Afghan Women’s Writing Project

Hello, Effers! I am so very honored to publish an interview I did with Masha Hamilton, the organizer of the amazing Afghan Women’s Writing Project. I have volunteered to be one of the teachers this spring. The project is getting a lot of attention lately, having had an article featured on Al Jazeera and in the LA Times.  Whether you are a man or a woman, you need to know about this project because it is absolutely phenomenal. So without further ado, let’s talk to Masha about the project and learn more:

Q: What inspired you to start the Afghan Women’s Writing Project?

Masha Hamilton: I returned to Afghanistan about a year ago, last November. On this trip, I found a greater pessimism among the women than during my previous visit in 2004. My own travel was severely limited due to security considerations, and the women I interviewed often spoke about how quickly the Taliban had taken over in the ’90s, how quickly they were not allowed outside except in a burqa and accompanied by a male relative, how quickly they were denied access to schools. How quickly their worlds shrunk. There was fear that this could happen again. Although “moderate Taliban” may be a meaningful term in terms of negotiations with the Karzai government, it seems less meaningful in terms of women’s rights. So there is definitely concern among Afghan women as the Karzai government moves toward incorporating the Taliban in some fashion.

Q: How did you organize the project and get it going?

MH: I had long considered teaching an online class to Afghan women writers; I decided to launch the class a few months after my November visit. But enthusiasm among the Afghan writers was palpable, and I rapidly understood the demand would outstrip my ability to meet it. That’s when I began reaching out to American novelists, short-story writers, poets, memoirists, etc., who also teach, many of them my friends, and asking them to volunteer on a rotating basis. Then we had to set up secure on-line classrooms, a teacher’s schedule, some kind of instructions to get them started, and collect bios so incoming teachers could know something about their writers.

Q: What are some of the barriers/risks these writers are overcoming in order to have their voices heard?

MH: Sometimes these women are overcoming major risks just to participate in the project. In several cases, their families do not know they are participating, and would not be happy. One of our writers has received a night letter – a Taliban death threat pasted to her home at night. She wrote about this for the blog, anonymously. Virtually everything on the blog goes through some revision process, so exchanges back and forth between the student and her teacher are critical. Yet many have difficulties getting us the work: Going into an Internet cafe is not possible for a woman alone, and a woman who goes in with a male relative makes herself the center of unwelcome, and sometimes threatening, attention.

Q: How has working with these writers changed your teachers’ perception of Afghan women? And your own?

MH: If you take a look at the montly newsletter (which you can sign up for on the blog, and which highlights some of the month’s best work), you will see the section called “A Word From Our Teachers.” Often, they comment about how much more they understand about Afghan women at this point, and that they have been both educated and moved by working with the writers in ways they hadn’t anticipated. This is definitely a two-way street and women at both ends of the project are benefiting. My own perceptions of Afghan women were formed by my previous trips, when I interviewed women in prison in Kabul and Kandahar, child brides, matriarchs of opium-growing families, war widows. I grew to appreciate the grace with which many handled enormous hardships.

Q: What are some of the stumbling blocks you’ve encountered along the way?

MH: The only stumbling block – which is also a strength – is that the teachers are here and the Afghan writers are there. We’ve largely overcome that with the help of a couple of awesome liaisons in Afghanistan. We also have a volunteer blogmaster in California and a volunteer technical director in Indiana who set up our secure online classrooms. All amazing people who have put in all kinds of unpaid time. This project has helped connect people in unusual ways — I’ve heard from those who’ve read the blog and those who’ve heard about the project, and through this, I’ve been able to take part in some inspiring conversations. My hope for the coming year is that the blog readership will continue to grow because I think this is a unique and valuable project.

Q: What would you say resides at the heart of the Afghan Women’s Writing Project?

MH: AWWP is about sharing your story – and I think this is a human need that has been denied Afghan women for many years. Their stories were either seen as irrelevant and value-less, or expressed via male relatives, or sometimes expressed via the media. But not in their own words, in their own way. Also through this project, we learn what it means to be an Afghan woman. And finally, by reading their work and commenting on the blog, we show them that we are here, that we are listening, that we care.

Q. How can we help?

MH: There are several ways. First, simply read the blog, and comment on any pieces you particularly like. The women really do read those comments, and find support from them. Secondly, spread the word. Facebook, Twitter, whatever social media you use. It will be enormous help in bringing readers to the project. Finally, you can consider a tax-deductible donation of any size, that will go toward buying laptops for each of these women, and setting up Afghanistan’s first women’s only Internet cafe in Kabul – both concerns due to security issues in the country. THANK YOU, Julie!