Afghan women film on 9/11 to launch 2009 FOR Nyack-area film series

We have an exciting event scheduled for the next in the film series at FOR. We will have the filmmaker, Kathleen Foster, and two Afghan women featured in the film (see biographic info below) who will discuss the film and the situation in Afghanistan and also be offering Afghan crafts for sale. Proceeds of the sale will go towards the building of schools for women and girls in Afghanistan. We hope you can make it there. September 11th, 7-10PM at FOR in Nyack. This promises to be a very powerful event, falling on this memorable date. You can view the trailer for the film at: http://www.kathleenfoster.com/.

Afghan Women: A History of Struggle

film, discussion and Afghan crafts sale

September 11th, 7 — 10p.m.

FOR — Fellowship of Reconciliation

521 North Broadway
Nyack, NY 10960

845-358-4601 ext. 32

The following is from the film's website:

Kathleen Foster's latest film, "Afghan Women: A History of Struggle", is a feature-length documentary that captures the resilience and courage of a group of remarkable women who risk their lives daily to stand up for their rights. Rare archival footage illustrates the disturbing and amazing stories of their struggle for equality, reflected in the history of this Central Asian country during the past quarter-centure of political turmoil The women shed light on the little-known sotry of the last battle of the Cold War that was played out on Afghan soil, and the role of the CIA in the creation of the terrorist groups that plague the world today.

The film goes inside a women't prison and records the drafting of an Afghan Women's Bill of Rights by women from across Afghanistan at a conference in Kandahar in 2003. In scenes like these, women debunk the commonly-held myth that the U.S. intervention and the fall of the Taliban brought Afghan women freedom, and expose "Operation Freedom" as a euphemism for U.S. domination of the region with its oil and gas reserves.

After the film we will have a discussion with:

Kathleen Foster, British born, New York-based documentary filmmaker. Since the mid-eighties she has been making films for community organizations and producing independent documentaries that combine elements of history, current events and individual stories and focus on grass roots struggles for social change.

Her films have received wide distribution and have been screened at such prestigious showcases as the Museum of Modern Art, the Asia Society, Queens Museum, Anthology Film Archives and many universities, including NYU, Columbia Boston and Princeton. She has spoken and lectured at screenings of her films around the country.

She is the recipient of Women In Islam”˜s 2006 Compass Award, given to women, in celebration of the example and legacy of Dr. Betty Shabazz, who through their exceptional dedication mark as well as forge a clear direction for our communities. Womeninislam.org For more information on Ms. Foster see:

Fahima Vorgetts was involved with the early women's rights movement of the 1970’s in Afghanistan. She is a board member of Women for Afghan Women. As director of the Afghan Women's Fund, an organization raising money to build schools for women and girls in Afghanistan, she travels to Afghanistan 2 or 3 times a year..

She was a consultant for Women For Afghan Women: Shattering Myths and Reclaiming The Future, edited by Sunita Mehta and Behind The Burqa, by Batya Swift Yasgur.

In 2005 she received the Salem Award for Human Rights and Social Justice. She is the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award "for Extraordinary Contribution to Peace and Justice" awarded by the Ann Arundel Peace Action Organization in 2002, and the Human Right Community Award by the UN Association of the National Capital Area in 2003.

Fahima Vorgetts: Afghan Women's Fund www.womenforafghanwomen.org

Dr. Fawzia Afzal Khan, professor of English at Montclair State University, New Jersey. Her most recent book is The Pre-Occupation of Postcolonial Studies, co-edited with Kalpana Seshadri-Crooks (Duke University Press, 2000). She is currently completing her third book, Alternative 'Street' Theatre and the Women's Movement in Contemporary Pakistan and Its U.S. Diaspora, and is working on a memoir, Sahelian: Growing Up with Girlfriends, Pakistani-Style.