My name is Ellen and I am 29 yo. I am employed as manager in a community Mental health service, I spend time volunteering with young people, people seeking asylum, growing veges and being part of a Christian community in Brunswick.
I seek to live out a life that uses justice, compassion and empowerment as my guide and reference points– the result of the influence of both feminist and Christian ideology.
With such reference points, I approach the war in Afghanistan,. Is it just? is it fueled by compassion, does it enable people to access their sense of worth or power?
On June 16 I was at the entrance of the Swann Island Military training facility.
My physical presence and act of non-violent resistance was a way to say that I oppose all forms of Australia’s involvement in war making. I fully accept that such actions have consequences to bear.
At the beginning of the war, we were told it was a moral imperative – we need to Liberate women from the Taliban. It would be my hope that protecting the lives and rights of women all around the world be a priority. Yet as time goes on, evidence suggests that the situation of women in Afghanistan was and continues to be used as a PR campaign justifying war making – a smokescreen for issues of power, warlords and pipelines
As we approach 10 years of war making, we are being told by the governments of counties sending troops to Afghanistan that situation for women is improving. We are told by the women in Afghanistan that conditions are worse and their desire is for the withdrawal of collation forces so that they are able to tackle one problem at a time without the added bonus of a warzone. It is the voices of the women that I am choosing to listen to.
History clearly demonstrates that war does not liberate women. Women disproportionally suffer the effects of war. War means increase in incidents of rape, and people trafficking, loss of basic survival needs and needless deaths, just to name the obvious effects. War erodes the rights and dignity of women. There are many ways women grow strong, are empowered and stand tall, war is simply not one of them.
Thankfully, history also shows us that non-violent resistance can be and has been a revolution, a powerful influencer, and a healer in the lives of countless women and men alike. The way of the suffragettes, The Mothers of the Disappeared in Argentina, the save our sons movement during Vietnam war, the women in black in Israel.
It is in this strong history, in this unshakable narrative that I stand fully and confidently.
