‘Women Here Are Very, Very Worried
‘Women Here Are Very, Very Worried
Afghan women used to be championed by almost everyone. Now they’re all but forgotten The issue of protecting the expanded rights of Afghan women is not a part of peace talks between the Taliban and the United States
It was once a prominent and bipartisan cause:the liberation of Afghan women from the tyranny of the Taliban These women were championed by an array of strange bedfellows: feminists like Eleanor Smeal celebrities like Lily Tomlin and stalwarts of a conservative administration like Laura Bush and Dick Cheney.In the early days of the invasion the world heard vivid stories of the changes the war had brought. Women could walk freely outside their houses and put on makeup girls could go to school. It was a narrative that helped buoy public support for the fight in Afghanistan and deflect criticism about American empire.
In November 2001, as American troops were fighting to drive Al Qaeda out of the country and topple the Taliban government Mrs.Bush was given the megaphone of the president’s weekly radio address Only the terrorists and the Taliban forbid education to women she said.Only the terrorists and the Taliban threaten to pull out women’s fingernails for wearing nail polish.