RE: Afghanistan

["Brownson, Jamil" <JBrownson@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

paul misses the historical cultural point of varying gender relations in
tribal, village and urban, lifeworlds among different ethno-religious &
geographically differentiated segments of Afghan society, which are both
regional & spill over into surrounding countries.

Separate oppression under an ideological movement, as all revolutionary
ruling parties tend to be viz creating new social orders, from other
cultural divides. Were men any less oppressed by Taliban rule in relation to
normative Afghan standards in having, HAVING, to wear long beards & certain
kinds of apparel & so on? All are more free under changed circunstances,
male & female, but deeply held traditions will remain prevalent in Afghan
society irrespective of who rules.

-----Original Message-----
From: phillp2@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:phillp2@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Wednesday, November 14, 2001 8:30 PM
To: pen-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>Subject: [PEN-L:19627] Afghanistan


I have not contributed to the discussion of the war on Afghanistan or on
the anti-war protests for a very difficult personal reason. I am appalled by

the Taliban oppression of women.  I am appalled that the 'west' did
nothing about it until some militants attacked the bastions of American
capitalism and then, when they did, the Americans dropped bombs on
military and civilian targets, refusing to dirty western hands with fighting

oppression while Afghani troops of the Northern Alliance, only
marginally more friendly to women's rights, were encouraged and armed
to subdue the anti-American Taliban.  This is appalling.  If the women of
Afghanistan were Jews or any other North American minority, the wrath
and military might of America and the UN would have been marshalled
years ago to suppress the outrage.  After all, when the rights of the
Albanians in Kosovo to subvert the rights of women were curtailed by
the Serbs the Americans felt free to bomb military and civilian targets
into submission.  But after all, what was at stake was the rights and
freedom of women.  Much more important was the rights and freedom of
the oil companies.
	Now we see it again.  The Northern Alliance has, in effect, captured

control of most of the country with American bombing support.  As the
Afghani Women's group has noted, this does not constitute freedom for
half of the population of Afghanistan - more subjugation but at a
slightly less oppressive level.
	Why is it that American policy only supports those regimes that
oppress, sometimes in the most brutal and criminal ways, the rights of
women?

Paul Phillips,
Economics,
University of Manitoba