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• Monday, February 5, 2007 09:23 PM

  Burkas to Bikinis

  Sometimes articles have such a jawdroppingly inane premise that one marvels at the mental gymnastics of the author. If I am to understand this article, somehow because 1000+ years of Afghan custom, culture, politics and belief have not been erased in the past 5 years, it is all George Bush's fault? Somehow too I missed the clear instructions on how to accomplish this aim in this article, or perhaps wishing something is supposed to be a substitute for action?

  Are women discriminated against in Afghanistan and (in most parts of the country) treated more like chattel than an individual? Yes. Is this due to the tribal culture of the area mixed with an overlay of religious justification? Yes. Is the lack of development in the country caused by the mountainous terrain and lack of resources (with a generous dollop of resistance to change due to the culture) Yes. Are there differences in treatment of women between areas (tribes)? Yes - with the Pashtoon regions being the worst (and not coincidentally, their being the heartland of the Taliban).

  I am happy that women have made some progress in Afghanistan since the Taliban were thrown out of power in 2001-2002. And it is not surprising that most of this progress tends to be in the urban areas where the grip of the tribal reins is the loosest. But can we please have some realism here? The fundamental cultural patterns of the Afghan people have not been changed, and short of shooting every male over the age of 2 years old, it is not going to be fundamentally different in the future. There is also a struggle going on in the country between the previous rulers (the Pashtoon) and the rest of the country that has yet to be resolved - a low grade version of the struggle going on in Iraq between the Sunni & Shia factions. The rump Taliban are just taking advantage of this tribal struggle as a means to return to power.

  So, in the end, there is no magic bullet to bring this area into a "Western European" norm of culture and human rights without a slow, grinding path to educate the populace and change the old ways. Short of filling the country with a invading army and acting like a reverse Taliban to force all the women to wear bikinis instead of burkas, what would the author suggest is the best answer?

  And no, I don't see George Bush leading that fight either.

  When you write articles on serious subjects - please don't throw away the small progress to make cheap political points.

  —Ironclad Read Ironclad's other letters
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