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In America, Miley Cyrus is paid millions for wearing nearly no clothing, however women under the control of the Taliban have been persecuted for showing nothing but their ankles. However in the book, The Other Side of the Sky by Farah Ahmedi, Farah did not have the privileges that women in America have. After the Taliban took over, Farah was in fear every time she had to leave the house. The women in Afghanistan are not granted the basics rights of speech, marriage and education that American women have, which causes many women to be punished under the rule of extreme groups for doing the most miniscule of things. Remember to connect all reason to the thesis statement!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ADD TOPIC SENTENCE. Growing up in Afghanistan, women do not
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get to choose who to marry. Marriages are prearranged by a the man's family. “He went to his parents and said, ‘Forget about that match with my cousin. I want to marry someone else.’ And he told them about his beautiful student. Well, of course this was a scandal in the village. What was the world coming to when a boy told his parents whom he was going to marry instead of his parents telling him?”(15). Farah’s grandfather was very brave when opening up to his parents about his choice in marriage; it was likely that her grandfather was planned to marry his cousin for financial reasons. Therefore marriages are do not revolve around love and women do not get to choose their future husband, it's all about business. Women must marry the men they are paired up with and if not maltreatment was most likely to follow. Furthermore, going to school is not just a breeze, it can be life threatening. When walking to school in America, getting bombed on the way never even crosses one’s mind. “And then suddenly a fire flashed in my face and the earth seemed to move beneath my feet. I remember a shower of soil and then nothing. I woke up on the ground, surrounded by a crowd, men and boys mostly, but a few girls. too”(43). After this traumatizing event, Farah had to leave and go get care in Germany. Farah is surprised and in a daze after she was horribly hurt. Living under the complete control of others does permit you to be yourself. In the same way, Farah and the other women had to deal with the limitation of showing themselves out in public. After the Taliban took over, women were forced to cover themselves head to toe. “The Taliban put an end to the choice of any kind. If they saw a woman without a chadari, they beat her with a stick or rubber hose or the butt of a gun”(97). The Taliban claim that all women need to wear chadari at all times, especially in public. If not, they are inhumanly punished. Women are not allowed to express their thoughts on the Chadari, they have no voice in this requirement, the Taliban men do not care what their inputs are. Again, this causes many mutinous threats from the Taliban once women go against these strict orders that are put on them. All of these restraints causes the women to feel the four D’s; degrade, devalue, dehumanize to destroy by the . No living human should feel the pain that these women go through to simply be able to make their own decisions. Many other women, like Farah, who live in Afghanistan experience the same restrictions on their rights as she did.
The three very basic rights in America that are not given to Afghan women are marriage, education and speech. Marriage in America is a choice, however in Afghanistan it is more of a business deal for the family. “80 percent of marriages in poor rural areas are either forced or arranged” (Life as an Afghan Woman). The father’s voice in a family overshadows the female leaving her with no say in a life long marriage. If a woman refuses to marry the man she is paired up with she will be punished for her rebellious actions. On the same hand, going to school is not as easy as it is here in America. All women in America are given the privilege by law to attend school free of charge, while it is much more difficult for an Afghan woman to receive an education. “ Only 40% of Afghan girls attend elementary school, and only one in 20 girls attend school beyond the sixth grade” (Life as an Afghan woman). Loads of families aren’t provided with option to attend school while others do not allow their women to receive an education because they are afraid their daughter will be punished for anything she does and could be killed on the way to school. Not only can women not get married and go to school without worries, but also they are not allowed to speak out for themselves in public. In Afghanistan people are allowed to practice their beliefs of any kind but any acts of
betrayal towards Islam will lead to punishment. In the article Women's rights in Afghanistan: Are we witnessing a revolution?, a 27 year old woman was accused of burning pages from the Muslim Holy Book and was later burned and thrown into a river for her alleged actions. In the U.S., the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights gives Americans permission to speak and act freely which was not the case for this 27 year old woman and other women in Afghanistan (Bill of Rights- James Madison). On the contrary, women in America still have issues that are affecting us today including equal salaries. Womens do not get paid the same amount of money as men do even if it is the same job. Women in America are lucky to live with the freedoms of our nation, free of dehumanization and inequality which is at the forefront in Afghanistan. In conclusion, there are many problems relating to women's rights in Afghanistan including restrictions on, speech, marriage and education. Without these most basic rights women are unable to live normal, comfortable lives as us Americans do.
The women in Afghanistan during this time period, were shielded from the outside world, and the outside world was shielded from them. Women became nobody’s and their life was unimportant. Burqas kept the women from being who they were, and being more than just a wife. They were not known or judged for the women they used to be, but for the wives they had become. Whether they could cook well, keep a house clean, or even bear children (particularly boys), it never mattered. What mattered was that they obeyed their husbands and the rules of the Taliban. “You will not, under any circumstance, show your face. You will cover with a burqa when outside, If you do not, you will be severely beaten.” (pg. 278). Before the Taliban forced women to wear burqas, women were already being diminished. Women were raped, beaten and even killed just by walking outside their house. That doesn’t even start to describe what happened behind closed doors. Women were already losing their rights, but burqas took away who they were. Burqas affected Mariam and Laila in a big way. Mariam was barely a teenager when she married Rasheed, and had grown up with a strong, independent, man-hating mother. Mariam was never taught that she
This book by A. Widney Brown and LeShawn R.Jefferson reflects on the negative impacts of different Talib decrees on the overall development Afghan women.
