Afghan Women, and “No Human Enemies”
Afghanistan has been shown to be in mass chaos since the United States left and the Taliban took over. There is much talk about the oppression of Afghan women, including how they will not be allowed to go to school and must wear a niqaab (a veil that covers the face).
The publicity makes it seem like the United States is needed to bring peace and structure. Not true. The U.S. military, like any military, has been created for defense and ultimately war. War never brings peace or protects women. In fact, women are disproportionately affected by the long-term effects of war—poverty, violence, and more.
I am not defending the Taliban or their actions. However, portraying them as evil lunatics dehumanizes them, makes people believe they are an enemy that can only be killed, and has been used to justify the war in Afghanistan.
The Taliban must stop targeting other humans, including females, with oppression. However, all people are good. There are no human enemies. If this is true, then it must be true of the men who are part of the Taliban, and true of all military personnel.
The idea that Muslim men, especially Afghan men, are inherently more sexist than other men and that Muslim women, especially Afghan women, are inherently more oppressed than other groups of women was used to justify the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. “We” (the United States) were needed to “save” Afghan women. This was not true, and it didn’t happen.
Of course, human rights violations in Afghanistan, as in all other places, must be stopped.
Los Angeles, California, USA
Reprinted from the RC e-mail discussion list for leaders of South, Central, and West Asian-heritage people
(Present Time 207, April 2022)