If you're like me, you're watching events in Afghanistan unfold with heartbroken anxiety. (And there's Haiti, but let's take one tragedy at a time.) I'm not usually a sucker for the broadcast news kicker (though once upon a time, I loved to write them), but David Muir punched the breath out of me with this one.
.@DavidMuir reports with a moving image from Kabul showing Afghan girls walking to school despite growing fears their freedom could be in jeopardy. https://t.co/uYhQDir8yx pic.twitter.com/bcJytv0415
— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) August 17, 2021
After talking to our daughter, 22, my wife shared the realization that today's young adults don't have contemporary recollection of the brutality of Taliban rule in pre-9/11 Afghanistan, especially the implications for women's freedom and education.
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| Afghan women in literacy class in 2008 (U.N. photo CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) |
That prompted me to wonder whether this Taliban is the same as that Taliban. Is there any hope? I noticed Taliban leaders on TV giving interviews to female reporters. I wasn't the only one who noticed. My academic colleague James Dorsey, my favorite commentator on MENA and author of the blog, The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer, has published a commentary on point, in print and podcast.
Spoiler alert, Dorsey does not reach the conclusion that this is somehow a kinder and gentler Taliban. But at this point, we have to salvage any hope we can.
[UPDATE, Aug. 18.] A friend pointed me to this fundraising site, which is genuine: Support Afghan Guides and Fixers. One of its organizers is Lupine Travel, a partner of mine and a solid UK-based enterprise.
[UPDATE, Aug. 22.] Check out this fascinating interview (Aug. 19) at PRI's The World with the exiled captain of Afghan women's soccer.
