As I speak today, the future of Afghanistan is at a crossroads, particularly the future of women. With the removal of the Taliban from control, women finally may be able to regain our rights and Afghanistan may at long last have a chance for a peaceful future. But none of this is a certainty.

     Finally the world is becoming aware of the plight of Afghan women. The media is now paying attention to the suffering that women have endured under the Taliban's restrictions. More people now know about the starvation and disease that have come from the drought, the fighting, and the overall lack of humanitarian assistance. The situation of women in Afghanistan has been deteriorating for the past two decades. It could not get much worse.

     Under the Taliban, women in Afghanistan were banned from attending school, prohibited from working outside their home, and not allowed to leave their homes without the company of a close male relative or without wearing the full burqa. The punishment for violating these decrees has been harsh and included among other punishments public beatings, imprisonment, and even execution.

     We hope with the new situation in Afghanistan that these restrictions will quickly become history and will never be repeated again.

     Afghan women warned that what was happening with the Taliban and terrorism would not long stay within Afghanistan's borders. But our warnings were ignored and the tragedies of September 11 occurred. And, now the Afghan people are paying for a crime that they did not commit.

     Afghanistan is a small very poor and underdeveloped country that has been at war for the last 23 years. Women in Afghanistan historically have had extremely low and secondary status to men because much of Afghan society still follows the patriarchal system of families. Dictatorship and misinterpretation of religion have further restricted the rights of women.

However, 35-40 years ago partial democracy was introduced into the country and a constitution was drawn up in which women were given limited rights. Under this constitution, women were granted the freedom of obtaining all forms of education. They could participate in elections as voters and as candidates. Despite the poverty, women had the same wage as men. In the 1960s, Afghan women made some progress in politics, education, and employment. We could choose what we wore, and we could move about freely. I, myself, went to coeducation schools from first grade school through medical school. Unfortunately, the majority of women living in villages saw little change in their daily lives, but women in the cities did.

Earlier today, Dr. Samar gave a press conference at Rights & Democracy's Montreal offices. Here she is seated with Kathleen Mahoney, Chairperson of the Board, and Warren Allmand, President of Rights & Democracy.

     After the invasion of the Russians in the country, the constitution lost its efficacy and a state of war, havoc and destruction prevailed over the nation. Countries with political and economic stakes in Afghanistan began to fight a proxy war between each other in which some emerged as winners at the expense of the Afghan people. With the sole aim of defeating communists in Afghanistan, than none took exception to the trampling of the rights of Afghan women. Men victimized women even further with the claim of upholding Afghan culture and traditions and observing Islamic values. Even the UN and the so-called democratic countries indirectly supported this horrific maltreatment of women.

     Women have been the main victims of the continuing human rights crisis in the country. Although neither of the warring sides respects the human rights of women, the actions of the Taliban were the most extreme. The exclusion of women from public life under the Taliban has taken its toll not only on women whose lives were destroyed, but also on society as a whole. Before the Taliban took over, women were the majority of teachers and the majority of health care workers. With the restrictions on women, the education system collapsed and the healthcare system was severely damaged, and the whole population suffered.

     Despite the Taliban's restrictions, my organization - the Shuhada Organization, which I founded in 1989 - continued to provide health care services and educational opportunities to girls. I run 45 schools in Central Afghanistan, currently educating some 20,000 students. My high school for girls is the only formal girls' high school that continued to function under the Taliban. Because of our dedication and support within the community, the Taliban could not close the girls' schools in this part of Afghanistan. Their harassment was constant, but we kept the schools open and kept teaching the girls math, science, and other courses.

     My organization also has 11 clinics and 4 hospitals in Afghanistan. One hospital in Bamiyan was taken over by the Taliban. Another one of my hospitals in Yawkolang was bombed, months after the Taliban massacred hundreds of ethnic Hazaras, including three of my hospital staff, when they took over the area again in January. My clinics and hospitals continued to provide health services to women, including reproductive health services such as contraception, despite the Taliban's prohibition and at great risk.

     In Pakistan, I operate a hospital, clinic, and 4 schools for Afghan refugees. I also run a co-educational Science Institute that provides post-secondary training to become physician assistants, paramedics, and science teachers. I began this program to prepare young women and men to go back to Afghanistan to provide desperately needed health and education services. I hope now that my students can aid in the rebuilding of our country.

     One of the reasons for the chaos, destruction, and oppression that followed the Soviet withdrawal was that the United States and the international community abandoned Afghanistan after funding and training the most radical extremists.

     We hope that the United States and the international community will not forget Afghanistan again. We hope the U.S. and other countries will keep their new promises and provide substantial relief and development assistance to rebuild the whole system and economy in Afghanistan.

Dr. Samar fielding question from journalists.

Religion and culture have often been used as the justification for the denial of the rights of Afghan women. But in reality, the restrictions on women have nothing to do with the religion or culture of Afghanistan and everything to do with control and power. In fact, the first word of Islam was "Iqra" which means, "to read" and the first convert to Islam was Khadija, Muhammad's wife. Muhammad said himself that all Muslim women and men should be educated. Ayesha herself was allowed to ride camels and lead troops into battle.      In regard to dress, Islam does not specify a particular dress code to be observed by women. Afghan women usually do not have their faces covered. The burqa is neither Islamic nor is it an Afghan tradition.      Some humanitarian aid providers are of the opinion that we should not worry so much about girls not having access to education or we should not blame the Taliban because very few women were literate before the Taliban. The aid agencies use respect for culture and religion as an excuse for not supporting girls' education programs.      But, the reality is that the demand for education has always existed, but has gone largely unmet because of lack of resources or will power by the government.

     My schools for girls in Pakistan and Afghanistan, for example, are over-enrolled because the hunger for education for girls is so great, but the resources are so limited. Very little money has been devoted to girls' education, and most of that only to primary education. Secondary and higher education are also desperately needed if we are ever to rebuild civil society in Afghanistan. We must also provide education for the boys. Unless real education opportunities are provided for boys the madrassas will continue to create generations of boys that know only the war mentality and the mentality of the oppression of women. The education of boys, along with the education of girls, is essential for the future of human rights, women's rights, and peace in Afghanistan.

     To conclude, there is no acceptable justification for marginalizing Afghan women and violating our rights. Today, I am pleased to see that women have been given a role in the new interim government, and that the voices of women are at last to be heard in the country's decision-making process. The appointment of two women is a beginning, but it is not enough. I hope that I will be able to heal some of the wounds of Afghan women.

     We have much work to do. We will not be able to do it alone. We need the support of the international community, including Canada. We need multi-national troops in order to disarm the different factions, to maintain stability and security, and to allow the government system to be re-established. Whatever government structure is in place, women'' rights must be restored. We need the commitment of Canada and the international community to make gender issues central in the reconstruction of Afghanistan.

     I am honored to accept this prestigious award on behalf of the millions of Afghan women and children who are hungry, homeless, and traumatized. I will continue my work so that women's rights in Afghanistan will be counted as human rights and that girls will no longer be punished for having a notebook and pen in their hands.