ABSTRACT
The first time I ever met RAWA members in person was during their first U.S. speaking tour. My impression of these two women, echoed by so many who have met members in person,1 is etched in my mind-these were intelligent, inspiring, and energetic young women, not at all the helpless, shattered victims some might imagine when they think of Afghan women. They told me of choosing to give up their personal lives in order to help their Afghan sisters, facing great odds and taking great risks. I remember noting that they spoke for and of a collective community in which they referred to their peer members not by name but as the collective “RAWA”—“I received e-mail from RAWA today and they agreed that we should try to schedule that meeting” or “RAWA will try to get us that information.” Throughout the next 3 months that I spent with them, these two young women, 7,000 miles away from their physical community of RAWA members, were nonetheless totally at one with their sisters. Almost immediately, I wanted to understand this intricate balance of individual and collective culture that was clearly a hallmark of RAWA.
