Marzia Basel (born 1968) is a former

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. During the rule of the

Taliban , leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders , leader1_name = {{indented plainlist, * Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013) * Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016) * Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...

, she secretly educated women in her own home. She is also the founder of the Afghanistan Progressive Law Organization.

Biography

Basel grew up in

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

within a

middle class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. C ...

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

family. Her father was a judge as well and her sisters are

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

s. In 1995, Basel was sworn in as a judge. A year later, the Taliban banned all women professionals and prohibited educating women. All women then had to wear a

burqa A burqa or burka (; ) is an enveloping outer garment worn by some Muslim women which fully covers the body and the face. Also known as a chadaree (; ) or chaadar (Dari: چادر) in Afghanistan, or a ''paranja'' (; ; ) in Central Asia, the Ara ...

and Basel recalls that she felt "imprisoned, both literally and figuratively. In the summer it was so hot that I felt as though I were slowly suffocating. Peering out of that tiny mesh cage, I felt like a caged animal, which is exactly what I and other women had become: caged animals stripped of any freedom or dignity." When the Taliban were in power, Basel defied the laws against educating women and taught

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

out of her home between 1996 and 2001. Basel had approximately 350 to 400 students between the ages of eight and fifty. Her students, some of whom were wives of Taliban adherents, warned her if they knew she was going to be visited by the Ministry for the Protection of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. Just before the Taliban regime was removed, Basel fled to

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

as a refugee for her safety. In 2002, she founded the Afghan Women Judges Association (AWJA). Her efforts to help support women working in the administration of justice system in Afghanistan increased the number of women defense lawyers from 1 woman in 2005 to 150 women in 2013. Basel has been the director of the AWJA since 2009. Also in 2002, Basel went to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and met with then President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

United States Secretary of State The United States secretary of state (SecState) is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The secretary of state serves as the principal advisor to the ...

Colin Powell Colin Luther Powell ( ; – ) was an Americans, American diplomat, and army officer who was the 65th United States secretary of state from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African-American to hold the office. He was the 15th National Security ...

, and others in order to ask for additional assistance for Afghanistan. Despite being told to respect the customs of the country she was visiting, on her return, she faced severe criticism for not always wearing a

chador A chādor ( Persian, ), also variously spelled in English as chadah, chad(d)ar, chader, chud(d)ah, chadur, and naturalized as , is an outer garment or open cloak worn by many women in the Persian-influenced countries of Iran, Afghanistan, Azerba ...

to cover her hair. There was controversy over whether she was fired, but Basel was recorded as saying that she left to join

UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...

to help create a juvenile justice program. She continued to be active in women's legal rights and women's rights to practice law. In 2005, she earned her master's in

International Law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...

from

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

. Basel eventually had to stay out of Afghanistan because of threats to her life. Messages were left on her door from the Taliban in 2011, stating that if they found her, they would kill her. Her husband and father both urged her to stay out of Afghanistan for her safety. Because of the lack of support systems for

immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

in the

, she chose to move to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. She is currently living in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

References

External links

Transcript to the Human Rights Commission
{{DEFAULTSORT:Basel, Marzia Afghan feminists Afghan lawyers Afghan judges 1968 births Living people