Young Women Who Grew Up Without the Taliban Fear Their Return

 

Sultana Karimi works in Ms. Sadat's Beauty Store in Afghanistan's capital. She found bravery and her love for beauty in the store.

She and the other young women working or training in the store never experienced the rule of the Taliban over Afghanistan.

But they all worry that their dreams will come to an end if the extreme militants¹ regain² any power, even if it happens as part of a new government.

Karimi said if the Taliban returns, life will change and be ruined. She continued, "Women will be sent into hiding, they'll be forced to wear the burqa to go out of their homes."

She wore a bright, yellow shirt that was unusual even for the all-women store. She would not have been able to wear the shirt under the Taliban.

The Taliban ruled in Afghanistan until the 2001 US-led invasion.

The Taliban banned beauty stores in general. Their extreme ideas often affected³ women and girls the most. They banned women from education, work, and even traveling outside their homes without a male family member.

US troops are set to leave Afghanistan completely by September 11. Many Afghan women worry about their futures⁴ after U.S. troops leave.

Mahbouba Seraj is a women's rights activist⁵ in Afghanistan. She is the executive director of Afghan Women's Skill Development. She said women are closely watching the peace negotiations⁶ between the Taliban and the Afghan government over the post-withdrawal future. Right now, those negotiations are frozen.

The US is pushing for a power-sharing government that includes the Taliban. Seraj said women want written guarantees from the Taliban that they will not undo⁷ the gains made by women in the past 20 years. They also want the international community to hold the Taliban to its promises.

Seraj said, "I am not frustrated⁸ that the Americans are leaving ... the time was coming that the Americans would go home."

She and other women, however, want the US and NATO to demand a guarantee of women's rights from the Taliban.

Two weeks ago, the Taliban announced the type of government they would build.

The announcement promised that women can serve the country in education, business, health and social fields while wearing "correct" Islamic hijab. It promised girls would have the right to choose their own husbands. This is considered unacceptable in many traditional and tribal⁹ homes in Afghanistan where husbands are chosen by parents.

The announcement did not have many details. It did not guarantee that women could join politics or have the freedom to move without a male family member.

Many worry that the unclear terms the Taliban use in their promises, like "correct hijab," will permit them to enforce crushing judgements.

Ms. Sadat owns the beauty store. She was born in Iran to refugee parents. She said she was not allowed to own a business in Iran. So, she returned to a homeland she had never seen to open her store.

She asked to not be identified by her full name. She fears the attention could make her a target. She has been more careful as violence and bombings have increased in Kabul the past year. Many believe this points to a difficult future for Afghanistan after the Americans and NATO leave.

The women who are working or training in the store fear the Taliban. One worker said that just the name of the Taliban makes them afraid.

They are left to decide how much fear or compromise of their rights they can accept. Tamila Pazhman said she does not want "the old Afghanistan back." But she does want peace.

"If we know we will have peace, we will wear the hijab while we work and study," she said. "But there must be peace."

They all grew up during the fairly democratic last 20 years. Important gains were made by women since the Taliban was forced out. Girls are now in school, and women are now in Parliament, government and business.

They also know how quickly those rights can be removed in a deeply conservative country controlled by men.

Karimi said that women in Afghanistan who speak out have been oppressed and ignored. The majority of Afghan women will be quiet. She continued, "They know they will never receive any support."

Afghanistan remains¹⁰ one of the worst countries in the world for women. It is third, after Yemen and Syria, reports Georgetown University's Institute for Women, Peace and Security.

Life has changed little in centuries in most rural areas. Women wake when the sun rises and do much of the heavy labor¹¹ in the home and in the fields. They wear the traditional clothes that cover their whole body. According to UN estimates, one in three girls is married before age 18. They are most often forced marriages.

Words in This Story

burqa – n. a long piece of clothing that covers the face and body and that is worn by some Muslim women in public places

frustrated – adj. very angry, discouraged, or upset because of being unable to do or complete something

hijab – n. a head covering worn in public by some Muslim women

1 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

2 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

3 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

4 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。

5 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

6 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

7 undo   

vt.解开，松开；取消，撤销

参考例句：

• His pride will undo him some day.他的傲慢总有一天会毁了他。
• I managed secretly to undo a corner of the parcel.我悄悄地设法解开了包裹的一角。

8 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

10 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

11 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。