For exposing the nature of the Afghanistan parliament, which is full of warlords and drug lords, I was threatened to be raped and even killed right inside the parliament house and finally unlawfully suspended. . . .

Afghanistan is a haven for abusers of human rights and for fundamentalist terrorists, but those who speak for justice and democracy are under much pressure. The Western countries are only supporting criminals in Afghanistan and are there for their own strategic, economic, and regional interests in Afghanistan for which they are sacrificing the poor Afghan people. . . .

There are no human rights and democracy in Afghanistan. Our legislative, executive, and judicial bodies are infected with the voices of fundamentalism. The U.S. and its allies are busy in the warlordization, criminalization, drug lordization of our wounded land, and billions of dollars spent in the country only make the warlords and human rights abusers more powerful than before.

Afghanistan has a presidential election scheduled soon, but everyone knows that the election is a show that is throwing dust in the eyes of our people. The actual choice is with the White House to select its next puppet in Afghanistan and give him legitimacy through this show. The Afghanistan constitution clearly bans those accused of war crimes from running in the election, but the list of candidates includes many of those accused of serious war crimes and brutalities against our people. Hamid Karzai, who seems to be the choice of the White House, selected two infamous warlords as his vice presidents. . . .

By Malalai Joya, Afghanistan's leading feminist and member of parliament

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