PukhtunWomen

Mahvish Rukhsana Khan has courageously lifted her voice for those that have been kept silent. Courage is an essential quality of a Pukhtun, and Mahvish has proved her self worthy, her Pukhtun/Afghan heritage and the sense of justice her parents instilled in her have made her a beacon of hope for others. Her new book “My Guantanamo Diary” The Detainees and the Stories they told me" is her account of her experiences meeting some of the men detained at Guantanamo Bay.

It was during her final year of law school at the University of Miami that Mahvish’s outrage and sense of justice compelled her to bombard law firms representing detainees at Guantanamo Bay with calls and e-mails expressing her desire to help, both on the legal end and as an interpreter. Her ability to speak Pashto and her knowledge of the culture made her a valuable asset.

“Now is not the time to be complacent," (her mothers advice to her at various points in her life) became her mantra, as she put her self through the hassle of an extensive background check so she could get clearance by the FBI to visit Guantanamo Bay and in January 2006, Mahvish was on her way.

Not knowing what to expect at first a little wary of the inmates she approached with caution, making sure her head was properly covered so as not to offend anyone. What she found there instead changed her conception of these men that had been labeled "the worst of the worst” by Donald Rumsfeld.

In Mahvish’s own words "I don't know exactly what I had expected coming to Guantanamo Bay, but it wasn't this weary, sorrowful man. The government says he is a terrorist and a monster, but when I look at him, I see simply what he says he is -- a physician who wanted to build a clinic in his native land."

She could relate to these people who caller her “khor” (sister) and “bachai” (my child). Her role as their legal advisor was entwined with the relation ships she struck up with them. Extending her compassion as a friend sister, daughter to men who were giving up hope of ever going back home. Mahvish began providing supervised legal counsel and traveled to Afghanistan to find exonerating evidence. She also brought back comfort by bringing back news, pictures and videos of loved ones.

No. 977
Izzatullah
a six-foot Afghan
granted permission
to view a home video
of his family
who he had not seen in
five years

When he saw his
children on tape
he inched closer
to the screen
laughing and weeping

Finally he said
For the rest of my life
I will remember this act
of kindness

After her Op/Ed in the Washington Post appeared she was banned from visiting Guantanamo Bay. Yet that did not stop her and her persistence paid off when she was allowed back in.