Columnists

Afghanistan's
Person of the Year:
Anarkali Kaur Honaryar

by MANPREET KAUR SINGH

 

"Sat Sri Akal ji! Tussaan da kee haal hai? (How are you doing?)," chirps the enthusiastic voice on the phone line from Kabul, Afghanistan.

And for good measure, she adds, "Ram Ram ji, te Assalam Waleikum!"

Though multilingual, she speaks only haltingly in Punjabi and Hindi.

Anarkali Kaur Honaryar is fast becoming a household name in Kabul.

A dentist by profession but an activist by choice, this gutsy Sikh-Afghani was recently named Afghanistan's Person of the Year for 2009 for her work as a women's rights activist and for upholding rights of religious minorities - all this at a youthful age of 25, which is why Radio Free Afghanistan chose to honour her with their annual award this year.

Born to an engineer, Kishan Singh Honaryar and homemaker Sharan Kaur, Anarkali Kaur and her four siblings grew up in the Baghlan province of Afghanistan.

Currently living in Kabul and working for the International Council for Human Rights (ICHR), she talks of maintaining her Sikh identity and helping others from religious minorities preserve theirs, too.

"There are a few gurdwaras in Kabul; I try to go to one every Friday and sometimes on Sunday, too. The mandir is open on Tuesdays, and its nice that we can keep these traditions alive," says Anarkali.

She has travelled to India once for a human rights conference, but only stayed in Delhi at that stage. "I have been to Germany, Italy, Sri Lanka, Qatar and India for conferences, but it's my heartfelt wish to visit the Golden Temple one day - my mother and brothers have already been there and have told me so much about it," she adds. "I don't have any family in Punjab, but I do have four maasis (aunts: mother's sisters) living in Delhi."

Describing her early years as difficult may be an understatement, given the state of social and political upheaval in Afghanistan, but the saving grace for Anarkali and her family was that the Taliban never truly took over control of their province.

"I'm really lucky that I continued to go to school at a time when most other girls weren't even allowed to step out of their houses," she says.

Amazingly, she finished high school at 12, even before she turned a teenager and came to Kabul to study at the university. But she quickly accepted that she would never realize her childhood dream of becoming a pilot, given the conservatism in her country, and soon set her sights elsewhere.

"I decided to become a doctor and along the way, I began helping other women around me. Women face so many problems in our country - domestic violence, forced marriage, abuse ... the list goes on."

Honaryar has been working for ICHR for many years now and is focusing on empowering women in a country which has a woeful record on women's rights.

"I try to mediate in many cases and help to resolve the issues within the family, especially if children are involved, too, but if there is no hope of reconciliation, then we help women with legal representation," says Anarkali.

She frequently appears on television and radio to advocate for women's rights, but when asked about plans for her own marriage, she just laughs and says," Oh I don't think I will ever get married. I deal with so many problems that married women face, so tauba! I don't think I ever want to get married!"

Anarkali Kaur has also been known to campaign for rights of religious minorities in Afghanistan. Appointed to the country's Constitutional Committee and formerly a representative at the Loya Jirga (Afghan Grand Assembly of Elders), she frequently takes a lead in vocalizing problems faced by religious minorities.

"Over the past decades, regimes have come and gone, but the minority religions have been the hardest hit. Their children find it difficult to go to school, even harder to go to university. Then there is the ongoing problem of cremations and 'shamshaans' for non-Muslims," she says, a matter that she is currently campaigning about, too.

"But sadly, there are only 3000 Sikh and Hindu families left in all of Afghanistan today," she continues. "Many of my extended family members have moved out, some to India, but my immediate family is still here. The security situation isn't great in Afghanistan, but we just don't feel like leaving this beautiful country which we call home. I know if we stay on and try hard enough, we can make a difference," she says, revealing the stoic spirit and resilience that are an integral part of her personality.

Clearly, the girl who once dreamt of becoming a pilot does not have her head in the clouds - and whilst she may not be flying high in an airplane, she certainly is scaling great heights of success, despite many odds.

And continuing the rich Sikh tradition of powerful role models, she may yet go on to be called the true 'sherni' - Lioness - of Afghanistan.

 

[You can hear a radio interview with Anarkali - as well as her father, Sardar Kishan Singh - at www.sbs.com.au/punjabi]

An earlier version of this article first appeared in the Hindustan Times.

June 4, 2009

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