Rubia
An International Outreach Embroidery Project
Helping the Women of Afghanistan
by Patricia Cummings
photos by James Cummings
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Can you envision yourself living in a house made of sun-dried brick, without running water and electricity? Can you fathom having had members of your family murdered and others lost in battle? Can you imagine fleeing from your home on foot and running to another country to escape danger? On a trip to New Hampshire in 2006, Hafiza Malikbaba, an Afghan master embroiderer, shared stories about her life in Afghanistan and her own work in mending her country.
Above is a Peacock pillow made by a member of the Rubia project, using all natural fibers and dyes, found in Afghanistan
Far from Afghanistan
Hafiza traveled to the United States in the summer of 2006 to participate in the prestigious Santa Fe International Folk Art Market in Santa Fe, New Mexico. At this invitational event, she sold embroideries and attended marketing training provided by UNESCO, a branch of the United Nations that supports cultural endeavors. Next, Hafiza traveled to New Hampshire where she demonstrated her embroidery techniques at the annual League of New Hampshire Craftsmen's Fair, at the base of Mount Sunapee. In addition, she shared information about Afghanistan and her family's history during four talks given at New Hampshire libraries between August 21 and 26, 2006.
Hafiza Malikbaba and her son, Nassib, in August 2006. photo by James Cummings
On hand to translate was Rachel Lehr, a New Hampshire artist, photographer, and linguist/scholar who is fluent in Afghani and its dialects. The Arts Alliance of Northern New Hampshire sponsored the talks, which were open to the public, free of charge.
Rubia
The lives of Hafiza Malikbaba and Rachel Lehr are very much intertwined. In 2000, Rachel co-founded (with Jennie Wood) an organization called Rubia. This non-profit, non-governmental group seeks to help relieve the poverty, mental depression, and post-traumatic stress experiences of Afghan women by training them in marketable embroidery skills. The funding of literacy programs is another major focus of Rubia. Education is important to Hafiza, who is the assistant director of the organization. She sees literacy training as the future of her country. Unlike many people in Afghanistan, Hafiza was very fortunate to have attended school for 12 years. (Only five to fifteen percent of Afghan citizens can read or write.) At the present time, children (mostly male) attend school for only about two hours per day in crowded classrooms of fifty to sixty students. They do rote work, but no exercises involving creativity or critical thinking skills.
Approximately two hundred fifty Afghan women are currently participating in the Rubia project. Their ability to work at home is very appealing, since they must care for their children. Rubia encourages the individual artistry of program participants, who embroider traditional motifs from various Afghan regions, such as Kyrgyzstan, Uzbek, Uzbek Lakai, Tajik, and Turkomen. Some of the women are even learning to draft their own designs. Hafiza's husband has been drafting some of her embroidery images and seems to be enjoying the process. Currently, decorative felted wool pillows are offered on Rubia's website.
Please click on the image above to see a larger view of two pillows, and an Afghan made couch cover.
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The organization's name is derived from the plant name, rubia tinctorum, also known as common madder. The roots of the plant yield a red dye that is colorfast and has been used extensively for centuries by Central Asian dyers.
The color red is favored by those who live in Central Asia and symbolizes life itself. In the embroidery pieces, only all-natural fibers, dyed with dye stuffs from plants found in Afghanistan, are used.
Compelling Stories
Hafiza Malikbaba is the first woman from her area of eastern Afghanistan to be allowed to travel to the United States. She was born in Darrai Noor, a rural town inhabited by subsistence farmers who speak Pasha'i. Since births are not recorded there, she is not certain of her birth year, but says it might have been 1965. Alternatively, she thinks that she may be 43 years old.
As the youngest child of her father's third wife, Hafiza was the family favorite. (Islamic men can marry as many as four wives.) Smiling, Hafiza remembered earlier times. Her father, upon whom the King (Zahir Shah) has bestowed the title, "Crown of the East," wore a huge turban and oversaw all of eastern Afghanistan. She grew up in Jalalabad, the region's capital, in a home that often hosted visiting dignitaries. Unfortunately, when she was little more than two years old, her father was tricked into attending a meeting, where he was murdered.
Hafiza's great-grandfather was also murdered. He was attacked while visiting the local well, the day after his wedding. Local legend has it that, every Friday, the stone at the well turns red. Reportedly, the well water now has curative effects, especially for those who have skin problems. In Afghanistan, Hafiza explains, stories like this are often repeated and no one seems to care whether or not they are actually true.
