AMY GOODMAN: We’re joined now by Malalai Joya, an elected representative of the December 2003 Loya Jirga, or Grand Council, which is a convention in Kabul to create Afghanistan’s new constitution. At the convention, she spoke out against the council chair’s proposal to appoint high clergy members and fundamentalist leaders to guide planning groups. Our guest Malalai Joya objected, saying several of those religious leaders were war criminals, who should be on trial, not hailed as national heroes to influence the new government. As a result of her speaking out, she received numerous death threats, including from Ismail Khan, the governor of Herat, who has just been removed. She continued at the Loya Jirga under U.N. protection. Since then, she has continued to press her case against the former rulers of Afghanistan. We welcome you to Democracy Now!

MALALAI JOYA: Amy, thanks you a lot. Also that you gave me opportunity to have some speech with you.

AMY GOODMAN: Thank you very much. We’re also joined by Amina Massoud, who will help with any English translation if Malalai Joya needs it. Can you respond to what happened in Herat, to the removal of Ismail Khan?

MALALAI JOYA: Could you translate?

AMINA MASSOUD: [translating to Dari]

MALALAI JOYA: It was I got news that I heard about Ismail Khan, that he fled from power. He was one of the famous criminal of western Afghanistan. He is against women’s rights, human rights, against democracy, and always he didn’t obey from Mr. Karzai’s order. So it was the result that he was a criminal person, so the government of Afghanistan decided to replace him from the power.

AMY GOODMAN: Can you describe in your own words the day you stood up at the Loya Jirga, and what you said?

MALALAI JOYA: Yeah. I said in the Loya Jirga that — I said to my people that why are you allowed to the criminals that to take attendance in this famous Loya Jirga because we want to make — we want to — we want to make our country — I want to translate. [in Dari]

AMINA MASSOUD: She says that she argued that why we have all these people with criminal pasts as our leaders, and as our — in our elections, people would have negative and violent backgrounds.

MALALAI JOYA: I wanted to say that why a criminal people, they are taking attend in this Loya Jirga because we want to make our country [in Dari].

AMINA MASSOUD: We want to have a new beginning with new people, not people with terrorist and violent backgrounds.

AMY GOODMAN: Well, I want to thank you very much. We have to wrap up the show, I’m sorry to say. But I want to thank you for joining us, Malalai Joya, elected representative of the Loya Jirga that was set up to create Afghanistan’s new constitution.