So I received the news about the Obama Administration’s priorities in regards to the marital rape law in Afghanistan via Matt today.
It seems odd to me that “defeating al-Qaeda” is somehow seen as a totally separate quest from ensuring the rights of Afghan women.
Excuse me Barack, but what is it that you think al-Qaeda is about?
I know that us Americans are very much used to seeing the world as being all about us, but the truth is – the terrorists’ top priority is keeping their house in order. They want to be empowered in their own land and women have long borne the brunt of their megalomaniac fantasies. Appeasing them will not magically translate into defeating them.
The U.S. government has long since employed the policy that hey, whatever, rights for the little ladies aren’t important in the grand scheme of things. And yet those “little ladies” are the canary in the coalmine. If their situation is not stable, it’s a sure bet that Afghanistan as a whole isn’t exactly stable either.
This kind of half-assed “uh, rape is bad and all, but, um, yeah” is corrupt, dishonest, hypocritical and maddening.
Natalia A. 
I totally agree and with the Afghan government willing to sign such a law, what a big waste of time, money and lives for those who fight to protect this country. In order for others to help Afghanistan change, Afghanistan itself has to be willing to change. What is a leader of this country thinking when contemplating such a law. Hey guys, thanks for helping us out but we’re going to go back to our old ways now if you don’t mind. Explain that to the mothers and wives of the fallen soldiers.
Makes you wonder just WTF Mohammed Karzai is FOR if he can’t slap down these maniacs. I mean, call me whacky but I thought he was the leader of Afghanistan and his word was…y’know, final? He seems to just be a puppet.
Well, I think Karzai was always a puppet. But we seem to be washing our hands of his problems now, you know? We just can’t be bothered. So what if some women are raped, or something? Ugh.
What a delicious irony this is…we get into Afghanistan in the first place in the 80s to overthrow a “Communist” government through supporting fundamentalist guerillas who would ultimately become the Taliban; then we invade their country under the guise of fighting those same fundamentalist guerillas in the name of “protecting women from Muslim extremist fascism”….only to find the government we financed and backed to fight these same Taliban enacting laws EXACTLY like what the Taliban wanted.
But, we are fighting for freedom, to keep the “terrorists” out and to protect women.
Yeah. Right. And we don’t torture, either.
Memo to Prez Obama: Either defend our principles correctly, or get the hell out of there and tend to our own needs.
Anthony
Exactly Anthony and anyway, the soviets were in favor of woman’s rights.
P.S. Check this out: http://www.rawa.org/index.php
Of course 25 years ago, there were few states in the US with laws against marital rape.
What you should know about women’s rights in Afghanistan: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/anand-gopal/what-you-should-know-abou_b_186225.html
Thanks for the link, Jenny.
you’re welcome.