Women of Afghanistan - Summary of paper - before the Allied War

I promised that I would summarize my paper for you so here goes. Remember that I wrote this paper in my undergrad before we went to war with them. 9/11 changed everything. We should never forget the harm that fanatics cause. I am also watching a documentary “Ghosts of Afghanistan” where a Canadian Correspondent Graeme Smith reports. I recommend watching this from his perspective and experiences. He spent 15 years in Afghanistan reporting and returned to determine what went wrong. I haven’t completed watching it as I write this but I think I watched enough to recommend it to you. Paper condensed The Afghanistan woman has suffered poverty due to political and economic strife and patriarchy in the guise of religion. Afghanistan is situated in Central Asia and is bordered by Pakistan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and China. Agriculture and pastoralism prevailed in Afghanistan until 1978 for 60% of domestic production. 85% of Afghans were farmers but after the Soviet war, the irrigation system was destroyed and landmines made most of the land unfarmable. A generation of children would no longer learn the agricultural skills required. It became the world’s largest supply of opium. Women of the Afghan War depicts a woman having her baby on the street while her husband is being beaten for attempting to bring her to a hospital (Ellis, 96-97). Ellis reported that women dying while giving birth is the second highest in the world. By 1959 women were allowed to attend university and began working in professions which were earlier restricted such as flight attendants without face coverings. By 1964 the constitution was upgraded. All Afghanistan people were given the right to dignity, education and freedom to work. During 1978, a civil war began. The main reason for fighting was the communist government literacy programs for women. With the invasion of the Soviet Union (1979) opportunities for women increased with education, employment and professional training. Women students outnumbered men at the universities. Opportunities for women increased. Women were teachers, doctors and lawyers expanding to other occupations. In 1992 the Islamic State of Afghanistan took over the country and women began their descent. Women were urged to dress modestly, cover their hair, not wear makeup and not laugh in public. By 1994 when the Taliban Militia took over, all schools for girls were closed and women could no longer work outside the home. Prior to the Taliban take over of Kabul, 70% of teachers, 40% of physicians and about 50% of the civil service were women. The Taliban were extreme in requiring women’s faces be covered. Many had to borrow burqas to leave their homes. The Afghanistan woman had to cover her entire body, to ward off the male gaze. Those who revealed any skin were beaten. The Taliban utilized the “religious police” to beat women with sticks for showing skin. A western female aid worker was also beaten for not wearing a burqa. 96% of the women favoured women’s rights. I have done my best to abbreviate my paper for you but if you missed it and want to read it or search of references I have it posted here earlier page by page which I scanned and uploaded. I wrote this paper because I was at a talk at the university where Afghanistan women were speaking. The leader of the group informed me that she could not speak publicly because she had done so in the States and was informed that if she spoke again, she would be killed. The lecture made an impression on me. This leader also told me not to think that this could not happen in my country. “It can happen to you.” I do have my concerns regarding extremists in the world. I have my concerns about Afghanistan and the terrorism that breeds there, a safe haven for evil. My country isn’t perfect and I do take my freedom for granted. I marvel when I see someone who kissed the ground here and rejoices for freedom and we need to ensure that our country is safe for everyone who comes here to enjoy the liberties we may take for granted. We also need to be cautious of the extremists and the harm they cause. As a therapist I have heard the horror stories of women as well as men who have suffered in their homeland. Imagine your own people torturing you, raping you, killing you. I am also in awe of how many manage to be successful in their adopted country. Twenty years later, our soldiers have come home from Afghanistan and the Taliban rules again. How long will it take them to continue their damage towards women and the men who support them? They have started. But, how long could we have stayed in Afghanistan? What a mess. I hope the world open their arms to everyone who manages to escape. What do you think?