi, REPUBLIC OF GEORGIA74) Martha Lindley, Seattle,WA,USA75) Judith Alexander, Woodinville,WA,USA76) Arlene B. Hawkinson, Seattle,WA,USA77) Christine E. Mobley, Bothell,WA,USA78) Trudie Breen,CA,USA79) Catherine Standiford,CA,USA80) Beverly Truett,AZ,USA81) Christine Meehan,AZ,USA82) Janice Gilbert, Valley Center,CA,USA83) Dawna Upchurch, Anchorage,AK,USA84) Roxanna Groves, Olympia,WA,USA85) Lynda Lynde, Helena,MT,USA86) Constance Gelu, University Place,WA,USA87) Jodi Woolett, Tacoma,WA,USA88) Lisa I. Reeves- Lynden,WA,USA89) Amanda James-Bow,WA,USA90) Kelli J. Smith, New Port Richey,FL,USA91) Chris Poirier, Largo,FL,USA92) Mike Carpenter, Palmetto,FL,USA93) Alice Pryor, Melbourne,FL,USA94) Ellen Catano, Manchester,NH,USA95) Bevely Jennings, Cincinnati,OH,USA96) Linda Feely, Norwood,OH,USA97) Sherry Stidham, Norwood,OH,USA98) Brittany Brown, Cincinnati,OH,USA99) Sandy Brown, Cincinnati,OH,USA100)Tim Brown, Cincinnati,OH,USA101)Pat Brown, Cincinnati,OH,USA102)Amy Cregger, Memphis,TN,USA103)Kay Emerick, Logan,OH,USA104)Trina Bookman, Logan,OH,USA105)Mary Samuelson, St. Louis,MO,USA106)Jeannette Ward, Memphis,TN,USA107)Elisabeth Davis, Memphis,TN,USA108)Rose Klimek, Memphis,TN,USA109)Barbara K. White, Hoquiam,WA,USA110)Paula J. Eriksen, Palm Harbor,FL,USA111)Ragnar Eriksen, Palm Harbor,FL,USA112)Marilyn King, CLEARWATER,FL,USA113)Barbara Stiner,Oldsmar,FL,USA114)Jac'line Weisgerber,Clearwater,FL,USA115)Charlotte Beadles, Douglasville, GA,USA116)Jody Hoadley, Powder Springs,GA,USA117)Hope Howard, Atlanta,GA,USA118)Cliff Howard, Atlanta,GA USA119)Kay Chicoine, Atlanta,GA,USA120)Mark Chicoine, Atlanta,GA,USA121)Paula King, Lexington,KY,USA122)Sally Weissman,Minneapolis,MN,USA123)Susan Abbott, New Brighton,MN,USA124)Rachel Fine, St. Louis Park,MN,USA125)Deb Harley,Eden Prairie, MN,USA126)Barb Handahl,Faribault, MN,USA127)Ann Olson,Chamberlain,SD,USA128)Deb Hunt,Sioux Falls,SD,USA129)Anne Frankman, Sioux Falls,SD,USA130)Susie Kostel, Tabor,SD,USA131)Julie Anderson, Mount Prospect,IL,USA132)Janet Tilden, Fremont,NE,USA133)Debbie Bowman, Kingston Springs,TN,USA134)Shari Watkins, Franklin,TN,USA135)Teresa Beck, Columbia,TN,USA136)Don Hill, Nashville,TN,USA137)Suzanne Supplee, Reistertown,MD,USA138)Mina Dillard-Gits, Agoura Hills,CA,USA139)Negrita Jayde, Venice,CA,USA139)Gregory Hines, Venice,CA,USA140)Laurie Fierstein, New York,NY,USA141)Cecelia Casey, New York,NY,USA142)Shana Deane, New York,NY,USA143)Lynn Neal ,Newark,DE,USA144)Rosemary Lane, Bear,DE,USA145)Andrea Arena, Newark,DE,USA146)Rick Neidig, Wilmington,DE,USA147)Lisa Dill, Wilmington, DE, USA148)Donna Staring, Newark,DE,USA149)V.C. Hernandez, Miami,FL, USA150)G.L. Gonzalez, Miami, FL, USA151) K. Casey, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA152) A. Lewis, Dallas, TX, USA153) S. Shepard, Chicago, IL, USA154) S. Arthur, Memphis, TN USA155) C. Lee, Knoxville, TN USA156) A. Toland, Dallas, TX USA157) F. Lidji, Dallas, TX USA158) M. Howell, NYC, NY159) PPHooks, MD, USA160) Hunter Armistead, Nashville TN, USA161) Susan Tinney, Nashville TN, USA162) David Ribar, Nashville TN, USA163) E. Michael Harrington, Franklin TN, USA164) Abigail B. Burke, Nashville TN, USA165) Angela Shedd, Nashville TN, USA166) Charlotte A. Reichley, Nashville, TN, USA167) Elizabeth Gardner, Nashville, TN, USA168) Claire