Edited by author 03-17-2003 11:55 PM
Not too much time right now, so I can't dig out the links to blog entries and news about the situation in Afghanistan, esp. that of women. Mind you, in many ways it has improved, but, well, this story (one of many) demonstrates one example of a big problem. This woman didn't want to marry the man she was promised to in an arranged marriage. Now, mind you, she's happy she isn't under the Taliban, when she would have been stoned to death, but being thrown in prison -- while a definite improvement over stoning -- isn't exactly something to crow about. I know this is just one news story -- it's here because it's an example of one of the major problems still going on in Afghanistan, and judging from your post, one that isn't familiar even to someone like you who seems to try to keep up on the situation there. As I said, I've seen many other links to news stories, many in feminist blogs; this one link is just one I could get my hands on quickly.
http://www.laptopservice.com/laptops/earia...72F51E?OpenDocumentHere's another from last August: "In just the past two months, a total of 12 girls’ schools outside of Kabul have been violently attacked by extremists. In most cases, the schools were bombed or burned. In some instances, the distribution of leaflets, containing threats against women working and taking off the burqa and against girls attending school, preceded the attack."
Another from March 6, 2003:
"Despite some measures of progress following the Taliban’s fall from power in late 2001, Afghan women and girls continue to suffer brutal acts of violence and inequality, according to a United Nations (UN) report released today. The 18-page document, entitled “The Situation of Women and Girls in Afghanistan” stated, “In the absence of an effective national force, the lack of security across the country continues to impede progress in the rehabilitation of Afghanistan and the advancement of women,” according to the Associated Press. Dire conditions exacerbated by drought and decades of warfare are driving the sale of young girls as brides. While statistics on the practice are unavailable, many non-governmental organizations working in the country report its growing prevalence—despite existing prohibitions under civil codes and Islamic law. Marzia Basel, a former Afghan judge and founder of the Kabul Afghan Women Judges Association, told the Washington Post, “there are laws, and then there is custom and there is great poverty.”
Now, as to moving on the Taliban before 9/11, that gets into the same thing we're facing in Iraq -- to what extent should one country be allowed to attack a country which hasn't attacked it? I suggest that for a country which wants to be a world leader, this probably should not happen at all. Otherwise, what moral authority does the country have? In the specific case of the Taliban there is the added complication that we conspired with the Pakistani secret police to put the Taliban in power there. Whether or not it was a right thing to do at the time (and that was a problematic time, with the Russians' attitude) it hardly makes look good to attack not only a government that hadn't attacked us, but one we had actually put in power.
