A Time to Rebuild Afghan Hope

Afghanistan made her strong, then broke her heart. But with the defeat of the Taliban and formation of a new government, Kawky Anwar sees hope for a land ravaged by war and religious extremism.

“I was born there, raised there, got married there, had children there, got all my education there,” said the Simi Valley woman, president of the Afghan Women Assn. of Southern California. “I had good times and good memories of my country. I feel now that I have my country back.”

The former vice principal of the Malalai School, one of Kabul’s largest and oldest all-girl schools, wants to return to her homeland and help repair what the Taliban nearly destroyed.

Malalai is in ruins, its windows smashed and its rooms stripped of furniture, Anwar says. The 4,000 students were sent packing long ago by the Taliban, which forbade the education of women.

Aside from trying to raise money to rebuild the school, Anwar’s group lobbies for women’s rights in Afghanistan, for female representation in the interim government and for the disarmament and education of the population.

“A country without education is nothing,” said Anwar, a raven-haired 60-year-old who alternates between broad smiles and grave seriousness.

After the Taliban conquered most of Afghanistan in 1995, Anwar--who had moved to the United States in 1981--decided she wanted to help fight them. She and others formed the Afghan Women Assn. in 1997. They wrote to President Clinton, met with local congressmen and strategized with activists such as Mavis Leno, wife of comedian Jay Leno.

They even sat down with visiting Taliban delegations to register their opposition to a regime that not only refused to let women attend school but also shut them out of most jobs and required them to wear head-to-toe burkas whenever they left home.

But the delegations were unmoved when Anwar told them that the Koran, Islam’s holiest book, and the prophet Muhammad, Islam’s most revered messenger, had both called for the respectful treatment of women.

“We would tell them this was not the way to deal with women,” Anwar said. “They said we didn’t understand Islam. They wouldn’t look at us. I would open the Koran and read to them parts about the treatment of women, but they just thought we were stupid women.”

Former Students Recall Image of Authority

Before coming to the United States, Anwar studied law and political science at Kabul University and then returned to her old high school to teach geography and history. She later became vice principal.

Mahbob Murtaza Yar, 36, attended the school and remembers Anwar prowling the halls in leather jackets and miniskirts.

“I was kind of afraid of her,” said the Fremont biochemist. “She had that effect on you. She was a beautiful woman and a good authority figure.”

Nazema Momand, 43, also attended Malalai.

“Kawky Anwar was very chic and modern,” said the Fremont nurse. “I remember that she wore her hair very long. She would walk the hallways with authority. She was serious but nice.”

Momand said the school was surrounded by green gardens and roses.

“I saw it on the news and it was all destroyed,” she said. “I cried.”

A year after the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1979, Anwar, her husband and their three children fled to India. They were all fervent anti-communists and had been removed from their jobs because they didn’t support the new regime.

They arrived in New York in 1981 and moved to Canoga Park a year later. In 1990, they came to Simi Valley. She and her husband, a former economics professor, worked for computer companies before retiring.

The association has tried to help keep the Afghan language and culture alive in Southern California. They are small in number, about 10 women and their extended families spread out from Simi Valley to San Diego. They meet twice a month and hope to buy their own community center someday.

Simi Valley has about 13 Afghan families, Anwar said, with most adults working in the high-technology and medical professions.

One of the largest concentrations of Afghans in the United States, between 40,000 and 50,000, live in and near Fremont in the San Francisco Bay Area. Los Angeles is home to about 15,000 Afghans.

The Fremont-based Afghan Women’s Assn. International is a much larger organization advocating women’s rights in and out of Afghanistan.

“Kawky’s group is small but it’s very courageous,” said Rona Popal, founder of the international group. “Long before Sept. 11 they held meetings with [Huntington Beach] Congressman Dana Rohrabacher and other politicians about the rights of women in Afghanistan.”

Anwar hopes to travel to Afghanistan to discuss the country’s new constitution and how the loya jirga, or grand assembly, will choose a new leader. California Afghans will choose 10 of their own to make the journey.

“If I am selected, I will tell them that women need equal rights with men,” Anwar said.

“But some may not want us to come back. They may say we left the country while they stayed and fought and maybe lost family members. I would tell them that they are my boss. Some will listen and some will not.”

Group Sent Plane Full of Goods for the People

The new interim government includes two women. One, Minister of Public Health Suhaila Seddiqi, went to high school with Anwar.

The Southern California group recently helped fill a plane with food, clothing and blankets that landed in Afghanistan on Feb. 21.

“For three months I was watching TV and I was crying all the time,” Anwar said.

“There was no food for the kids, no shelter. I am now just praying that my people will have a happy life. One day I hope--my last hope--is to go see my country and go see my school.”