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And as far as Kabul goes, Jane, can’t it be assumed that most urban centers, globally, are more modernized socially than the outlying rural areas? I am not sure, so correct me if I’m wrong, but my limited knowledge tells me that the majority of the Afghani population does not reside in the urban areas. Isn’t it correct to assume that the vast majority of women in Afghanistan have always been subject to Sharia law, or, at the very least, under some sort of tribal code of conduct?

And, djjl, I really can’t imagine what that “agenda” might be that you have conjured up for me. It seems that I rarely see the situation in Iraq discussed as it applies to women’s rights. In fact, I seem to recall numerous instances of this monkey George Bush bragging about how wonderful things are for Iraqi women since we “liberated” them from that meanie monster, terrorist supporter, and fiendish hoarder of WMDs, Saddam Hussein.

So, whatever. Women’s rights pretty much suck in Saudio Arabia, Afghanistan, AND Iraq. But hey, if you all feel more comfortable limiting the conversation to Afghanistan, so be it. Uh, gee, is that an “agenda”?

As to Iraqi women it’s true what you claim – women have lost many of the rights that they had just like the women in Afghanistan. I am neither demonizing Afghanistan nor calling Iraq a success (actually I believe that Iraq is an extreme failure).

Ah, yes, the glass is always empty contingent speaks, pretending to be a contrarian to an issue that should be joined not whined that somewhere over here something isn’t happening. Priceless, POA, but thanks for the chuckle.

I was on the air immediately before the Iraq war was voted upon and I was against it when it wasn’t exactly popular to say so. I railed against the Iraq war and continued to do so from the start. In that campaign was the issue of women, as I’ve been talking about the subject long before you turned up here.

Reality is that no leader has signed such a law as Karzai, which is the subject at hand. It would be nice if once you addressed this topic instead of choosing your own platform that belittles what’s being talked about.

Iraq, however, is another story. Our meddling in Iraq has set back women’s rights to a degree that women will never enjoy the freedoms and opportunities they once enjoyed prior to our feckless tampering in their society. Pre ’91, women had employment and educational opportunities that are unheard of in the other middle eastern countries, with the possible exception of Jordan.

I imagine, this woman’s right thing is just one more tool of the propagandists. Its fashionable to demonize Afghanistan right now, while blathering a bunch of nonsense about the “success” in Iraq. Judging by the million or so dead Iraqi non-combatants and the millions displaced, and considering our hand-in-hand relationship with the Saudis, our expression of humanitarian concerns for issues such as “women’s rights” is purely a cosmetic one, at least at the level of our leadership.

Yes, its tragic how women are treated in Afghanistan. But we cannot pay heed to that tragedy honestly if we refuse to recognize our own hand in destroying women’s rights in Iraq. The women in Afghanistan are victims of the norms of Afghani society, the women in Iraq are victims of our meddling.

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Please support the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan. I have supported RAWA since its inception in the ’90s and find it one of the most worthy organizations that we can support.

Here is their web site.

http://www.rawa.org/index.php