Today's story is more touching than anything I've read, heard, or experienced about Operation Enduring Freedom (the official name of the mission in Afghanistan) so far. It's a shame that the news picks up stories about the violence here and not about the tremendous (albeit small) personal victories.
There are 28 women in the Afghan National Army who work on or near the Afghan base where I work - that is a larger concentration than anywhere else in Afghanistan. Today I held a meeting and 23 of them attended. The other five work in another part of the city and couldn't get to the meeting (remember that women as a general rule do not drive here). I strategically wore civilian clothes today, and apparently I brought my good luck charm, because Julia and I blew this meeting right out of the water...much to our own surprise.
I know enough Dari to say "Hello, and good morning. My name is Lisa. I have lived in Afghanistan for two months." I started there, and Julia then helped me explain that I am a Major in the U.S. Air Force and I have been in the military for 10 years (which they all found baffling, since most of the women in the room were between 45 - 50 years old.) I told them about Rob, and that he lives in another part of Afghanistan, and that we would like to have a family some day (one of the ladies promptly prayed that I would have seven children, and that led to a great laugh). That's all basic scene-setting tradition here...we spend a significant portion of every meeting playing the "Hi. How are you?" "I am fine. How are you?" game.
Even though I live in Afghanistan and work on an Afghan base, I'm still fundamentally myself (i.e. American), so I dove right into the toughest part first. Military women on our base do not wear their uniforms. So...I wear civilian clothes at least once a week in hopes that the women here will then see me as more of a peer. Absolute success. Julia didn't even need to translate for me to tell this story...she did the whole thing on her own, and I couldn't have said it better myself:
"Thank you for coming to our meeting today. You are all women in the Afghan National Army, and you do not wear your uniforms. Lisa is also in the military. Once a week she wears civilian clothes because she wants to support you, even though that is very risky for her. It would be nice if you all wore your uniforms every Sunday to support her. You should begin next Sunday."
And YES! They agreed. Every single one of them...gladly. They are excited that every Sunday we will meet at 10am, have a "roll call" where we take attendance, and then have at least one hour of military skills training during which we are all wearing uniforms. I will teach the first week, but then I will work with a different woman each week to help teach a useful military skill. This is the first time in as long as anyone can remember that women on our base have worn uniforms to work, and we're using this great opportunity to built camaraderie among this very important group of trailblazers. In fact, the women were so excited that they asked me not to take their pictures today, but rather to bring my camera next Sunday so that I can take a picture of each one of them in their uniform to hang on the wall in the Women's Center.
Julia and I celebrated our huge victory with a lunch in the dining facility of the Afghan General Officer who runs the base (a known woman-hater). We told the General to expect to see women in uniforms every Sunday starting next week. As she started translating for me, one of the Afghan men at the table looked across at me and said in perfect English "You have a very smart interpreter."
Indeed I do. And every day she shows me that a little patience can deliver huge results in a place like Afghanistan...or really anywhere in the world.
There are 28 women in the Afghan National Army who work on or near the Afghan base where I work - that is a larger concentration than anywhere else in Afghanistan. Today I held a meeting and 23 of them attended. The other five work in another part of the city and couldn't get to the meeting (remember that women as a general rule do not drive here). I strategically wore civilian clothes today, and apparently I brought my good luck charm, because Julia and I blew this meeting right out of the water...much to our own surprise.
I know enough Dari to say "Hello, and good morning. My name is Lisa. I have lived in Afghanistan for two months." I started there, and Julia then helped me explain that I am a Major in the U.S. Air Force and I have been in the military for 10 years (which they all found baffling, since most of the women in the room were between 45 - 50 years old.) I told them about Rob, and that he lives in another part of Afghanistan, and that we would like to have a family some day (one of the ladies promptly prayed that I would have seven children, and that led to a great laugh). That's all basic scene-setting tradition here...we spend a significant portion of every meeting playing the "Hi. How are you?" "I am fine. How are you?" game.
Even though I live in Afghanistan and work on an Afghan base, I'm still fundamentally myself (i.e. American), so I dove right into the toughest part first. Military women on our base do not wear their uniforms. So...I wear civilian clothes at least once a week in hopes that the women here will then see me as more of a peer. Absolute success. Julia didn't even need to translate for me to tell this story...she did the whole thing on her own, and I couldn't have said it better myself:
"Thank you for coming to our meeting today. You are all women in the Afghan National Army, and you do not wear your uniforms. Lisa is also in the military. Once a week she wears civilian clothes because she wants to support you, even though that is very risky for her. It would be nice if you all wore your uniforms every Sunday to support her. You should begin next Sunday."
And YES! They agreed. Every single one of them...gladly. They are excited that every Sunday we will meet at 10am, have a "roll call" where we take attendance, and then have at least one hour of military skills training during which we are all wearing uniforms. I will teach the first week, but then I will work with a different woman each week to help teach a useful military skill. This is the first time in as long as anyone can remember that women on our base have worn uniforms to work, and we're using this great opportunity to built camaraderie among this very important group of trailblazers. In fact, the women were so excited that they asked me not to take their pictures today, but rather to bring my camera next Sunday so that I can take a picture of each one of them in their uniform to hang on the wall in the Women's Center.
Julia and I celebrated our huge victory with a lunch in the dining facility of the Afghan General Officer who runs the base (a known woman-hater). We told the General to expect to see women in uniforms every Sunday starting next week. As she started translating for me, one of the Afghan men at the table looked across at me and said in perfect English "You have a very smart interpreter."
Indeed I do. And every day she shows me that a little patience can deliver huge results in a place like Afghanistan...or really anywhere in the world.
Thinking of you today and the wonderful women who will be serving IN UNIFORM with you tomorrow. Can't wait to hear how it goes!!
ReplyDelete*hugs*