First, remember that "Afghan culture" is a misnomer. Like most countries in that part of the world, Afghanistan is a long way from being culturally homogeneous, and the culture of an Afridi or a Pathan is worlds apart from that of the lowland towns and cities.
In any matriarchal culture, there comes a time when boys come out from under the influence of mother and begin following the influence of male models, in this case, the mullahs and the warriors (who, it must be recalled, have a lot of influence over what the mothers think). Boys often, in their desire to prove that they are becoming men, frequently get quite extreme about this.
I suspect that the mullahs, and the hardcore warriors, have a lot more to do with the excesses of the Taleban than the women do. |
