One byproduct of invading and occupying Afghanistan for two decades is that we’ve lost the ability to be dispassionate judges of its government’s policies. We are, at least in some ways, inextricably entwined in the web of responsibility for the way things are there. And if we’re justifiably indignant, it’s not like we’re going to go back in to try to force a change. Here’s the Washington Post’s editorial board:
With a single decision, Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers have crushed the dreams of a generation of women. The Islamist regime announced Dec. 20 that women would be prohibited from attending universities, on top of earlier decrees banning girls from middle school and high school. “They destroyed the only bridge that could connect me with my future,” a Kabul University student told the BBC.
The Taliban also barred women from working in non-governmental organizations, leading “at least half a dozen major foreign aid groups” to suspend operations in Afghanistan.
We tried to “fix” Afghanistan. It might have improved our chances if helping rather than punishing had been our first priority, but it’s doubtful the enterprise failed simply because we made suboptimal decisions. At this point, after so many years of foreign occupation stretching back to the 1970s, it’s probably time to let Afghans try to work some things out for themselves.
It’s worth noting that critics of Afghanistan’s education ban for women are not limited to the Western or non-Muslim world.
Turkey and Saudi Arabia have strongly condemned the Taliban’s nationwide ban on women attending private and public universities.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday that the ban was “neither Islamic nor humane”.
Speaking at a joint news conference with his Yemeni counterpart, Cavusoglu urged the Taliban to reverse the decision.
“What harm is there in women’s education? What harm does it do to Afghanistan?” Cavusoglu said. “Is there an Islamic explanation? On the contrary, our religion, Islam, is not against education; on the contrary, it encourages education and science.”
The Saudi foreign ministry expressed “astonishment and regret” at Afghan women being denied a university education. In a statement late on Wednesday, the ministry said the decision was “astonishing in all Islamic countries”.
It’s nice to see the Saudis take a strong stand since they, like us, bear a lot of responsibility for the current condition of Afghanistan. It was their funding for religious schools there and in Pakistan that created the Talib movement in the first place. I’m not suggesting that the Saudis made the Pashtuns more socially conservative (as if that were possible), but they made them more religiously medieval in their outlook.
Much like the Republicans fucked around with religious maniacs until the maniacs took control of their party, the Saudis funded fucked up religious instruction (originally to create cannon fodder for the Soviet-Afghan War) until the resulting Taliban government looked dangerously insane even to them.
Maybe the U.S. and the Saudis can best help Afghan women now by not trying to impose brilliant solutions from outside. But, as mitigation for our sins and failures, we should be welcoming to anyone who wants to leave to get an education.
