These are questions that have been generated by the class for Asmeh from Pakistan who will visit the class on April 12th. A day of favorite music, love poetry and a discussion on women's rights and more. . . ..
Saturday, March 31, 2007
8. How can the women not rebel, ban together and voice their opinions?
Well, after reading the book, I am guessing that it was/is impossible for women to ban together and voice their opinions without being seen as rebels. The scene when Shakila went to pick up her paycheck from the airlines was probably the most successful example of women rebeling and in some sense, succeeding. The Taliban have been able to create a set of rules without any loopholes. They have basically made it impossible for women to have any voice.
Most of the women were probably too terrified to rebel. The Taliban severely punished anyone who they deemed a threat to their authority, and frequently did so unjustly. Furthermore, horrifying stories of people victimized by the terror of the Taliban, such as that of Mrs. Zarmina, were common and spread rapidly through the population. It is no surprise that the women were terrified of the consequences they would face if they attempted to ban together to rebel and ended up failing.
I guess the women were just too scared to even think of showing any resistance. There also seemed littler opportunity for them to even talk to each other to get an idea of what to do.
I think that the women felt like they could not ban together out of fear. The fear that the Taliban would attack them, the fear that their husbands would leave them, and fear for thier families. Women also don't have many rights after the Taliban took over the governement.
I think that banning together would have called too much unwanted attention to these women, who feared for their lives. The Taliban had taken away almost every single right that the women of Afganistan had. This made them fear doing things like rebelling.
With no means to mobilize, any attempt to rebel would likely be fruitless. The Taliban took away education, which has the potential to raise people from ignorance and spur civil disobedience. Also, I assume a general sense of hopelessness overtook most women during that time, as new laws slowly spread like an insidious disease.
Probably after witnessing the horrifying effects of previous rebellions, most women were afraid for their life. That, or women just lost hope of their lives going back to normal. Seeing such terror and force, it probably seemed that the Taliban would never leave.
Well not just the women, why didnt the men and women revolt? Well for both the men and women their fear of the Taliban must have been greater than their want of freedom. For example instead of creating a hidden school Lafita could have created a headquaters for a revolt. But it was difficult to hide meetings under the rule of the Taliban. Also the women were made to feel very weak and depressed. They werent even allowed out of their houses without their husbands or brothers.
I think that a reason why the women didnt just ban together was because they felt inferior. The men in the Taliban made sure to supress their freedoms and made them feel they did not have the power do do anything. Also, fighting back would just cause more turmoil and anger within the country.
It was virtually impossible to rebel under the control of the Taliban. The Taliban created rules like how women have to wear a chadri to cover themselves. Yet, they still abuse women who are completely covered just for their own amusement. I don't think they will even give women a chance to speak/voice their opinions. If they try, I think the Taliban will just go more out of control (because their so paranoid of women like that...) and cause even more havoc in Afghanistan.
10 comments:
Well, after reading the book, I am guessing that it was/is impossible for women to ban together and voice their opinions without being seen as rebels. The scene when Shakila went to pick up her paycheck from the airlines was probably the most successful example of women rebeling and in some sense, succeeding. The Taliban have been able to create a set of rules without any loopholes. They have basically made it impossible for women to have any voice.
Most of the women were probably too terrified to rebel. The Taliban severely punished anyone who they deemed a threat to their authority, and frequently did so unjustly. Furthermore, horrifying stories of people victimized by the terror of the Taliban, such as that of Mrs. Zarmina, were common and spread rapidly through the population. It is no surprise that the women were terrified of the consequences they would face if they attempted to ban together to rebel and ended up failing.
I guess the women were just too scared to even think of showing any resistance. There also seemed littler opportunity for them to even talk to each other to get an idea of what to do.
I think that the women felt like they could not ban together out of fear. The fear that the Taliban would attack them, the fear that their husbands would leave them, and fear for thier families. Women also don't have many rights after the Taliban took over the governement.
I think that banning together would have called too much unwanted attention to these women, who feared for their lives. The Taliban had taken away almost every single right that the women of Afganistan had. This made them fear doing things like rebelling.
With no means to mobilize, any attempt to rebel would likely be fruitless. The Taliban took away education, which has the potential to raise people from ignorance and spur civil disobedience. Also, I assume a general sense of hopelessness overtook most women during that time, as new laws slowly spread like an insidious disease.
Probably after witnessing the horrifying effects of previous rebellions, most women were afraid for their life. That, or women just lost hope of their lives going back to normal. Seeing such terror and force, it probably seemed that the Taliban would never leave.
Well not just the women, why didnt the men and women revolt? Well for both the men and women their fear of the Taliban must have been greater than their want of freedom. For example instead of creating a hidden school Lafita could have created a headquaters for a revolt. But it was difficult to hide meetings under the rule of the Taliban. Also the women were made to feel very weak and depressed. They werent even allowed out of their houses without their husbands or brothers.
I think that a reason why the women didnt just ban together was because they felt inferior. The men in the Taliban made sure to supress their freedoms and made them feel they did not have the power do do anything. Also, fighting back would just cause more turmoil and anger within the country.
It was virtually impossible to rebel under the control of the Taliban. The Taliban created rules like how women have to wear a chadri to cover themselves. Yet, they still abuse women who are completely covered just for their own amusement. I don't think they will even give women a chance to speak/voice their opinions. If they try, I think the Taliban will just go more out of control (because their so paranoid of women like that...) and cause even more havoc in Afghanistan.
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