At the intersection of Patriarch Street, Flower Street and Neo-Orientalist Lane : the oral histories of Afghan women living in Australia

Abstract

This is a qualitative empirical thesis which will examine the lived reality behind the visual representation of the veiled Afghan woman in the blue burqa. 'Reality', is defined as "the state of things as they are or appear to be, rather than as one might wish them to be". (Hanks 1979, p, 1216). Eight Afghan women, now living in Australia articulate their experience of the residue of cultural and political warfare throughout the Russian (1979-1989), mujahedeen (1985-1989) and Taliban (1994-2001) regimes. The participating women, from Hazara, Tajik and Pashtun tribal groups, expose multiple layers of gendered inequality because of strict patriarchy, and cultural ethnicity in Afghanistan. Their stories illustrate how Afghan women also traverse the western pre-determined and prevailing stereotypical perceptions of the Muslim Other. Nineteenth century Afghan cameleers heralded Islamism into Australia; but it was the events of 11th September 2001 that shone a spotlight on Afghan women in the blue burqa, their stories were concealed beneath the camouflage of retaliation with the West thwarting the chances of social justice for them. Examining visual images is a powerful way to illuminate the disturbing residue of cultural and political conflict no one wants to see. The veiled Afghan woman is breaking new ground, telling her story and claiming her right to represent herself as a woman, "laying bare the prejudices beneath the smooth surface of the beautiful" (Rose, 2007, p. 75), challenging the social effects of meaning as well as our capacity to see, to listen. I will support this examination by engaging with a participatory paradigm based on an objective-subjective ontology. John Heron and Peter Reason (1997), incorporated a co-operative methodology, as well as a broad range of ways of knowing. This method enables the use of visual images of veiled Afghan women that are widely viewed through a tangled western perception of Islamic values and ideologies. Researching visual images is an effective way to elucidate the often hidden, largely unconsidered impact of cultural and political conflict on these women. In so doing, the lived reality of Afghan women, vividly illuminates the morals of exclusion and inclusion and the invisibility and hyper-visibility more vividly from the point of view of being 'the Other.' Decades of conflict have altered the Afghanistan humanitarian landscape, affecting social and cultural practices for Afghan women in especially damaging ways. In the words of Kofi Annan, former Secretary General of the United Nations, "Human rights are what reason requires and conscience demands. They are us and we are them" (Annan, 1997, p.1).

Date of Award	2018
Original language	English