I believe that there is nothing to liberate women in Afghanistan but themselves.First education and second thire bravenees, farelees,confedent,and in one word the broken heart that thayhave got.I believe thire power and united can make them morepowerful. I have really nothing elss to say,but I know how strong thay are.You have to believe your stregnth and your fate.You are Afghan and much more srongger than men.Why do you allowed them to abuse you.Stand for your right and get it.You can .

I have been researching the Afghan women for the last couple of weeks and I find in all of my hours of research that there has not been any REAL solid change for the woman and girl children of Afghanistan. I find it sad that the American population wants to take credit for the so called liberation of Afghanistan. I think it is a outrage to consider woman that are still being sold, and afraid to even go to school liberation. What happened to the Bush administration that was going to save the day, and rescue these woman from the grasps of a unjust society???? I think that we all as Americans need to know that there has been little progress shown to date for the liberation of Afghanistan’s female population. America needs to get off this self righteous attitude and look at the big picture. Females are still suffering to a point where they are willing to set themselves on FIRE to escape the abuse, and horrific world they live in. WAKE UP AMERICA!!!! Our job is NOT done.

A few things are missing in the commentary above. First, the sway of the Taliban during 1996-2001 is usually widely exaggerated. Most of rural Afghanistan simply went on functioning as it has for decades, nay centuries. The “pinch” was felt primarily in the country’s few urban areas and amongst educated women who suffered the wrath of Virtue & Vice (and policies which contributed to impoverishment). Secondly, anybody following the discussion about women and girls in Afghanistan since October 7, 2001 (when the U.S. started bombing Afghanistan into submission) - by the way just as the US State Department’s Christine Rocca had told the Taliban emissary in Islamabad on August 2, 2001 (please note BEFORE 9/11) would occur if the Taliban did not annul the oil contract with Bridas and establish a new one with UNOCAL (for whom, of course, Karzai and Khalilzad worked) - must be struck by how much of the West all of a sudden woke up to the plight of women and girls in Afghanistan. Even Barbara and Cherry trotted over there to advertise their “deep concern.” All of a sudden, everyone was a feminist as regards Afghanistan. Had only such suppport been expressed tangibly during the previous two decades for the largest and oldest association of women in Afghanistan, the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA).
Marc W. Herold
University of New Hampshire

Taliban never abducted women never molsted a woman .Instead they brought peace and justice in afganistan. They even punished any talibaan if he found guilty in any crime. people can go with open their shops full of goods in taliban regim.
Women still wear burqa willingly in afganistan to save themselve from warlords and rough peoples.
Bura is being weared many muslims countries by women beside of afganistan.
Bush have killed many thousands innocent afgan civilians in self made war of terror.
Usa kill and give bread as well to people of afganistan.
bush also responsible of killing more than 655000 people in iraq by invision in iraq.
usa did nt find any mass destructions weaponds or nuclear weapons in iraq. Earlier usa supplied chemical substance to saddam which he used to killing iranian in iraq and iran war.
hamid karzai is a corrupted ruler an his regim is in kabul only i strict security. Law and order is worst in afganistan.
norther allian war lords and soldiers have raped many pashtun women in afganistan.Earlier usa created talbaan and supplied then arm againest russia in afginstan.

If one race, say whites, treated another race, say blacks, the way men treat women in muslim coutries, there would be an international uproar. But because this oppression exists under the guise of “religion,” it’s ok.  An analogy would be “fundmentalist” (but even then it wouldn’t happen) christians oppressing blacks in the name of the white god.  The international political community is more worried about offending the oppressors- men- than doing the morally correct thing.  And why? Because as long as the oppression of women continues, women have no economic power- it’s not like they own any oil wells. This is worse than the dark ages. How can the most enlightened countries ever condone such treatment of half the population of a country? Actually, it will eventually end up like China- kill all the girls and there’s no one left to have babies.  So I guess eventually these babaric people will just die out.  I thank God every day that I live in America.

Religious fundamentalism is the biggest danger facing women.

The biggest nightmare for religious fanatics - be they Islamic or Christian - is women becoming educated and independent. Keeping women in their place is their number one priority.

Armies cannot liberate women. Only decent secular education and gradual generational change, in male attitudes towards the women in their society, and the women’s attitudes towards themselves, can liberate women, IMO. It requires a different kind of respect for women than the kind espoused in religious relics of societies that existed hundreds or thousands of years ago. It requires knowing that life is perpetual risk for us all and that women are entitled to face those risks in order to live as fully as they can, to reach their greatest potential, and to improve the tenor of their societies by much wider participation outside the home. The women of Afghanistan need stability for starters, not foreign armies.

One of my classmates at university was a young woman from Afghanistan. By the time of our graduation, the Soviets pulled out of her country, and to go back home for her was out of question, as soon after the pro-Soviet regime in Afghanistan collapsed and Taliban gained control of most of the country.

Only once I’ve heard from one of the talking heads on TV (a Soviet émigré: no wonder he knew) that Americans should remember that, helping Mojahideen to fight the Soviets, they forced Afghan women back to the Dark ages. A collateral damage, so to speak. With all bad things one could say about the former Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, there was no official oppression of women; girls went to schools, female students were sent abroad (as my classmate was), women participated in public life, etc.

To say that women of Afghanistan were liberated by the Americans is just a plain lie.