2022年经济学人 阿富汗的女孩想上学都是奢望(1)

Asia

亚洲版块

Afghanistan

阿富汗

No country for young women

年轻女性没有属于自己的国家了

The Taliban are pushing females out of public life

塔利班正在将女性排挤出公共生活

On March 23rd thousands of Afghan girls headed to school for the first time in eight months, kitted out in bulging¹ rucksacks, neatly² pressed headscarves and covid-19 face masks.

3月23日，数千名阿富汗女孩8个月来第一次去上学，她们背着鼓鼓囊囊的背包，戴着熨平的头巾和新冠肺炎口罩。

Within hours, they were at home in tears—and not because of playground fights or test results.

几个小时后，她们就泪流满面地回到了家里——不是因为操场上打架，也不是因为考试结果。

In a last-minute pivot³, the Taliban had backtracked on a decision to reopen secondary schools for girls and sent them home.

在最后关头，塔利班撤回了让女孩重新开学的决定，并将她们遣送回家。

The new Taliban are beginning to look a lot like the old Taliban who ran Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, when women who failed to cover every inch of flesh in public were beaten and adulterers were stoned to death.

新的塔利班开始变得很像1996年至2001年统治阿富汗的旧塔利班，当时妇女在公共场合不遮身就会被殴打，通奸者会被石头砸死。

But Afghan women have changed after two decades of American-backed government.

但在美国支持的政府执政20年后，阿富汗女性发生了变化。

Many have university degrees.

许多人都有大学学位。

Before the Taliban seized power last year, almost 30% of civil servants were women.

在去年塔利班夺取政权之前，几乎30%的公务员是女性。

On the streets of Kabul book-waving girls have been chanting: “open the schools”.

在喀布尔的街道上，挥舞着书本的女孩们一直在高呼：“学校开学”。

When American forces withdrew from Afghanistan, the big question was how the Taliban would make the transition from a fundamentalist insurgency⁴ to running a country.

当美军从阿富汗撤军时，最大的问题是塔利班将如何实现从原教旨主义叛乱到管理国家的过渡。

Girls' education became the litmus test.

女孩的教育成了试金石。

In August there was some hope they wanted to show a gentler face.

8月份，人们曾希望他们能展现出温和的一面。

Officials were interviewed by female presenters⁵ on television.

官员们在电视上接受了女性主持人的采访。

At the Taliban’s first press conference after seizing power, a spokesman reassured⁶ the world that women would be “very active” in Afghan society.

在塔利班夺取政权后的首次新闻发布会上，一位发言人向世界保证，妇女将在阿富汗社会中“非常活跃”。

That balancing act seems over.

这种平衡行动似乎已经结束。

The abrupt⁷ u-turn on education, which affects over 1m school-age girls, is one of a string of recent repressive edicts.

这一突如其来的教育政策大转弯影响了100多万学龄女孩，是最近一系列的压制性法令之一。

New rules ban women from travelling long distances without a male chaperone.

新规定禁止女性在没有男性陪同的情况下长途旅行。

That can mean they need a brother or a husband to enter a government building or a taxi.

这可能意味着她们需要兄弟或丈夫才能进入政府大楼或出租车。

A surgeon in Kabul says Taliban officials often visit, warning him not to see female patients who turn up alone.

喀布尔的一名外科医生说，塔利班官员经常来访，警告他不要给单独来的女性患者看病。

“This is a sad moment for all of us,” he adds.

“这对我们所有人来说都是一个悲伤的时刻，”他补充道。

1 bulging   

膨胀； 凸出（部）； 打气； 折皱

参考例句：

• Her pockets were bulging with presents. 她的口袋里装满了礼物。
• Conscious of the bulging red folder, Nim told her,"Ask if it's important." 尼姆想到那个鼓鼓囊囊的红色文件夹便告诉她：“问问是不是重要的事。”

2 neatly   

adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地

参考例句：

• Sailors know how to wind up a long rope neatly.水手们知道怎样把一条大绳利落地缠好。
• The child's dress is neatly gathered at the neck.那孩子的衣服在领口处打着整齐的皱褶。

3 pivot   

v.在枢轴上转动；装枢轴，枢轴；adj.枢轴的

参考例句：

• She is the central pivot of creation and represents the feminine aspect in all things.她是创造的中心枢轴，表现出万物的女性面貌。
• If a spring is present,the hand wheel will pivot on the spring.如果有弹簧，手轮的枢轴会装在弹簧上。

4 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

5 presenters   

n.节目主持人，演播员( presenter的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Each week presenters would put the case for their favourite candidate. 每个星期主持人推出他们最喜欢的候选人。 来自互联网
• Karaoke was set up to allowed presenters to sing on the stage. 宴会设有歌唱舞台，可让出席者大演唱功。 来自互联网

6 reassured   

adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The captain's confidence during the storm reassured the passengers. 在风暴中船长的信念使旅客们恢复了信心。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The doctor reassured the old lady. 医生叫那位老妇人放心。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 abrupt   

adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的

参考例句：

• The river takes an abrupt bend to the west.这河突然向西转弯。
• His abrupt reply hurt our feelings.他粗鲁的回答伤了我们的感情。