| Taliban Violence Towards Women | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Taliban Violence Towards Women | ||
|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
by
Scott Peterson
Inside the mosque, the four corners of the main prayer room are packed with students, four different classes reciting their lessons in a diligent singsong cacophony.
The teachers are religious men, draped in the Afghan style in dark woolen shawls and turbans. But the students are all girls - an increasing phenomenon here, United Nations and relief workers say, that indicates how an array of restrictions placed upon women by the superstrict Islamic Taliban movement have begun to ease, if only slightly.
As Taliban control began to spread across most of the country in the mid-1990s, their version of Islamic law was far-reaching: Women were forbidden to work and were required to wear the all-enveloping burqa shroud, and girls' schools were shut down.
Grounded in deeply conservative Pushtun culture and Islamic religious beliefs, the Taliban argues that these restrictions are solely for the "protection" of women's dignity. And 20 years of war have depleted Afghan resources, officials say, to the point where a separate education system for girls - Taliban beliefs require that it be separate - is impossible to afford.
The policies have sparked fierce criticism in the West, especially from feminist groups. Because of local pressure from UN and Western relief workers for change - at least regarding education - along with what several observers call a "maturing" of the movement, more girls today are being allowed to hit the books.
"There has definitely been a positive change," says Eric Donelli, head of the UN Children's Fund in Kabul, which helps finance and supply schools. "People forget that Afghanistan is different from other countries, that it has its own tradition and culture. The reality is a big improvement."
Links where you can learn more about the women of Afghanistan and how their enforced dress is indicative of their repressed life. Please visit them.
Muslim Women Reclaim Their Original Rights
The Chador: A Western Woman's Perspective
http://wow.buttons4free.com:82/buttons.htm
