Afghan Women's Activist Rangina Hamidi: Worsening Conditions Should Hasten U.S. Withdrawal

democracynow.org - Amid U.S. vows to stay in Afghanistan until 2014, we speak with Afghan businesswoman Rangina Hamidi who argues the U.S. presence there makes the security situation worse. "If the U.S. soldiers cannot do their job -- as we are now seeing even more evidence of that philosophy -- then I think it is only fair to ask them to leave," Hamidi says. After residing in the United States, Hamidi returned to her native Afghanistan shortly after the 9/11 attacks. Just this year, she came back to the United States due to the deteriorating safety situation in her homeland. Hamidi disagrees with the argument that the U.S. occupation in Afghanistan improves the safety of women. She also remembers the late award-winning photographer Paula Lerner, who has died at the age of 52. Lerner was the principal photographer for the Emmy Award-winning project, "Behind The Veil: An Intimate Journey Into The Lives of Kandahar's Women Featuring Photography." "Paula put behind all or any pre-notions of what Afghans are and really just gave her soul to the people by being present on a day-to-day, second-to-second basis and not being judgmental about what Afghans were or how Afghans are," Hamidi says.

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