The next time I hear a writer whine about how hard it is to be a writer, or how difficult their lives are that they can't find time to write, or how much struggle there is in being a creative person—I'm going to punch them in the nose. And then I'm going to make them read every single blog on the Afghan Women's Writers Project blog site.You think you have it bad? You think working a job, raising a family, working with reduced income and peevish spouses who pout because you spend too much time writing are all too much to bear? Well, my dears, how about this:
- Being told by your brothers they'll cut your legs off unless you stop writing.
- Being told if you try to leave or escape then they'll beat your mother to death.
- Being told by the Taliban to quite your job because you are a woman and you shouldn't be working, and if you don't quite they will kidnap you, your, brother and your father and KILL EVERYONE.
- Being married off to some old fart in your village for six thousand dollars and then being told you'll have to stop writing OR ELSE.
- Being afraid to go to an Internet cafe to write because women aren't allowed to be in such a place, and if you are spotted then you and your family will have to move to a new city because you'll ALL BE KILLED.
I'm frustrated and in despair for these women. But, I'm also inspired, emboldened, out-raged, in-raged, liberated and humbled by their courage and spirit. They are the heroines and the role models writers everywhere can look to for the promise of the future. Creative people have always been on the cutting edge of freedom and insurgency, both politically and spiritually. Male or female, we all have something to learn from what the Afghan women are teaching us. The word is mightier than the sword, or the burqa, or the Taliban. They might cut off our heads, cut off our legs, murder our families, and rape us (yes, they do that to men and women), but they will lose. They have already lost. The women writers of Afghanistan make this obvious.
These women are my sisters. And I'm honored to be a part of that family ... even if I have never met them, or may never meet them. Fight for freedom, fight for dignity and fight for voice. Support the Afghan Women's Writing Project. Read their blogs, donate money, help us get them computers so they can write from home using safe Internet connections. For a little money we can send a message to the dark forces of the world that you cannot silence human dignity!
Here is information you can use to act, I ask you to do what you can:
Blog Site: http://www.awwproject.org/
Fight the good fight and add a few sisters to your family.
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