M. Carrico, Nashville, TN, USA169) Jeanie M. Taylor, Nashville, TN, USA170) Sherry P. Armistead, Nashville, TN, USA171) Rebecca Walsh, Hartford, CT, USA172) Susan Durham, Nashville, TN , USA173)Melanie Collett, Atlanta, GA, USA174) Priscilla Miosi, Marietta, GA, USA175) Melisa Baltes, Powder Springs, GA, USA176) Vanessa Lynch, Millburn, NJ177) Felicia Bebelman, Norwalk, CT, USA178) Manjula Henderson, Gainseville, Florida, USA179) Jack Nugent,Venice, Fl. USA180) Dolores Collins, Sagamore Beach, Fl. USA181)Sheila Bickerton, San Leandro, CA USA182)Theresa Schexnayder, San Leandro, Ca USA183)Cecilia Canales, OP, Fremont, Ca, USA184) Mary Peter Traviss, O.P., San Francisco, CA185) Jeanne Hagelskamp, S.P., San Francisco, CA186) Christina Buckowski, Glendale, CA USA187) Kathleen A Quiroz, Montrose, CA USA188) Shari Young Kuchenbecker, Los Angeles, CA189) Joan C. Heffner, Las Vegas, NV190) Faye Duncan Daniel, Las Vegas, NV191) Roger Duncan, CA192) Larry Hambright, San Diego, CA, USA193) Mary Jacobson, Escondido, CA,USA194) Phil Burton Jr., Great Falls, MT. USA195) Jerry Dunn, Great Falls, MT USA196) Sandra Castillo, Chicago, IL, USA197) Kimberly White, Chicago, IL, USA198) Rachel F. Calabro Barner, Chicago, IL, USA199) Elizabeth C. Diskin, Chicago, IL, USA200) Anne E. Naffziger, Chicago, IL, USA201) Dawn Myers Purkey, Davis, CA, USA202) Linda Pierce, Arbuckle, CA, USA203) Debra Briseno, SanAntonio, Tex, USA204) Paula Harden, Leesburg, GA USA205) Betty Ann Azbill, Leesburg, GA, USA206) Myra Davis, Atlanta, GA, USA207) Diana Gilles, Suwanee, GA, USA208) Melanie Loperano, Sugar Hill, GA, USA209) Laura Key, Cookeville, TN, USA210) Sue Cichowski, Royal Oak, MI, USA211) Ann Massucci, Royal Oak, Mi, USA212) Beverly Hochberg, Royal Oak, MI, USA213) Theresa Glaser, Minneapolis, MN, USA214) Rena Glaser, St. Paul, MN USA215) Evey Cherow, Bethesda, MD216) Barbara R. Murphy, Arlington Hts., IL217) Sabina A. Schwan, Carefree, AZ218) Nedda Glenn, Hoffman Estates, IL219) Angela Leone, Elgin, IL220) Jennifer Kuhn, Chicago, IL USA221) Melissa E. Ferguson, Takoma Park, MD USA222) Donna J. Clark, Hayward, CA USA223) Wendy Winsted, Niles, Calif. USA224) Jessie Winsted , Niles, CA USA225) Meghan Boundy, Fremont, CA USA226) Brian Hashimoto, Fremont, CA USA227) Megan Howard, Laguna Niguel CA USA228) Sophia Andary, Glendale, CA USA229) Anabele Montgomery, Glendale, CA USA230) Ginger Sugerman, Canyon Country CA USA231) Nico van den Berg, England232) Solveig van den Berg, England233) Joni Ginsberg, California, USA234) Emily Trimberger, Burbank, CA USA235) Luis Colon236) Judy Colon237) Gerhard B. Schwandt, Springfield, VA USA

238) Dr. Ian Shillington, DATIL, NM, USADIRECTIONS:1)PLEASE COPY this email on to a New Message (instead of a Forward)2)Sign the bottom, and3)Send it to everyone on your distribution lists.4)If you receive this list with more than 300 names on it, please e-mail a copy of it to:sarabande <sarabande<msn://@/compose.htm?NW=true & sarabande<msn://@/compose.htm?NW=true & sarabande >Even if you decide not to sign, please be considerate and do not kill the petition. Send it to as many people as possible.

Elizabeth Gardner, SLPThe John F. Kennedy Center for Human DevelopmentVanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37203Voice mail: (615) 343-17