Afghanistan is an enigma... and a tragedy.
Let me tell you something you may not have known about this
landlocked Asian country.
From the 1950s through the mid-1970s, Afghanistan was a VERY
modern Islamic country. Metropolitan even, and then came the Russian invasion
in 1978. From there, the nation descended into a religious quagmire that
propelled the Afghan people back to the 14th century. With the Russians
defeated and exiled, the Afghans became embroiled in governmental corruption
that led to the Taliban gaining a toehold in the Afghan’s day-to-day life.
The Afghans are a beautiful people.
For those of us servicemembers who served there (I served in
Afghanistan from February 2008 through April 2009), seeing the collapse of the
Afghan government in 2021, brought on by a treaty that former President Donald
Trump negotiated with the Taliban, I mourn the fall. To be fair, President
Biden's order for a hasty exit only served to worsen an already horrible
scenario.
While the coalition's 18-year presence was of missed
successes and failures, perhaps the biggest failure was to the Afghan girls and
women. While we were there, girls were allowed to go to school once again. Women could once more have careers outside their homes once more. Women became women
again, not just slaves to their men.
Today, women are forbidden to speak in public. Young girls
are prohibited from attending school beyond middle school, i.e., no secondary
or post-secondary education. While out in public, women are forced to wear a burka, clothed head to toe. To show their faces could endanger their lives.
Afghan women have no voice nor any rights. Per Wikipedia,
"The Taliban, who took power in Afghanistan in August 2021, have banned
girls and women from attending secondary and higher education, making
Afghanistan the only country in the world to do so. The Taliban claim that this
ban is in line with their interpretation of Sharia, or Islamic law, but no
other Muslim country prohibits girls from receiving an education."
It is easy to throw your hands in the air, and please pardon
my French, but fuck religion. It is the bane of our existence. It is all too
often the cause of pain, suffering, strife, violence, and death.
While I served in Kabul, I interviewed a female major in the
Afghan National Army. She was an educated pharmacist. She thanked me for being
there. When I told her I was merely doing my job, she said, "No, not just
you, but your people. Before you, the Taliban required me to stay home, and ignore
my education. Your presence has given my daughters hope for a better
future."
I have wondered where this woman and her daughters are
today. I mourn their present existence.
Take a look at the photographs from the 1960s; they give cause for
tears. I assure you
what you see (then) is not what you will see in Afghnistan today.
