Taliban’s inhumane treatment of Afghani women

The United States has been in a state of emergency for months now. After the attack on the World Trade Center, Americans have been left in a state of disbelief and uncertainty.

In the past few months, we, as Americans, have gone through the loss of thousands to not only have to pick up the pieces but to also retaliate the actions of others with war.

Since the outbreak of the war, many people have become aware of the treatment of women within Afghanistan. Currently, women living in Afghanistan have been stripped of their human rights. With the harsh, brutal treatments from the Taliban, women living within the country are struggling to barely stay alive.

The Taliban became a military and political force in late 1994. Upon their rise to power, they have stripped all rights from women. In the Taliban world, women have no importance and are considered inferior to men.

In the past, controversial treatment of women has been defended with the argument of religion. Many people believe that women should not have any rights at all, and although I may not agree with every belief, the fact remains the same, we are entitled to our own beliefs.

This situation, however, differs from most because before the Taliban took control, women were able to live freely throughout their country. They were able to become professionals and were treated with respect. They thrived within the workplace as doctors, lawyers and students, contributing greatly to their economy. Although they may not have been treated as equals, women still felt a since of being.

The Taliban have formulated a gender apartheid towards women. The Taliban have issued many restrictions, such as forbidding women from working, going outside without a male relative, and if women were to go outside, they are made to wear a long robe, or a “burqa”, covering them from head to toe.

The Taliban also forbids girls from attending school and receiving an education. It seems that if the Taliban could not prevent women from being educated before they came to power, then they are trying to deny Afghanistan women from ever being educated again.

The list of rules and restrictions goes on and on, and as long as these treatments continue to exist, the Taliban will continue to thrive and their power will strengthen.

This behavior not only reflects how the Taliban acts while they are in power, but it also reflects what will happen if they win this war. I would imagine that if the Taliban did take control we to would be striped of our rights, we would be treated as if we did not exist and we would pray for our existence.

But for now, both sides are fighting for a cause, in our case, we are fighting for peace, we are fighting the lives that were lost and most of all, we are fighting for our country. We are defending its honor and its name, and we will stop at nothing until we have achieved victory.

My heart goes out to the many people that died on Sept.11 and to women that are living in pure terror throughout Afghanistan. I pray that eventually the Taliban’s rein will come to an end and American will end this horrific nightmare forever.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Nov 9 2001. Filed under Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry