Schoolgirls Poisoned in Afghanistan

Grim news from Afghanistan:

At least 84 Afghan schoolgirls were admitted to a hospital Tuesday for headaches and vomiting in the third apparent poison attack on a girls school in as many weeks, officials and doctors said.

Why have these elementary school girls (and their teachers) been targeted? For having the nerve to seek out an education. Though the Taliban, as an official governing structure, have been relocated to Pakistan, much of their brutal belief system still remains in Afghanistan. From 1996-2001, girls and women could not attend schools, much less leave the relative shelter of their own homes.

But with the US invasion following 9/11, a new paradigm was foisted upon one of the poorest nations in the world. In 2002, Afghanistan ratified a new constitution that made it legal, once again, for women to hold jobs and go to school. If anyone thought that Afghanistan was a place where cultural change happened with a flick of a switch, or the passing of a law, however, they were sorely mistaken. Numerous reports of teachers being executed by Taliban remnants for the crime of teaching girls have reached our airwaves, making it plain just how stubborn and ruthless the enemies of gender parity can be.

Another recent law, now under scrutiny, once again robbed Shia women the right to leave the house without permission from a male relative, and, if that was not enough, denied wives the right to refuse a husband sex.

There is encouraging news, too, however. The Afghan Institute of Learning, for instance, has continued to educate hundreds of thousands of women since its underground beginnings during the Taliban's reign. They are one reason that the US must not fail in its mission to help stabilize Afghanistan (a daunting task, to be sure).

Will there be more horror ahead for the women of Afghanistan? Yes. But there will be more bravery from them, too. Hopefully, the latter will win out.


David at Paradigms Lost
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