My NYT Comment #114 published April 16, 2009 8:36 am
Women, Patriarchy, Religion, Militarism & the Ethics of Tolerance in the South Asia Region
How interesting that Randy Cohen is posing the question of Tolerance (see below) as a living ethical precept. That's vitally important to do. But here, as elsewhere, the additional crucial questions are -- Tolerance of what? By Whom? Of Whom? What is the specific political context in which the precept of Tolerance is being posited? What is the social-political location of the one posing the questions?
Afghan women have been courageous for decades, actually centuries. This street protest (against an ordinance signed by Karzai, that targets mainly Shiite women), is the latest example of Afghan women's civil society heroism, their capacity to survive and endure, assert their human dignity, raise and protect their families.
It is a grave mistake to construct and advocate a division between Afghan women and Afghan men.
Afghan women and men belong to the same social fabric and their lives are bound together by common aspirations for escape from poverty, freedom from hunger, freedom from violence and a desire for employment, education, peace, stability, dignity.
Afghan men have suffered and endured, because men were particularly targeted during British colonial campaigns against them. Their fierce resistance defeated every British attempt to colonize them.
Before the Brits, Afghan men were forcibly recruited by every conqueror coming through the mountain passes, on their way to set up empires in New Delhi, or simply to loot and carry away treasure from western and northern India.
Now, after the end of repressive and exploitative colonial occupation by the Brits and after the 9-year Soviet debacle in Afghanistan, Afghan women and men jointly face the daily neo-imperial threat of US and US-led NATO campaigns against them.
Did the US (using Pakistan's ISI) create, train and fund the Mujahadeen who evolved into the Taliban? Was Osama bin Laden the CIA's star pupil?
Into the above toxic mix, throw in Saudi Wahabbism supported by weapons and fueled by Saudi money, a fact conveniently ignored by the US govt as the US shields its longstanding repressive petrodollar ally.
The US and US-led NATO have absolutely no legitimacy in Afghanistan or Pakistan.
They must get out ASAP, so that AFGHAN WOMEN can forge their own destiny together with their male kin, their families and communities and their own political and religious leaders.
The US, US-led NATO presence distorts any possibility of normalcy and creates new problems for the entire South Asia region.
Chithra KarunaKaran
Ethical Democracy As Lived Practice
http://EthicalDemocracy.blogspot.com
— EthicalDemocracy, New York, NY
---------------------------------------
New York Times copyright
The Limits of Tolerance
By Randy Cohen
http://ethicist.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/14/limited-tolerance/?apage=5#comments
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My comment April 16, 2009 8:25 am
Women, Patriarchy, Religion, Militarism
Afghan women have been courageous for decades, actually centuries. This street protest (against an ordinance signed by Karzai, that targets mainly Shiite women), is the latest example of Afghan women's civil society heroism, their capacity to survive and endure, assert their human dignity, raise and protect their families.
It is a grave mistake to construct and advocate a division between Afghan women and Afghan men.
Afghan women and men belong to the same social fabric and their lives are bound together by common aspirations for escape from poverty, freedom from hunger, freedom from violence and a desire for employment, education, peace, stability, dignity.
Afghan men have suffered and endured, because men were particularly targeted during British colonial campaigns against them. Their fierce resistance defeated every British attempt to colonize them.
Before the Brits, Afghan men were forcibly recruited by every conqueror coming through the mountain passes, on their way to set up empires in New Delhi, or simply to loot and carry away treasure from western and northern India.
Now, after the end of repressive and exploitative colonial occupation by the Brits and after the 9-year Soviet debacle in Afghanistan, Afghan women and men jointly face the daily neo-imperial threat of US and US-led NATO campaigns against them.
Did the US (using Pakistan's ISI) create, train and fund the Mujahadeen who evolved into the Taliban? Was Osama bin Laden the CIA's star pupil?
Into the above toxic mix, throw in Saudi Wahabbism supported by weapons and fueled by Saudi money, a fact conveniently ignored by the US govt as the US shields its longstanding repressive petrodollar ally.
The US and US-led NATO have absolutely no legitimacy in Afghanistan or Pakistan.
They must get out ASAP, so that AFGHAN WOMEN can forge their own destiny together with their male kin, their families and communities and their own political and religious leaders.
The US, US-led NATO presence distorts any possibility of normalcy and creates new problems for the entire South Asia region.
Chithra KarunaKaran
Ethical Democracy As Lived Practice
http://EthicalDemocracy.blogspot.com
— EthicalDemocracy, New York, NY
------------------------
My NYT comment #24 published
April 15, 2009 8:18 am
April 15th, 2009 4:26 am
Women, Religion and Militarism
As the editorial (below) notes, a woman was publicly flogged in Swat in Pakistan and earlier Afghanistan's Karzai signed into law an edit that appears to sanction rape in marriage.
Both these incidents show how religion and patriarchal culture can be deployed as deadly weapons against women.
But ...
I would submit that the US govt. and the US-led NATO forces don't give a hoot for women in either Pakistan or Afghanistan.
It seems hypocritical to argue that the US is concerned about women, when drone strikes kill women and children from the air. This happened (again) last week in a NATO airstrike and the civilian death toll which included women and children, was confirmed by President Karzai, with no denial from the US.
There's more to come, with more women dying when Obama sends more troops.
How would Obama feel if his wife and two daughters were killed in a drone strike?
Chithra KarunaKaran
Ethical Democracy As Lived Practice
http://EthicalDemocracy.blogspot.com
--------------------------------------------------
New York Times copyright
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/15/opinion/15wed1.html
Editorial: Women, Extremism and Two Key States
Published: April 14, 2009
http://community.nytimes.com/article/comments/2009/04/15/opinion/15wed1.html
