I was in the sixth grade, already reading the New York Times, when I first read about the Taliban in Afghanistan. It was a Sunday Times Magazine cover story and there was a picture of a woman, completely covered from head to toe who told the reporter that she had her M.D. but because of the Taliban she was no longer allowed to even leave her home without a male escort. I remember thinking, how strange it was that people wouldn't want doctors to work and help the sick and injured.
Fast forward 13 years and it seems that Afghan women are still confronted with the same problem. Despite Afghanistan's (supposed) liberation from the Taliban in 2001 a new law has been passed by both chambers of Parliament that would effectively make it illegal for Shiite a woman to resist her husband's sexual advances. She will need his permission to work outside of their home or even go to school, and finally, it would also be illegal for a women to refuse to dress the way her husband wants her to dress.
Although this problem can easily be perceived as black and white (and, emotionally, I really want it to be considered that way) the way in which the global community can put an end to these outrageous laws is not, unfortunately, black and white.
**Photo courtesy of UNHCR**
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