Serenity,

That is a lovely idea. Perhaps someday they can return and help their country. I live near Fremont, CA which is often called Little Kabul. This is a community whose roots go back more than 30 years to refugee resettlement after the Russian invasion. Most of their children and grandchildren have never seen their parents home land. So yes, they have flourished outside the restrictions of traditional Afghan society. Not many I know would be willing to go back now but perhaps a newer generation of refugees will.

“ however to my understanding there are numerous examples around the world that show that when women are given opportunity, the whole society benefits and the standard of living improves for all. It makes sense. If 100% of adults are given the opportunity to work and to go out into the world to support the family, the results obviously will be more favorable than if only 50% of adults are given that opportunity.“

That is absolutely correct! From my POV, unfortunately, this has to be done in baby steps. Change comes incredibly slowly to isolated tribal societies. I am certainly not arguing against freedoms and education for women but solving grinding poverty, high child mortality and everything that goes with it has to come first. And it has to happen, if foreign agencies are involved, with the utmost consideration for a cultural that is almost unimaginable to most of us. Sadly, whether for men or women, education has never been a high priority for the country as a whole and the low literacy rate speaks to that.

I was the English teacher for Ariana Afghan Airlines. I taught a class to mechanics at the airport as they owned three Boeing aircraft at the time and the manuals are in English. The first time I gave a test, several of the students were freely sharing answers. When I asked them to work on their own they couldn’t understand why. Turns out, they didn’t really view it as cheating. They were simply helping friends which was much more important to them than the integrity of the test. I taught the flight attendants as well and they pretty much did the same thing. This is just a mild illustration of how differently two cultures view the same situation. Despite some of them having terrible English they were repairing aircraft and were responsible for in flight safety. Is it any wonder that they are not allowed to operate in any EU country? When I was there they flew to London and Frankfurt.
Bottom line for me? You can’t educate or help educate people whose children routinely die before age five, who have little food or clean water (a majority of childhood deaths are caused by water borne illnesses) and have to fight just to survive. When that is solved, or perhaps while it’s being solved, then we can talk education. I love that country dearly but I am very clear eyed about reality there and it’s far more complicated than most people think.

You apologize? No my dear beesie, I should. My decades old passion for Afghanistan always gets the better of me. Yes, I have no doubt that the Taliban will bring violence and terror to anyone they perceive as western or breaking the rules of their extreme version of Islam. The story of Ms. Barakzai will likely be repeated far too many times.

I saw one tiny glimmer of hope on the news today. This day, August 19 is Afghan Independence Day (British war). This was a big holiday. I remember going to a fair at the Jashun Grounds in Kabul. Today there was a small group of demonstrators waving the Afghan flag (not the Taliban flag) in Kabul. They were soon dispersed by the Taliban but it heartened me to see Afghans taking up the mantle of resistance. I have no idea how far this movement will get but Afghans themselves must save their own country. History has shown that foreigners simply can’t, for hundreds of reasons, but I hope Afghans can. I realize how pessimistic that sounds and I hate that I feel that way but I’ve been a student of that country since that July day in 1977 when I stepped off the plane in Kabul. As a side note, the airport is totally unrecognizable to me. What a mess

And I have been compulsively watching news coverage from Kabul and am depressed. I started watched crime shows because even those were less depressing. Sometimes I think of my little house in Kabul and wonder if it’s still there.

I can't find it now, but I read an essay positing that many of the ancient Venus figures may actually be self-portraits by women. The large breasts and tapering feet are similar to what a woman sees as she looks at her body directly from above. Oh wait! I found it!

A Feminist History of Self-Portraiture

"The idea that the Venus figure could be a woman's self-portrait is a very real and logical possibility. Did I read that right, that this sculpture is only 2 1/2 inches in height? Rather incredible that something that size it was even found!"

DivineMrsM, yes, it's small. About the size of a whittled figure, which also speaks to it being a piece of personal expression rather than having religious significance. An item for active worship is typically large, so a group can revere it together. Personal worship items are usually protective charms, which are very small. At 2 1/2 inches, it's in between; but of a good size to comfortably hold in a female hand and say, "This is me."

The Venus figure reminded me of a book I read in a philosophy of religion course I took in college, great book that really made me think: When God Was a Woman

I like those memes on Adam and Eve.

Tangentially related to this thread: I was in surgery yesterday (reconstruction), and realized when they wheeled me in that this time my ENTIRE TEAM was female-presenting. And for just a second before the anesthesia kicked in, I thought, "This is nice!" And afterwards, I can't help but feel like we've made progress. Not all the progress we need, not as quickly as would be good, but having an all-female surgical team is not something we would have seen when I was born.

And then I think about Texas and how insurance will cover anything I need/want now with my breasts -- because yay, boobies! men love boobs! --, but God forbid I get raped and impregnated. Then, somehow, depending on what state I live in, my ability to decide what is right or best for my health and my body is at minimum, questioned, and at worst, superseded by people with the misguided belief that my life is worth less than cells I did not put in my body and do not want there, that because some man was a psycho and raped me, his sperm and my egg and the little conglomeration of cells they form is worth more than my life or the life of the child who may result from that pregnancy.

*sigh*

But yay, female surgical teams?

Divine, yeah, this law sucks but I do think the fight over it will lead it it being overturned. Beyond the ban itself, it seems almost too complicated to prosecute.

I will say though that Texas has a lot going for it, just not so much in the big cities.