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GUEST: Malalai Joya, Member of the Afghanistan parliament, recently suspended

The Parliament of Afghanistan recently suspended its youngest and most outspoken member for statements she made during an interview. Malalai Joya is known for her uncompromising position against the warlords and drug lords who dominate the Parliament and who have regained power in Afghanistan in the post-Taliban era, through the support of the US and other governments. Joya said in an interview with Tolo Television, “A stable or a zoo is better, at least there you have a donkey that carries a load and a cow that provides milk. This parliament is worse than a stable or a zoo.” The interview excerpt was aired on the Parliament floor before a majority voted to suspend her, citing an obscure parliamentary law that prohibits MPs from insulting one another. Human Rights Watch issued a statement calling for Joya’s immediate reinstatement. Thousands of Afghans have demonstrated in cities and villages across the country in support of her. Meanwhile, in a brutal indication that Afghanistan still remains a dangerous place, particularly for women, journalist and activist Zakia Zaki was shot in her home in Kabul in the middle of the night this week. Her murder comes within five days of the killing of another woman journalist.

I reached Malalai Joya for an interview by phone from Afghanistan yesterday afternoon where she remains under high security.

For more information, visit www.malalaijoya.com.

EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT: There will be a screening of the documentary, View From a Grain of Sand, which focuses on the political history of Afghanistan through the eyes of three Afghan women on Sunday, June 10, at 6:30 PM at the Faulkner Gallery, Downtown SB Library, at 40 E. Anapamu St. in Santa Barbara.