Women in Afghanistan don’t have as much freedom or no rights compared to the men in their country. Men are seen as strong ,controlling and Powerful. They often say that women are treated worse than the animals. Women are not treated really well in Afghanistan Men and Women should be treated the same.Hopefully one day we will see the rights and responsibilities change and women are valued as much as men
Governments often claim that they are helping women gain equality when they invade and impress their values on other cultures. In “Feminism as Imperialism”, Katharine Viner states that “Bush cut off funding to international family planning organizations [and then claimed he] bombed Afghanistan to liberate the women from the burkas” (1). However, the problem with wars claiming to “save” women is that the majority of the time women are just becoming victims of western misogyny as opposed to eastern misogyny (Viner, 2). Just because some women choose to wear head coverings doesn’t make them repressed, “liberation for [Afghani women] does not encompass destroying their identity, religion, or culture and many of them want to retain the veil” (Viner, 2). Therefore, using women to justify war is counterproductive because it still represses women and ignores what the women actually
The decree passed by president in year 2009 related to women's right were opposed by some of the conservative members of Parliament. Afghanistan has a cultural society where from the past and still up to this time majority of people abuse women and are opposed to the liberty of women in country. Still there are families who are ashamed of having a girl still there are families where a wife is considered to be as a slave, and still there are families who behave with a Mother as an enemy since she was not able to born a boy rather than a girl. The decree passed by President Hamid Karzai was due to the high percentage of violation against women in the country, where more than 3000 violence cases were record against women. This decree was based on the article 22 of Afghanistan constitution, which states that “The citizens of Afghanistan, men and women, have equal rights and duties before the law" (Afghanistan, 2004). Based on this article of constitution we can find out that men and women are equal before law and this law insures all the liberty given to a man will be same for a woman. Unfortunately, according to biannual report given by Human right commission "violence against women" there are four different type of violence practiced against women in different parts of country. The main reason behind the violence taking place against women are related to Economical condition of a family, literacy level of a family, cultural background of the family as well as usage of drug has caused several violation act by husband and their family members against a woman. In addition, the result of violence is almost same in every place of country (beating, Sexual abuse, forced marriages, denial access to education, Emotional and Psychological Abuse and murder). In this paper I will focus on the policies taken place by the government of Afghanistan and their failure; as well, I will focus on establishing some policies in order to limit or to band all the abuses happening against women in the country.
Lila Abu-Lughod’s article titled, “Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving?” takes a closer look at the problematic ethnocentric approach many have when trying to gain an understanding of another culture that may be foreign to that individual. In this analytical paper, Lughod looks at women in Islam, specifically the treatment of women and how it might be utilized as a justification for invading into a country and liberating its people. The country Lughod refers to in her article is Afghanistan, and Lughod points out the misunderstanding from the people to the Bush administration like First Lady Laura Bush who believed that intervention was necessary to free women from the captivity of their own homes. It is important to consider the role that different lenses play into all of this, especially when one’s lenses are being shaped by the media. Depictions of covered women secluded from society leave a permanent image in the minds of many, who would then later support the idea of liberation. This paper will discuss that the practice of using propaganda when referring to the lifestyle in the Middle East is not exclusive to the U.S; rather it has been utilized throughout history. Additionally, we will take a closer look on the importance of symbols, such as veils in this case; help to further emphasize the cause to liberate. Finally, we will analyze Lughod’s plea towards cultural relativism and away from liberal imperialism.
...a visit with Aziza, Laila saw a middle-aged woman, with her burqa pushed back…Laila recognized the sharp face… Laila remembered this woman once forbidding the female students from covering, saying women and men were equal, that there was no reason for women should cover if men didn’t” (322). To see a woman who was as close to a feminist as a woman in Afghanistan could get, to see her fall to level that the government wanted her at was crucial point in the novel that allowed us to really see the affect that the government had on the women in controlling every aspect of their lives.
The Taliban are still in power in many parts of the country, denying people the rights they deserve, and committing crimes against humanity. Women’s rights are nowhere near where they should be, they are treated like property, because that is how the culture sees women, there is violent acts committed on girls when they try to stand up for themselves, and people don't speak up against this ugly truth, nearly as much as they should as fellow human beings.
