planet earth looks blue

As the power and reach of the Taliban grows, those who suffer most are the young women.  The Taliban interprets Islamic Law to imply that girls are not allowed to be educated.  In fact, they are not supposed to have any exposure to the world or knowledge, preferably being sheltered within their homes or underneath the veil of the burka.  For the girls in Taliban-controlled areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan this means no stimulation, no books, no thought, no means to further oneself, just a thick cement wall, well actually four of them.  The irony is that they are destroying their people’s future by abolishing girls schools.  Here are all these young women who want to become doctors, teachers, writers; they want to contribute to society.  Without them, how can a society be successful?  

In the Swat Valley of Pakistan, the Taliban has shut down more than two hundred schools.  Girls who have attended school in Taliban territory have literally been subjected to death threats just for walking out the door.  Many families have moved to other areas of Pakistan, but fear the Taliban will only continue to expand.  

The Taliban controlled Afghanistan from 1996 until 2001.  Basically, from the departure of the Soviet Union following the Soviet-Afghan War, to the invasion of the United States.  As Afghanistan has once again become a war zone, the Taliban has been able to take advantage of the weak American-backed government.  With increasing political discord in Pakistan as well, they have managed to take control of the border regions between the two countries.  

Fortunately there is one man out there who is fighting the onslaught of dis-education.  Founder of the Central Asia Institute - Greg Mortenson.  He has been building schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan since the late 1990’s.  I have written about him before and will probably write about him again.  He is truly a hero of modern times, and a beacon in our present international system, where many groups are left forgotten.