Afghanistan and the Taliban

On Monday evening I watched 4Corners on ABC TV. It featured a story about a young Afghan girl who was taken to Britain when she was 5 years old and had a burning desire to return to see ‘her country’, Afghanistan.

She met up with her family and cousins and travelled out of the city of Kabul to see what was happening in the countryside. She was obliged to wear the Burqa to fend off the almost threatening looks of males and indeed females. She found complete suppression of females, and students at a girls’ school were frightened that they would also be, like other girls’ school students, attacked by the Taliban.

The male domination also extends to family members. Her cousin, a young man, told her that he would be humiliated if she didn’t ‘toe the line’. Shades of the ‘Honour Killings’ practiced in India and Pakistan.

She returned to Britain saddened by the condition of her country…even though there is much more freedom after the routing of the Taliban regime; glad that her parents opted for a life of freedom and emigrated to the U.K..

I hope that all the rednecks who decry boat people for attempting to come to Australia saw that program. In the same position I would use any means available to get out of that hellhole.

Sadly, some of the Afghans and Iraquis who do manage to gain entry to Australia bring along some of their bad habits…the Burqa and male domination.

Despite the might of the U.S. military, the U.N. and allies, when the west has declared the war won and leave, the Taliban will return.