Afghanistan candidate's wife talks democracy, women's rights
Nooria Bibi and husband Mutasim Billah Mazhabi haven't seen or heard from their fathers since 1972, when both men were imprisoned in Afghanistan for speaking out against the monarchy.
Now, the Hoffman Estates couple are risking their own lives to replace their native country's current regime, which is fundamentally democratic but plagued by fraud and corruption.
Bibi, 37, spent last summer organizing campaign rallies for women throughout the war-torn country on behalf of Mazhabi, who finished 10th among dozens of candidates that ran for Afghanistan's presidency in the August election.
She's back home with her five children, studying international political science at Harper College so she can return and serve the women who have lost their rights and dignity over three decades of conflict.
"I want to be a role model for them," Bibi said. "I am a wife, a mother, a teacher, a leader, a student. They have fear and excuses not to study, not to vote. But if I can handle, they can handle. I tell them, 'Your country needs you to be educated.'"
On Tuesday, Bibi spoke about her experiences to a small group at the Palatine college as part of Harper's International Education Week.
One of scariest challenge's for Bibi came in the southern Kandahar province, which is still in the Taliban's stronghold. Despite nearby explosions shortly before a scheduled campaign event, she shocked locals by proceeding with a town-hall meeting that was broadcast by television networks, including the BBC and Al-Jazeera.
Getting women in Kandahar to participate in the election process was an even bigger struggle.
In addition to the Taliban, Bibi said many feared President Hamid Karzai's own brother, Ahmed Wali Karzai, head of the provincial council and widely reported to be a drug trafficker.
"The women said they (Karzai's supporters) would not let such open support for another candidate go unpunished," Bibi said. "If you voice your opinion, you're clearly risking your life."
Still, dozens did attend that meeting in Kandahar. And hundreds more came to events across the country organized by Bibi, who beams with pride when she shows videos of the women in traditional burqas listening to her make a case for democracy.
"I'm so proud of all those brave women who risked their lives to hear me speak about issues most crucial to their survival and prosperity," said Bibi. She recalled the time a bomb went off outside her safe house in Herat, killing 32 people. "Such bravery and interest proves to me the Afghan women are ready more than ever to take Afghanistan back from tyrants and corrupt government officials."
Though Afghanistan is home, Bibi has spent much of her life in exile. At 14, her family moved to Pakistan due to the Soviet occupation. When the Taliban came to power in the mid-1990s, Mazhabi started the Council of the People of Afghanistan and spoke out against the regime. Their car was attacked following a news conference about the council in Islamabad, Pakistan. The blast left Bibi bruised and her husband in bed for six months. Needing further treatment, he moved the family to the U.S. in 1999.
Despite the violence and corruption - or perhaps because of it - Bibi said her husband plans on another bid for president in five years. Her husband remains in Afghanistan, tending to the family's car dealership and rug business, as well as working to form a national party. But she expects him to return home soon.
Bibi hopes in the future to see less of the voter fraud that was so rampant in August's election that officials scheduled a runoff between the two top vote-getters. On Sunday, leading challenger Abdullah Abdullah said a transparent election was impossible and dropped out, leaving a victorious Karzai with a second five-year term in office.
"My husband's slogan was 'Positive change based on law, equality and development,'" Bibi said. "In Karzai's government, there is law but nobody follows it."