To be shocked this isn't getting more coverage?

[Sugarcoldturkey]

Women in Afghanistan are now forbidden from speaking when not inside their homes. A simple "hello" to someone in a shop is now against the law. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/article/2024/aug/26/taliban-bar-on-afghan-women-speaking-in-public-un-afghanistan

AIBU to think this is some of the most horrific news I've heard in months? I can't wrap my head around it and I can't help thinking - activists/newspapers/politicians are loud when campaigning about the gender pay gap or the state of child care or a woman's rights to her own body but somehow on this topic no one wants to criticise too often or too loudly.

Is it because religion is mixed in? Or guilt over the war? Or do politicians in particular only care about women's rights when it's a vote-winner in their constituency? Or is it just that it's so terrible and we all feel so powerless to prevent it that we just prefer to ignore the situation?

I'm feeling v v shaken.

What would you choose? For you or your dds if you have them?

Out of all countries that is not these five

Can you say your top five?

This is absolutely nowhere near the reality of what is happening in Afghanistan and you know it. Absolutely nowhere near. Extremely disingenuous.

I'm pretty sure that what is being done in Afghanistan now wasn't included in words of Allah that the Angel told Muhammed to write down.

Men aren't just following a prevailing discourse. They wrote it.

Of course it's not the same or even in the same league

But it comes from the same place.

@greycarpet it's no where near. A woman there can't even write the post you just did.

I don't mind the view that we need to protect the rights we have but equating the situation in each of these posts is so far off the reality.

People seem to have missed the irony that it was the Americans who armed Bin Laden and the Taliban.

Yes it’s baffling people are desperately trying to excuse the fanatical religious aspect by going ‘but insert liberal country with equal rights for women aren’t perfect either..’

My top five that I'd choose for what?

I'd absolutely not want to be a woman in the US is Trump gets re-elected. I have family already making plans to relocate back to Europe if that happens.

Yet it is via Allah that they're getting their legitimacy to do so. Whether you like that or not.

Yes this all comes down to interpretation, but Islam allows for interpretation that facilitates and legitimises much more serious levels of misogyny than other discourses.

Why didn’t they do it when he was President last time?

There you go not US you are understanding the question

Which top five countries would you choose to live in?

For you and your DDs if you have them

Or is it just that it's so terrible and we all feel so powerless to prevent it that we just prefer to ignore the situation?

This is where my head is right now. There are so many horrific things going on in the world that I feel like I have to just skim-read the news to keep any level of sanity.

I know it's so far off. What's the motivation?

It is concerning though that a fanatical religious reality is being downplayed, I'm not sure why.

Because he and his supporters have got so much worse, and in a second term he's likely to go for broke.

• The Jan 6th Capitol riot wasn't until after he'd lost the last election.
• First time around many of his plans were constrained, but he was able to sow the seeds for the future. For example, Roe vs. Wade wasn't overturned until after his period in office but this was achieved due to the Supreme Court appointments he made whilst in office.
• Project 2025 is showing a good indication of the direction those backing him want to take him. Whilst he's maintaining a legal separation from that group, many of it's members are former members of his campaign and administration and are very likely to be brought back by him if he's elected.

Plus, personal circumstances make it so much easier this time around. They're now at a point in their lives where they could move without as much disruption to education or careers.

If you'd typed a complete question that made sense there would have been something to understand.

Where would I choose to live? - anywhere in the EU, for the combination of rights and opportunities available to all.

You still got there with the US so I doubt you couldn't understand it, just wasted typing otherwise.

For all your posts re the west you have chosen that after all over the alternative

How come?

Is it due to those rights and opportunities being lower for women and girls?

I’m sure it’s not the way the women want to live though!

They’re not just trying to excuse it, they’re pretending it’s not there at all. It’s really mind blowing.

How would they do that? Only by some kind of force, bearing in mind that Parliament is not exclusively male and we have various checks and balances. I don’t think this kind of point is useful in the context of the op.

We could coalesce in the west to offer refugee status and full resettlement and education to any female citizen who can get out of Afghanistan.

Can’t see that happening when the UK left behind Afghan translators.

But I totally agree would love to see this happen.

If we can take hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian women and children we can do the same for Afghan women and children.

There are some 20 million women/females in Afghanistan. Most Western countries are at capacity as it is. We can’t simply taken in a million refugees every time there is a crisis. I acknowledge the majority of them sadly will be unable to leave, but the point stands.

Ukraine is different - they’re fighting (HARD) to regain control of their country and eventually the refugees will return home. You can’t help a country who won’t help themselves.

Well, exactly. It won’t happen because over time, authorities (who were primarily men over the years) have tied the knots tight in embedding rights for women into the framework of the country to a point it’s virtually irreversible (thank heavens)

It seems very shortsighted. It would have made much more sense to leave when an 8 year Trump was a strong possibility, not a definitely 4 year Trump. Tbh I don’t really believe when people threaten to emigrate in protests at politics - they very rarely do and it’s usually hot air.

Quoting myself here...... but I just wanted to add that one of the young women supported by the Linda Norgrove Foundation - now in Scotland to study medicine!! - was interviewed on yesterday's Woman's Hour:

Wednesday 28 August, about 21 minutes into the programme. You can catch it BBC Sounds or iPlayer.