Visa denied for Afghan women’s rights activist

Malalai Joya: Praised for "phenomenal courage”

The United States has denied a visa for Malalai Joya, an Afghan women’s rights activist set to begin a three-week tour, organisers of the visit said.
The Afghan Women’s Mission said in a statement that Joya was told at the US embassy that "she was being denied because she was ‘unemployed’ and ‘lives underground.’”
The State Department declined to respond to an AFP request for information.
Joya gained notoriety for criticising Afghan warlords during the 1992-96 civil war that preceded the Taliban regime.
A former member of parliament, she was cited by the British daily The Guardian in a list of the top 100 women activists and campaigners for her "phenomenal courage” and was on a Time Magazine list of the 100 most influential people.
Joya was to begin a three-week US tour to promote an updated edition of her memoir, "A Woman Among Warlords,” published by Scribner, a unit of Simon & Schuster.
Organisers of the trip and other backers are asking the US government to reverse the decision.
Scribner’s Alexis Gargagliano said: "The right of authors to travel and promote their work is central to freedom of expression and the full exchange of ideas.” AFP