Hadizatou Mani, a former slave from Niger, &
Suraya Pakzad, a woman's rights activist from Afghanistan, were among 2009's Time 100 personalities.
for these gutsy ladies!
Facing power with truth, demanding justice and making change possible are things that are easier said than done. It takes courage, resilience and a belief in one's own voice and truth, qualities that Hadizatou Mani, a woman who was sold as a slave at the age of 12, possesses, not out of her wealth or education but out of her simple and most essential belief in human dignity and women's rights to equality and justice.
Mani, now in her mid-20s, was sold into slavery for $500 in 1996. Her home country, Niger, outlawed slavery in 2003, but the practice still continues and manifests itself through the trafficking of mostly women and children not just in Niger but in many other parts of the world as well.
It is not easy to know you are worth more than what you are being told, to know you have the right to stand up against injustice, to know the world is still beautiful and safe despite its horrors. Not too many of us have the constitution to stand against power as Mani did when she took her country to a West African court for failing to enforce its own laws and denying her right to freedom. "I knew that this was the only way to protect my child from suffering the same fate as myself. Nobody deserves to be enslaved," she said. And she proved it when she won her case in 2008.
Suraya Pakzad knows well that death threats in Afghanistan must never be taken lightly. Especially those against high-profile, outspoken women like her, for whom such threats are an occupational hazard. In recent years, extremists have assassinated Malalai Kakar, the country's most prominent policewoman; Safia Ama Jan, director of the Ministry of Women's Affairs in Kandahar; and journalist Zakia Zaki. I cannot imagine the reserves of courage that Pakzad, 38, taps into every morning when she steps out the door, knowing it may be for the last time.
But for several years now, at great risk to herself, this is just what she has done. It is difficult to name a more committed advocate for women's rights in Afghanistan. A recipient of the 2008 International Women of Courage Award, Pakzad is the founder of the Voice of Women Organization, committed to providing Afghan women with shelter, counseling and job training. Her shelters give abused women safe haven, legal services and long-term protection. She has worked tirelessly to raise awareness about gender-based violence that victimizes Afghan women.
Pakzad knows that any future success for Afghanistan depends greatly on the full, unimpeded participation of its women as contributing, productive members of society. In 1926, then Queen Soraya said famously, "Do not think, however, that our nation needs only men to serve it. Women should also take their part, as women did in the early years of Islam. The valuable services rendered by women are recounted throughout history. And from their examples, we learn that we must all contribute toward a development of our nation." This is what Pakzad believes. This is what she fights for. And it is this, however unpleasant, must be said, what she may die for.
Hosseini is the author of the novel Thousand Splendid Suns
Well done ladies!
Topic: Three Cheers for Hadizatou Mani & Suraya Pakzad!