Life in Darkness
Safety for women and girls is always an issue, and they generally do not go out by themselves, even to attend school. In this male-dominated society, everything a woman does must be approved by her father, brother, or husband. For example, men determine when, and to whom, a woman marries. Hafiza's brother arranged her marriage at age 16 to someone she did not know.
Living in windowless rooms, engineered that way for safety, and wearing burqas when they leave the house, the lives of many Afghan women have traditionally been ones of isolation and darkness (on more than one level). Even before the Taliban occupation in 1996, women wore burqas in public. These over-the-head garments limit vision and have only a small opening through which to see and breathe. The burqa is usually viewed by westerners as a symbol of oppression, so it is surprising to learn that Afghan women actually like to wear them, since they provide a sense of security and anonymity.
Hafiza, wearing her burqa, and holding one and a half year old, Nassib.
Burqas are requisite wear for western women who visit the country and are trying to blend in. One drawback is that women have been hit by automobiles while wearing a burqa, simply because they haven't seen the cars approaching.
Political Events
In 1996, the Afghan government, which had been backed by the Soviets, was overthrown. With the financial backing of the United States, competing warlords or so-called "commanders" from the Mujahideen emerged. When the Taliban, a militant Islamic group, subsequently took over the country, they were viewed as having restored civil order. However, it was not long before the Taliban occupation was seen as a violent regime that enforced a strict version of Islamic law.
Hafiza's fellow townspeople live in dread that the Taliban will return. The regime, consisting mainly of young Islamic scholars who had studied in Pakistan, ruled Afghanistan for five years, until 2001. They forced women to wear only black clothing and demanded that they not leave home without their burqas. Unspeakable penalties were inflicted for non-compliance.
When the Taliban entered Hafiza's town, her father-in-law told the family to run. They raced into the streets and ran until they reached neighboring Pakistan. She says, "We did not have time to gather up the Qur'an (Koran) and in their haste, some women forgot their burqas." The family lived as refugees in Pakistan for seven years, before they eventually returned to Afghanistan.
Click on each of the purse images above to see a larger view. Purses serve a dual purpose in Afghanistan. Sometimes these small bags double as totes to carry the Qur'an.
Scarred by a 20-year-long civil war and occupation by foreign forces, Hafiza says that people now long for the "good old days" when the Soviets occupied the country. According to Hafiza, unlike the United States government, the Soviets built hospitals, schools, and other buildings that are now crumbling from lack of upkeep.
A Hopeful Future
The past hardships and current challenges of the people of Afghanistan are difficult to forget. Luckily, Rubia is helping to brighten the lives of some Afghan women and their children. For the first time, a few of them are learning to write their names or even just their initials, and are adding embroidered signatures to their work, with pride. On their pillows, on can see Persian script, as well as motifs that each embroiderer chooses, which serve as a personal identification mark, somewhat like a logo. In a country where poppies, an opium crop, are grown, the members of Rubia have begun to embroider many poppy designs, sometimes with the words, "Sew them, don't grow them."
The back of a pillow above features the name "Milalia," in Persian script.
Patchwork in Afghanistan
Quilting, as we know it, does not appear to exist in Afghanistan. (Hafiza saw her first quilt this past summer in the United States and was fascinated.) However, Rachel Lehr owns an unquilted piece of Afghan patchwork, 41" square, comprised of silk, cotton, and linen fibers in predominantly red, burgundy, and green colors. Rachel thinks that the piece dates back to the 1960s and may have been used to wrap a gift.
The four blocks that surround the center have been cross-stitched over linen cloth in repeat designs. Most of the fabric pieces are bordered with narrow black strips. Rachel suspects that the fabrics are of both Soviet and Chinese origin.
A Joy to Meet
Hafiza and Rachel enriched the lives of all those who met them. When people of diverse backgrounds find points of connection, the world becomes a smaller place. Encounters such as this affirm the universality of mankind. We are all connected, no matter what religion we practice, what color skin we have, or what language we speak.
How You Can Help
Rubia's motto is "Mending Afghanistan Stitch by Stitch," and hopefully it will do just that by continuing to bring literacy, hope, and the celebration of artistic expression to the women and children of Afghanistan.
A 2008 Calendar with photos of Afghanistan, and information about the unique embroidery done there, is now available. Call (603) 397-3438, or visit the site address listed below to order with a Google payment option. For more information about Rubia and to purchase the organization's products, visit online at www.rubiahandwork.org
Donations can be mailed to Rubia, PO Box 100, Warner, NH 03278.
New Related File: Turkmen Patchwork
©Copyright 2006. Patricia and James Cummings, Quilter's Muse Publications, Concord, NH. All Rights Reserved. Comments? Write to: pat@quiltersmuse.com