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| Maryam Durani |
My name is Maryam Durani daughter of
Muhammad Essa Durani, I come from an extremely big family. I am a civil activist
in Kandahar and I work for women’s issues in Kandahar. I started in 2002. I
started my works from teaching when I returned to Afghanistan. My services in
the field were training for women in making and selling handicrafts in bazaars,
in order to help them earn a living and to support their families. I began to
educate girls and women, with time, and then increased the scope of my training
sessions for women, to incorporate making art and handicrafts, and then, to
tackle medical issues. Slowly, with time, I also set up the first all-women’s
radio in Kandahar; it is called Merman Radio or Women Radio,to address gender
inequalities in Kandahar province and bring women’s voices to the forefront.
Merman Radio is empowering Kandahar’s youth, especially women, and media
professionals to explore sensitive issues of gender, human rights, good
governance, and the rule of law, in addition to economic and social issues.
When
the internet became an important part of everyday living, I set up a net café
by the name of ‘Malalai Maiwandi Internet Café’ for women and girls, where
they could learn how to use the internet. Up until then, internet cafes were
available for access only in bazaars, and women and girls couldn’t go in as
easily. Slowly, I also went on to establishing an English Learning Centre,
intended to teach women and girls English in the contemporary and modern style.
This is called the House of Learning, which is a professional educational
institution in Kandahar, and is the first Institute of Modern studies for girls
in Kandahar that is managed by women for women. The Institute provides women
with the opportunity to receive education in Business Management, Information
Technology, English, and Communications. Its programs provide students with the
skills needed to obtain employment to support themselves and their families,
improve their communities and participate in the reconstruction of Kandahar. I
also make use of a special network of women called Kandahar women’s Network to
help these women solve their everyday issues, and to brainstorm regularly, in
order to find solution to issues.
As the self-sufficiency of the women and
girls rose, we also began to focus on building a yearly or annual program to
help women provide for their families. Through this annual program, we give
women cash and materials required for their home. I have made one library that will be inaugurated very soon,
which is a fully functional library, and it will be named as Bibi Aisha Sadiqa,
that is the first women's library in Afghanistan.
I am now
the Director of the Khadija Kubra Women’s Association for Culture, the Director
of Merman (Women’s Radio), the Head of Kandahar women’s Network, the Head of House
of Learning and a former member of the Kandahar Provincial Council. I was first
elected as a Kandahar Provincial Council Member in 2005 at the age of 21 and
for a second term in 2009.I served as one of only four women on the Council and
brought women’s concerns and a woman’s perspective to the activities and
discussions of the Council.
One would think that my work here is
because of a childhood in Afghanistan. But, I did not live my childhood years
in Kandahar, or in any part of Afghanistan. I was, instead, in Iran, as my
family had immigrated due to the many wars in Afghanistan. Living outside
Afghanistan had its own advantages and disadvantages. The biggest advantages
were that I was educated, and got to learn a lot about the world that has
helped me in my work for the future of Afghanistan, and
has remained vital for the nation’s advancement. The tough side to living
abroad is that facilities and infrastructure required for personal advancement
are accessible only to citizens. Even though my father was very educated,
talented and experienced, he couldn’t get a job in Iran. The people, too, were
a little rude to foreigners, with exception.
Having learned so much, I returned to
Afghanistan to help work to build the future of my country. Afghanistan has
become so multi-cultural because of the arrival of foreigners, and people of
different cultures. This, the war, and the lack of education among the masses
has tended to create a lot of room for a continued state of violence.
I see that there is a huge gap between what
is needed and what is provided. Education is so fixed and rigid on the literacy
quotient, but does nothing to help prevent and address violence. We have only
education, but no training or means to equip ourselves against exigencies. Our
girls, and our women, they are all exceptionally talented and know how to
speak, to read and to write. But, they don’t know how to respond to violence
and protect themselves. For solving this problem we have planned to have some
training programs in schools if the Education Department of Kandahar help us or
allow us to do so, thenwe plan to categorize students according to age – so you
have one group with children aged seven to nine, a second for those aged
between nine and fourteen, and a third, for those aged between fourteen and
eighteen. Each group will be given a separate training program. We will also do
a radio program to train parents, because they should also help encourage their
children in the same direction. We will train the children at school and the
parents via radio.
I was selected by Time Magazine as one
among the “The 100 Most Influential People in the World.” As the owner and
operator of a radio station (Merman Radio) that focuses on women's issues and
as a member of the Kandahar provincial council, they lauded my work for standing
up for Afghan women with remarkable bravery. I was also the recipient of the 2012 U.S.
Secretary of State’s Award for International Women of Courage Award. I was then
selected as one of 30 young activists by National Endowment for Democracy in
2013, and received the 2014 Roosevelt Four Freedoms Award: Freedom of Speech
and Expression. More recently, I received the Peace Generation Award in October
2015 in New York from N-Peace (UNDP). This Award is given to leaders and peace
builders creating change at the grassroots in Asia. Coordinated by the N-Peace
Network across Indonesia, Pakistan, Myanmar, Nepal, Afghanistan, and the
Philippines, the Awards shine a light on women and men who demonstrate
leadership in building peace and empowering their communities. I also received the international Simorgh Peace Prize from
Armanshahr Foundation in 2015, for her persistence in her initiatives to make
voices of women from Kandahar be heard world over.
The happiest moments in my work so far have
been to see little girls and boys wanting to be like me. It is so moving when a
young boy comes and tells me that I am his role model. And yet, I face a lot of
challenges in the form of security issues and traditional mindsets. People are
resistant to my work due to cultural and traditional ideologies. I overcome
these issues through openness, communication and education.