Schoolgirls poisoned in Afghanistan

[messyisthenewtidy]

Has anyone seen this yet?

my god. How awful.

Some men will stop at nothing

Although it is probable, it not actually proven that this was an attack.

This is disgusting :'(

LeithLurker if you listen to the report/video the journalist said that this sort of mass poisoning of girls and women has happened before, and is not uncommon.

There is every reason to think that this is an organised attack on women's right to education. Very shocking. Thanks for posting messy.

Have a look at these images from the early eighties, prior to the rise of the Taliban;

afghanistanonmymind.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/kabul-in-80s.html

It looks like a Western democracy. It's incredible how it has changed.

Sanjeev, that's really interesting and depressing at the same time. It is actually like the changes described in the book "A Thousand Splendid Suns" where one of the protagonists goes from a liberal upbringing to the repressive rules of the new regime. I wonder what has happened to all those women at the university and how they feel now at not being able to use any of their education.

Thanks for those pictures - they are amazing.

You are welcome messy. Amazing and sad. It is like watching civilization regressing.

Yes, the social and cultural shifts in Afghanistan over the past 25 or 30 years have been massive. Several years ago I did a course with a guy from Afghanistan who was studying abroad when it looked like the Taliban were about to topple the government. He never went back home. Neither did a sister who was also abroad. The rest of his family, who were mostly connected with the government or other public institutions were either killed or disappeared.

It was fascinating and depressing to hear how a relatively modern, secular, fairly well-resourced country was effectively smashed to ruins, primarily due to picking and posturing between the West and the former Soviet Union which used the country as if it were a real life board game like Stratego or Battleship.

It made me think how fragile "civilisation" can be. A very wise woman on another discussion board once said that we are all just 3 meals away from the fabric of our society unravelling. Scary as it sounds, there could be some truth in that.

Exactly Kritiq. And although there is no way to compare the situation for women here with the one in Afghanistan, I sometimes feel that the advance in women's rights/education in the West is still quite precarious; it is after all fairly new in historical terms and there is already a backlash against it, (reproductive rights in USA, general public attitudes, etc).

I think that sometimes makes feminists quite defensive as if we feel we have to constantly justify the rights we've gained, rather than just feel secure in them, IYSWIM.

So, yeah, you're right, civilization is fragile.

The reproductive rights in the USA issue - isn't that also driven by religious movements? Is anyone seeing a pattern??

Sadly, sometimes I do (and worry about friends and family who still live there.)

How awful.
Really women's rights - it does feel like running to stand still.

Read an article recently on Afghanistan and drug addiction in females is now the highest per head of capita in the world.

ONe of the reasons why I am constantly thoroughly disrespectful of superstition is that I am watching for sanctions against those of us who just laugh at and criticise 'faith'. It's an early warning sign. What is happening in the US WRT abortion/reproduction is very, very scary, it';s not just about abortion any more, it's becoming more and more blatantly about hatred of women. The Handmaid's Tale is starting to look at bit less like fiction, really...

SGB not read the Handmaids Tale but may look for it. Something which has niggled me for a while is some feminists who wish to see the abolition of prositution have aligned themselves with the church in their quest to erradicate it. Prostitutes not allowed condoms as this would encourage them to work, so they just went without and the incidence of STI's increased, etc.
Not wanting to go in to the views of prostitution as it's debated elsewhere. The same churches now seem to have embarked on further crusades which affect women ie abortion rights, reproduction etc. It does feel as if we are heading back to the Dark Ages.

I don't think its fair to say aligned.
Co incided would be closer the mark. Very different motivation s, lots of differing outcomes.

I don't know of a single feminist who aligns themselves with the moralistic and misogynistic standpoint of the church. Nor do I know a single feminist who thinks women in prostitution should be denied protection from STDs.

I have only ever heard the above being said by people who wish to attack feminists and discredit them. The feminists I know who are anti prostitution are anti the johns and the traffickers, not the women, quite the contrary.

I consider myself a feminist and am anti prostitution for the exact reasons Beachcomber has stated.