We are currently seeing a renewed effort to rebrand Afghanistan as a war for Human Rights, and in particular Women's rights.
The current issue of TIME Magazine has a front cover photo of an 18 year old Afghan woman called Aisha whose nose has been cut off and the headline "What happens if we leave Afghanistan".
The Editorial and other stories and interviews go on to tell us all about the horrific treatment of women by the Taliban. And I have no reason to doubt any of the claims of brutal oppression. What I don't believe is the Editorial assertion that "We do not run this story or show this image either in support of the U.S. war effort or in opposition to it."
And why do I not trust their intentions? Because half the truth is as bad as a lie. The editorial promises to give us something we 'cannot find in those 91,000 documents' (Wikileaks War Diary), but it is precisely what Time Magazine left out that shows their bias.
There was no mention of women being beaten, imprison, raped or kidnapped by the Northern Alliance allies of the US. Not because it doesn't happen of course, but because it doesn't fit the official position. Much like the crimes of the Taliban during the 90's were covered up while they were busily negotiating pipeline deals with UNOCAL, the brutality of US allies is off limits, until they fall out of favour of course.
One group I would trust more than TIME magazine, is RAWA, brave Afghan Women who have been campainging for women's rights in Afghanistan since 1977.
Here's what they had to say about it the emancipation of Afghan Women.
"Emancipation of Afghan Women not attainable as long as the occupation taliban and national front criminal are not sacked"
You can see more in this video Rethink Afghanistan part 5 - Women of Afghanistan.
Malalai Joya, a young female Afghan MP is a brave, inspiring and determined woman whom I've had the pleasure to have briefly met last year in Strasbourg. As well as opposing the death and destruction of the occupation, she is very angry about the lies and betrayal of women still ongoing.
She refers to Hilary Clinton speaking about conditions to bring the Taliban into a negotiated settlement. After outlining the conditions the Taliban must reach, she did mention womens rights, not as a condition, but merely something 'on a personal note'.
Another reason I don't trust the intentions of the TIMES Editorial is a classified CIA document leaked in March which listed of hot-button topics that could be manipulated to get support for the war. Benefits was one (just prior to the Lithium gold rush story) and human rights was another and specifically the cynical use of women's rights as an argument for supporting the war.
The document was called "Afghanistan: Sustaining West European Support for the NATO-led
Mission-Why Counting on Apathy Might Not Be Enough".
This document discusses proposed PR strategies to focus on pressure points that have been identified within the populations of NATO allies. It is classified as Confidential / No Foreign Nationals. If you read the document, it's all about a tailored response to falling support for the mission, not any actual concern for the Afghans.
In relation to the issue of women's rights, the leaked CIA document stated "Afghan women could serve as ideal messengers in humanizing the ISAF role in combating the Taliban because of women’s ability to speak personally and credibly about their experiences under the Taliban, their aspirations for the future, and their fears of a Taliban victory. Outreach initiatives that create media opportunities for Afghan women to share their stories with French, German, and other European women could help to overcome pervasive skepticism among women in Western Europe toward the ISAF mission.".
One of the women in the Rethink Afghanistan video, Orzala Ashraf, of the Afghan Women's Network says 'I do not believe an outside power can liberate me. If I cannot liberate myself, noone else can'.
That is true in one sense, but certainly we must try to stop other nations from assisting the very people who would continue to oppress them, whether that is the Northern Alliance or the Taliban.
Women's rights are not something to be traded or ignored or used simply as a hot button issue whenever the ratings dip.
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