|
||||
|
November 1, 2001 'Smatter Of Fact It’s a shade ironic that people who regard the U.S. Constitution and other documents as virtually sacred text will at times insist violations of liberty elsewhere in the world are "none of our business." It just so happens that when another part of the world subjects us to that business, we feel entitled to bomb them into oblivion and then say we’re defending freedom. We’d do very well to rethink the lexicon surrounding this issue, but, fine. Although I oppose this war, if we’re determined to defend freedom, then let’s do it! The rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness... (Declaration of Independence) The Taliban does not recognize a woman’s liberty to leave her home without an escort who is A) a relative and B) a male. Depending on the circumstances, doing otherwise can be a capital crime. It is true that not all Muslim women are oppressed and that some freely choose a lifestyle non-Muslim women might find unacceptable. However, it is also true that Afghani women are not offered any choice. Neither are they offered justice. In 1996, when a woman was killed by a Taliban vehicle, the governor of Herat turned aside demands for an investigation. "We keep telling you that women don’t have the right to go outside their houses...It is a good lesson to other women not to go outside their houses," he said. (Source: Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan, or RAWA). If our government were to restrict the freedom of movement of some of its citizens, would we put our heads in the sand and say, "That’s their business?" If our officials were to come out and say, as the Taliban have, "Our current restrictions of women are necessary in order to bring the people under control," would we accept this? (New York Times, Oct. 19). Bear in mind that this "control" is often achieved through gang rape, even of young girls, intimidation and murder to a far greater degree than by fatwa (religious decree). The right of the people to keep and bear arms... The thinking of Second Amendment defenders is that an unarmed populace is a controlled populace. The Taliban exerted control when they apparently tortured a man named Abdul Qayum to death. According to RAWA, his crime was owning weapons. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion... Freedom of religion is perhaps so obvious we needn’t address the Taliban’s gross violations of it. To avoid harassment, members of other sects were forced to wear a yellow badge. The Taliban called this "protection" — thereby acknowledging religious persecution. Although "foreigners" have by now been ordered out of Afghanistan, the government still persecutes its own people. It punishes men for such "un-Islamic" infractions as having beards deemed too short, and humiliates boys whose hair it deems too long. It requires the death penalty for those convicted of proselytizing faiths other than Islam. ...cruel and unusual punishments (shall not be) inflicted. In 1996, the Taliban publicly hacked off the hands and feet of three accused of robbery, then paraded the lopped-of appendages through the streets of Abunasen Lycee. According to RAWA, this is not an uncommon occurrence. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated. In 1995, woman in Jozjan was killed by the Dostum militia when she refused their advances. Subsequently, all of her relatives were allegedly kidnapped from the family home, so that no one could bring charges against the militia. If this is not violation of the security of one’s person and one’s home, nothing is. (RAWA) ...the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury... This right we cherish is a dream for Afghani people. How would we react to no trial — or indeed, no actual charge before punishment is meted out? This allegedly happened to a 65-year-old man in 1998. The Taliban arrested him without comment, threw him into the Amou River, and shot him to death as he tried to swim ashore. (RAWA) In the U.S., we haven’t tolerated garbage like this since 1776 — and the British government in colonial times was a far cry from the Taliban. If war with Afghanistan must be, let it be worth something. Even if the U.S. cannot police the world, we should still defend for others what we value for ourselves. Let freedom ring. |
||||
|
Copyright © 2001 the Cortez Journal.
All rights reserved. |
