Break the Chain War Against Women

Updated (2/1/2003) This petition understandably grew in popularity following the events of September 11 and the subsequent military action in Afghanistan. The Taliban has since been removed from power, too bad this chain letter can't similarly be "removed."


The Taliban's War on Women:



Melissa Buckheit
Brandeis University







At one of the rare hospitals for women, a reporter found still, nearly lifeless bodies lying motionless on top of beds, wrapped in their burqua, unwilling to speak, eat or do anything, but are slowly wasting away. Others have gone mad and were seen crouched in corners, perpetually rocking or crying, most of them in fear. One doctor is considering, when what little medication that is left finally runs out, leaving these women in front of the president's residence as a form of peaceful protest.

It is at the point where the term 'human rights violations' have become an understatement.




If we can threaten military force in Kosovo in the name of human rights for the sake of ethnic Albanians, Americans can certainly express peaceful outrage at the oppression, murder and injustice committed against women by the Taliban.


In signing this, we agree that the current treatment of women in Afghanistan is completely UNACCEPTABLE and deserves support and action by the people of the United States and the U.S. Government and that the current situation overseas will not be tolerated. Women's Rights is not a small issue anywhere and it is UNACCEPTABLE for women in 1998 to be treated as sub-human and so much as property. Equality and human decency is a RIGHT not a freedom, whether one lives in Afghanistan or the United States.*****



The Taliban was no doubt guilty of serious human rights violations. Unfortunately, the author of this message overestimated the ability of e-petitions to effect change. Melissa Buckheit was not authorized by Brandeis University to send her petition and the school quickly shut down her account just days after her petition started due to the large volume of responses it generated. - free web hosting. Free hosting with no banners.
The United States' Operation Enduring Freedom was successful in deposing the Taliban government in Afghanistan. A version of this petition on PetitionsOnline, a free Internet service, was promptly shut down after the fall of the Taliban. Unfortunately, there's no effective way to "shut down" an e-mail petition. This chain letter's popularity has waned, but it still circulates, often changed to remove references to the Taliban. People are passionate about human rights and often act without thinking when they see what they believe is an easy way to defend them - after all, what can it hurt?

Suzanne Dathe may have the answer to that question. She was one of the first people to 'sign' this petition. Due to the "add your name" nature of these petitions, her name remains on most copies of it. As a result, she bitterly regrets signing it. She continues to get calls and e-mails from people who believe she originated it or who want additional information. To complicate matters further, several similar petitions have used this one as a model, keeping intact the first few signatures. As a result, she's been attached to 'causes' she's never seen. She now warns everyone she talks with against e-petitions. Read "Armchair Activism" in the Chain-Breaker's Library for more reasons e-petitions are a bad idea.

Human rights violations are still committed in many parts of the world, but e-mail petitions will do little to quash them. Break this Chain!

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Category: Armchair Activism

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