March 2, 2002

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Cooking up some peace by Leslie McIntyre

As I approached the front door of my friend's house I could smell the delicious odors of Afghan food gently wafting out from the kitchen, filling the air. I was excited to be at Franny's house that day because it was the culmination of many meetings to plan a benefit for RAWA, the Revolutionary Association of Women of Afghanistan, planned by AWWA, American Women for Women of Afghanistan. As I walked into the kitchen, I was deeply moved by the cooperative and fun atmosphere of American and Afghan women cooking together in my friend's kitchen. I thought that this was the way to stop war -- gather the women together, cook, talk, share stories, and create nurturance instead of fear. The feeling in the kitchen that day pervaded the entire event. I felt it was the heart and soul of the healing we wanted to create. Being in direct contact with one another made it possible for us to see that we are all women together in a world in desperate need of women's wisdom.

I had been feeling profoundly disturbed by the events of September 11 and the ensuing aftermath and felt that I needed to find a way to help my Afghan sisters, who have been some of the most oppressed women in the world. Because all life is oppressed when women are oppressed, I was outraged at the depth of the oppression of women in Afghanistan. I brought my vision for this event to a circle of people and in a short time, a circle of women formed itself to share in a collective effort to do something together that would make a difference. The response and support came from the hearts of these women because they, like myself, felt a call to help our sisters across the globe. Our collective effort produced a truly wonderful event. We wanted to celebrate Afghan culture and to educate people about the country and her people. The heart of this benefit was the kitchen in which Afghan and American women cooked together. We were honored and delighted that women from the Afghan community in our area in Sonoma County were happy to participate. They brought their families to the event.

We had an afternoon program of Afghan speakers and poetry, Afghan food, children's dance and children's precious singing, slides, playback theater, a rap song performed and written by my daughter called "Woman Nation", and a closing circle with a group prayer for peace in which an Afghan woman spoke out about the necessity of educating the boys about having respect for women. She gave thanks to the people who lost their lives on September 11 saying that because of them, awareness about what was happening in Afghanistan became more global. We invited several vendors with Afghan wares to have booths to sell their goods and we also set up a silent auction, with Afghan rugs, weavings and crafts. The evening portion was filled by local musicians and political theater. We raised about $2800 for the women of Afghanistan. It felt empowering for our community to come together to do something in love and kindness to help those in desperate need.

I have been particularly struck by an older Afghan woman I met while putting this event together who is dedicated to helping the widows of Afghanistan. She is an elder. She embodies a quiet fierceness that is inspiring and seems tireless. She is preparing to return to Afghanistan to help her sisters there. I am in awe of her devotion and selflessness. She makes me realize how totally fortunate I am to live in the manner in which I do. She provides a mirror to me that enables me see that our affluence in this country is at her expense -- and those like her all around the world. White "culture" is the norm and anything else is "other" -- or abnormal. Also residing in this terrible inequity is the assumption that men are the norm and women are "other" -- abnormal, to be abhorred. In my opinion, this assumption is the root of all inequity, violence, and abuse in the world.

Because our event was focused on women, we were not sure how the Afghan men who attended would like our feminism. But they sat through the afternoon program and supported us. It is one thing to talk about racism. It is quite another to talk about sexism &endash; anywhere! Women who are used to being treated as second-class citizens have a hard time addressing their own oppression because of a deep-seated fear of losing their lives. To openly name global male dominance is indeed challenging, but we, WE (Women of the Earth), feel it must be named everywhere and anywhere possible. It is not okay for men to dominate women in any way -- no matter what color those men may be.

Having this event and being able to talk about how the hatred of women causes war and violence in the world as well as raise money for Afghan women was an accomplishment in the service of the Goddess. Combining feminist spiritual truth and wisdom in the political arena is necessary if we are to facilitate change. It is a risky, awesome and necessary thing to do.

We plan to continue this work as a new nonprofit, Women of the Earth (WE). Contact me for more information: Lesliemcintyre1@cs.com