The oppression and abuse of Afghan women and girls is a tragic reality. Unfortunately, this reality stems from long-standing, ultra-religious conservatism, which is common throughout the Middle East and other parts of the world as well. I would argue that what lies underneath the ability to govern from religious conservatism is the real tragedy, however. Let’s take a closer look.
Patriarchy and the Taliban
In order for us to resolve such complicated issues, we must be willing to honestly look at the cause. Religious conservatism is not about truth as it pertains to spirituality. It is about power and control. As we have discussed in previous articles, this involves the adoption of a patriarchal approach to governance, as men desire to have all the power in society and rule accordingly. The Taliban is of course an extreme version of this and has allowed them to engage in all kinds of violence against women. The fact that they use their misconceived perception of God, or their misinterpretation of divinely inspired writings as an excuse to have power has had a devastating effect on others, especially women, as we can see. “Using God’s name in vain” applies here. There is no justification for abuse and violence ever. This is not what the universe is all about. The unfortunate reality is that women have basically been viewed as “less than human” in all religions and all parts of the world throughout history. The development of patriarchy as a governing philosophy was created by men alone. The universal reality is one of equality. The idea that God would create half of humanity as less than the other half is ludicrous, to say the least. The oppression and abuse of women throughout the ages is the tragic result of the insidious idea of patriarchy as reality.
Evil as Limitation
I typically don’t like to use the term “evil” in my work, as it brings up some serious misunderstandings about its actual meaning. In order for us to find workable solutions to resolve difficult issues, it’s important to rise above the emotional connotations of evil as presented by the various religious institutions. Evil from a universal perspective is really about limitation. We must always be aware of our ultimate goal as humanity, and view life as an opportunity to grow and move forward. This is the universal intent, all things considered. We must view religious conservatism and political conservatism within this context. We are in the process of establishing equality as the only reality in all societies of the world. Evil can be understood then as “imposed limitation” and is undesirable, for it is merely an attempt to hang on to the past, or an attempt to move way back into the past as provided by the Taliban, and other such ultra-conservative religious organizations. Real spiritual power cannot be established through selfish intent and motivation. This is true limitation or “evil” and is what we must all fight against. Oppression, violence, and abuse have no place here.
U.S. Involvement
The attempt by the United States over the last twenty years or so in Afghanistan to provide protection to women, or to establish the beginnings of a Democratic approach toward governance, is noble, for sure. It has proved to be unrealistic, however. The constant conflict in the Middle East, over many centuries now, has unfortunately affected the entire world. There have been countless efforts by the U.S., and other countries as well, to intervene and help improve the conditions found there. I don’t think anyone could view these attempts as successful by any stretch of the imagination. The reality is that freedom and equality must be chosen by the people in every area of the world. To a certain extent, we need to allow everyone the opportunity to find their own way. I am not suggesting that intervention is not required in certain circumstances, but we need to find a better solution. It is true that the United States should not be the “police force” for the entire world. It in fact will be required that the entire world become involved in resolving these conflicts. I would argue that one of the reasons this isn’t happening is due to the patriarchy that still exists in most places of our world. If the majority of men truly believed in the importance of women, we would all be in Afghanistan helping out. The cruelty and violence toward women are heartbreaking, devastating, and can no longer be allowed. Is this about money? Of course, it is. Everything is always about money. Who has most of the money and resources? Men. This is the hard truth. We will remain unable to make the necessary corrections in our world without being honest about what is.
The loving and “spiritually appropriate” action humanity can take is to help all women in the world be important and equal in all endeavors. This must happen in order for all of us to be at peace. We must finally understand within our own hearts that no human being should suffer cruelty, oppression, and violence of any kind. For any human being to justify such behavior through the guise of “religious authority” is the biggest travesty of all.
All my love and support, stay safe and be well