Afghan justice was once again on display with a recent visit of journalists who visited a women’s prison in Lashkar Gah where two-thirds of the women were convicted of illegal sex offenses with many simply being victims of rape.
In the last two years, Afghanistan has moved steadily back to the medieval Islamic traditions enforced by the Taliban, including the treatment of women and girls as virtual chattel under the control of males. This story in The Independent reveals how women are being given 10 or 20 year sentences for moral offenses and many were simply victims of rape — a common crime in the area.
Afghan courts have been enforcing Sharia and Islamic principles with increasingly grotesque results in the last year, click here and here and here.
The Taliban, in the meantime, continues its own reign of terror using executions under the guise of Sharia justice, click here.
Despite the outrages committed by our ally, no one in the Administration appears to be bothered enough to speak out against the mistreatment of women and girls in the country.
For the full story, click here.
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Jill,
Thank you for your kindness. Women’s Rights is an issue that has always been dear to my heart. Many males, worldwide, are acculturated to the idea that women are for sex and men are for friendship. See most beer commercials. Beyond sex, I have always found women to be far more interesting in social situations. With many guys sports, cars, politics and bragging (about conquests) make up their conversational gambits. My wife is my best friend, not just “my old lady.” In friendship I like to hang out with men and women who all feel that same way. The world would be a far better place if that was a universal attitude.
Michael,
That was some impressive work! I’m so glad you posted on this issue.
Jill
Jill,
Thank you for the link. Ms. Moghissi’s article was as you say very thoughtful. The separation of religion from government is the key element in any movement to ensure that women have absolutely equal status with men. How smug are some of the US’ male pundits in their critique of the denial of women’s human rights in Islamic countries. How little they recognize the more disguised, but yet palpable denial of full rights to women the US. This as you well know includes many instances of brutal treatment of women who are raped. i.e.: She had it coming, relax and enjoy it, etc. Police officials and hospital employees have been complicit with this in the past, although it’s generally become better lately.
Underlying these attitudes, however, are fundamentalist religious beliefs of Christians, Jews and other faiths that believe that God has made men the master of women. I believe that at the heart of the abortion issue, for instance, is a sub rosa effort to punish women for being sexual. Fundamentalism in any religious iteration seems to use repression of women as one of its prime tenets.
There is a poignance to Ms. Moghissi’s article in expressing the difficulty faced by Muslims who would hope for a change in the disparities between the sexes, while recognizing the traditional and institutional barriers to that achievement.
In any culture whose members are predominantly of one faith the greatest hope for positive social change is the separation of religion from government. The US, judging from our current Presidential Campaign, also has a long way to go to achieve that necessary separation.
I found this interesting article written by Haideh Moghissi entitled: Women, War and Fundamentalism in the Middle East. Her article seems very thoughtful. It appears to have been written close after 9/11 (not certain about that). I think she makes many good points.
http://www.ssrc.org/sept11/essays/moghissi.htm
Susan,
Didn’t you realize that we’ve spread democracy there? I see you’re drinking too much coffee again!!!
Jill
This barbaric treatment of women by the islamic taliban is nothing new, unfortunately, and neither is the apathy showed to them by our own Administration. If first lady Laura Bush really bought the phony bill of goods she was being sold, that “Afghan women were being opportunities to go to school and given an education,” she’s not nearly as intelligent as she would have us believe. And I am being extremely polite here.
This one will be short and sweet. Gee, I thought women were making progress in Afghanistan. Laura “Pickles” Bush told us that after she came back from the country. The women were now being given opportunities to go to school and get an education. I know Pickles reported that after her visit. I’m sure she’ll give us an explanation as to what is now happening in Afghanistan. Is my sarcasm coming through?