Women in America do not have to worry about a terrorist group coming and taking their rights away. They have a government that protects them from these groups and makes sure they have the same rights as others. In the Middle East, especially Afghanistan and Pakistan, women are scared to speak too loudly. These women live in fear each day of their lives because if they make one small mistake it could mean their life. Yet, there are some people who are fighting for women’s rights, especially women’s education. Malala Yousafzai is a girl who fought for women’s education. At the age of eleven, Malala began writing a blog for BBC Urdu. The blog described how she was upset that women’s education under the Taliban would be forced to stop. Malala also appeared on national television talking about women’s education. She has become a symbol of resistance against the Taliban. Even after Malala was put on the Taliban’s hit list, she continues to speak out about what she felt needed to be said. Malala would give her life for this cause, and she almost did. On October 9, 2012, Malala was on her way home from her morning classes when a man walked on to her bus and asked, “Who is Malala”. When she said it was her he shot her. The bullets hit her head and her leg. The Taliban ordered for her to be shot because she was promoting western culture in Pashtun areas. In another case Mukhtar Mai stood up for women’s rights and was sexually assaulted by multiple men with orders from the tribal council. The tradition in Mukhtar’s tribe was that a woman who is sexually assaulted by multiple men should kill herself, but instead of committing suicide she fought for her cause (Samira 28-30). Although the Taliban restricts women’s education for religious reaso...
Islam has influenced many cultures around the world. For centuries, Islam has had an immense influence on the Afghan culture. According to this religion, women have no rights. The men took advantage of this system by translating only what they wanted from the Koran; to enslave the women in our culture for their own desires. From the beginning, the women on no account had any civil rights or have power over their own lives, and most were uneducated and had accepted what their teachers taught in schools and mosques. My family moved to the US when the Russians invaded Afghanistan. I thank god to be one of the lucky women who did not have to live in Afghanistan and for giving me a better place to live in America. Unfortunately, this was not the case for the majority of the Afghan women. Under the cruel Taliban government the women were banned to work, and were not allowed outside their homes without being escorted by a man. The film Osama, inspired by a true story, is about Osama, a young girl who did lived in Kabul while the Taliban regime. Through Osama's story, I had a chance to see what it was like to live in Afghanistan as a woman. This is a story of a girl whose faith was in the hands of many different people: her family, the Taliban soldiers, and the city judge. Osama and I have different lives on different continents; however, we both could have had more rights and better life if we were born men.
In Afghanistan, the police force continues to torture and rape innocent women for unnecessary reasons. This is similar to The Handmaid's Tale in that Offred, and other handmaids, not only go through the devestation of "The Ceremony", but also can be used and possibly even raped by their Commanders, and there is nothing the handmaid can do about it. If she speaks, she is usually not believed, and then she is sent away because she broke the law. The handmaid would usually die for making such accusations. Women are given little to no rights in Gilead.
The women were not allowed to go to school. Many of the schools were bombed by the Taliban that where girls schools. The schools for girls, were hidden and very secretive. “As in most families, the girls stayed at home while the boys went to school.” (Yousafzai, 2015, p. 29). Women’s roles were to stay at home, cook, and raise children. Women had very few rights and could do very few things without a man. “A women couldn’t even open a bank account without a man’s permission.” (Yousafzai, 2015, p. 31). It was set up so women could not succeed without a man. They were oppressed to a point of being unable to anything. This blows my mind. Here in the United States, women are allowed to have bank accounts, go to school and have jobs. This hasn’t always been the case here in the United States either. Women have been oppressed all over the country and not given the same rights as men. Here in the United States, women are still struggling to get the same jobs and wages as
Writer Ayn Rand once said that, “Achievement of your happiness is the only moral purpose of your life, and that happiness, not pain or mindless self-indulgence, is the proof of your moral integrity, since it is the proof and the result of your loyalty to the achievement of your values.” This happiness is not what a person feels when common pleasures occur in their lives, such as the purchase of a new car, or a promotion at work and an increase in salary. The feeling of genuine inner well-being and peace is a completely separate state of being that can be witnessed in Khaled Hosseini’s novel The Kite Runner. The two key characters to the story, Amir and Hassan, share a very unique relationship. They achieve the deepest longing of humanity to achieve happiness through the different choices they make and experiences they have. Hassan proves to be on the proper path to happiness early on with a strong moral conscience in his life, sense of purpose to serve others, and the self-confidence to be independent. On the other hand, Amir struggles to achieve these same qualities as Hassan; to do the right thing, to think of others, and to carry his own weight with confidence.
In Afghanistan girls are forced into marriage as young as 8 years old. If these girls would run away or cause any trouble to their husbands the girls will get sonned, flogged or mutated. Before the Taliban took over the women were allowed to show skin, they were allowed to work and going to school, the women had rights. Then when the Taliban took control over Afghanistan the women weren't allowed to go to school, study, work, they couldn't show any skin, couldn't leave the house without a male chaperone, or get health care from men, and the women couldn't speak in public or be involved in politics. the women's rights were taken away from them. Women in Afghanistan should have more rights because women are getting attacked, they are forced
In this text Mohanty argues that contemporary western feminist writing on Third World women contributes to the reproduction of colonial discourses where women in the South are represented as an undifferentiated “other”. Mohanty examines how liberal and socialist feminist scholarship use analytics strategies that creates an essentialist construction of the category woman, universalist assumptions of sexist oppression and how this contributes to the perpetuation of colonialist relations between the north and south(Mohanty 1991:55). She criticises Western feminist discourse for constructing “the third world woman” as a homogeneous “powerless” and vulnerable group, while women in the North still represent the modern and liberated woman (Mohanty 1991:56).