Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan
The RAWA was started in Kabul in 1977 as an independent social and political organization of Afghan women fighting for human rights and social justice. The organization then moved parts of its work out of Afghanistan into Pakistan. For many years, it has been working for Afghan women from Pakistan. A group of Afghan women led by Meena Keshwar Kamal founded RAWA in 1977. At age 21, she worked on  educating women. This was the founding idea for RAWA. In 1979, Kamal began a campaign against the Soviet occupation and the Soviet-supported government of Afghanistan. In 1981, she launched a bilingual magazine Payam-e-Zan (Women's Message).That year, she visited France for the French Socialist Party Congress. She also established schools for Afghan refugee children, hospitals and handicraft centers for refugee women in Pakistan. Because of her activities and views, as well as her work against the government and religious fundamentalists, she was assassinated on February 4, 1987.