You make the mistake, again, of assuming that the culture of Afghanistan, or any culture for that matter, is static and monolithic. This is never the case. Cultures change. Everywhere. There are huge cultural variations in every country. Is the culture of Greenwich Village the same as that of Omaha? No. Which is "American culture"? Both. You will find variations in culture every bit as large - probably even larger - within Afghanistan.
A resident of Kabul, a woman who once worked as a teacher and lived her life much as she chose, may not be a "typical" Afghan woman, especially from the standpoint of the local mullah. Does that mean her aspirations are illegitimate, or that it's ok for the more "typical" to impose their culture on her?
The idea that the typical Afghan has accepted and supports the Taleban is also open to question. Substantial areas of the country are still controlled by other factions, and control in many other areas is maintained only by armed force. It remains a very volatile situation. It is in some ways analogous to what happened in Iran, when the forces of religion tried to "freeze" the culture, and prevent it from changing as all living cultures must. They succeeded, for a while. Ultimately they will fail. The same is true of the Taleban. Afghan culture in 100 years will be very different from what it is now. That is true of all cultures. That's life.
I don't know where the notion that I am trying to claim victim status for all women everywhere emerged. Certainly not from anything I said. I suppose somebody's stereotype is surfacing. |
