Something to think about

[radaro]

THIS IS SO VERY SAD......



This is a comparison of what you American ladies can expect and what the Taliban has imposed on the Afghanistan ladies. Even the poorest of American ladies have the right to improve their lot. I weep for the poor Miss Afghanistan.



On the left is Katie Harmon, Miss America, wearing the swimsuit she chose for the competition.

On the right is a typical Afghan girl, wearing the heavy smothering burqua as required by the Taliban regime.



Miss America is a junior at Portland State University, hoping to eventually get a Master's degree in Bioethics.

Miss Afghanistan is forbidden from receiving any education at all, and cannot read or write.



Miss America has worked as a lab assistant at both the Oregon Health Sciences University and the University of Puget Sound.

Miss Afghanistan is forbidden from working.



Miss America's father is an engineer. Her mother is a teacher.

Miss Afghanistan's father was shot by a gang of Taliban militants. Her mother begs for bread scraps since she cannot work or remarry.



Miss America wowed the judges by singing a Puccini aria, "O Mio Babbino Caro".

Miss Afghanistan is forbidden from singing or even listening to music of any kind.



Miss America will be traveling the nation nonstop during her reign.

Miss Afghanistan cannot leave her house without a male family member, cannot drive, and cannot be out after dark.



Miss America is an advocate for breast cancer research.

Miss Afghanistan cannot be treated by a male doctor, and for all practical purposes has no access to medical treatment of any kind.



Miss America can date, marry, or divorce anyone she chooses.

Miss Afghanistan will be stoned to death if caught in the company of a male outside of her family. She is likely to be sold into an arranged marriage to a man who already has two wives.



Miss America wears sunscreen on the beach to keep from burning.

Miss Afghanistan cannot live in a house with windows unless they are painted black. Since she must wear a burqua outside, her pale translucent skin has not seen a ray of sunlight in years.



Miss America could have been disqualified if her swimsuit did not meet pageant standards.

Miss Afghanistan can be flogged if the holes in the mesh covering her face are too large.



Miss America will decide how many children, if any, she wants to have.

Miss Afghanistan will be pregnant 3-4 times more often than Miss America.  Unfortunately, her babies are 25 times more likely to die in the first year. One out of four will not see their 5th birthday.



Miss America is majoring in speech communications at PSU.

Miss Afghanistan is forbidden from speaking in public.



Miss America is 21. Since the U. S. life expectancy for women is 80, she's still a very young woman.

Miss Afghanistan is also 21. But since the life expectancy for an Afghan woman is 43, next year she will be "over-the-hill". (Besides having a shockingly short life expectancy overall, Afghanistan is one of the only countries in the world in which women have a shorter life expectancy than men)



Miss America is a beautiful, intelligent woman and everyone knows it.

Miss Afghanistan could be a beautiful, intelligent woman... but nobody will ever know it.



God Bless Miss America

God Help Miss Afghanistan

[execsec]

That is very sad, indeed.  Couldn't we do like someone suggested on another thread and kidnap all their women and bring them here and educate them?  

[disallusioned]

This is very sad.  But we need to look at this with an open mind.  Kidnapping all their women and forcing education on them isn't any better than forcing them NOT to be educated.  Now don't stone me; I don't agree with how they are treated either -- it's not how I would want to be treated, but then it's not my place to tell them how they should want to be treated either.  I think - nay I wish, hope, and pray - that they will earn the chance to decide for themselves.  To decide that they want to be educated or that they want to keep covered.  That they want to drive, with all the inherent risks there are for driving over there, or they decide to continue being driven anywhere they want to go.  I don't want to change their cultural history so much as I want the individuals there to have the option, the choice, to change it if THEY want to, without fear of retribution.  There's many a woman in this forum who has voiced her desire and wish to be able to be a stay-at-home woman...why force these women to leave their homes to work just because we don't see it as fair?  Freedom is what I wish for everyone on this planet, the freedom to choose their religion, their home, their culture, and to do so without fear or prejudice.  Freedom is what I wish for... and what I willingly fight for.

[execsec]

Amen. I agree wholeheartedly with what you said.  I didn't really mean educate them, as in school and college, I meant educate them that they should be able to choose what they want to do (and where and when and how).  Your answer was perfect Disallusioned.

[dragonladybug]

I read just this morning an article about how less than one generation ago, women basically ran much of the business in Afghanistan.  Women were the doctors, teachers, farmers and leaders.  Approximately 40% of Afghanistan's doctors are women, who are now prohibited from working.  This is the reason the majority of Afghan women have no access to health care.  Under current law, women cannot be seen by a male doctor, and female doctors cannot practice.



Many of these women who are now confined to their homes, with windows painted black and forced to wear the burqua any time they step outside, were highly educated, professional women.   To me this is much worse than never having freedom - having your freedom forcibly taken from you.

[kiki090963]

Hi and good morning to everybody,

...this is what I just also wanted to say: the terrible thing about the women's situation in Afghanistan is in the first place that they were quite free and in all kind of businesses BEFORE these crazy stone-headed Taliban took over and banned women from virtually every part of life !!!! Imagine: intelligent, educated and formerly free women are no longer allowed to work, to go out, to enjoy (what little there was for them to enjoy in that poor country) !! Since women are no longer allowed to work and sick women are no longer allowed to be treated by male doctors it means they die of something small which could easily be treated with some medication !!

Gosh - it makes me soooo angry to think about what men choose to do to women...but these so called "warriors of God" are themselves the lowest educated, the ones with the lowest intelligence in Afghanistan: the only thing they know how to do "good" is how to operate guns and how to torture their kins...actually it makes wonder (again) where God is to let this happen...

[workerbee]

don't blame God for this - people did it, not Him.



I was taught that God is more concerned with the condition of our souls than our wordly cares.



The best we can do is stand up for justice, truth, and human rights for *all* inhabitants of this planet, in our own individual ways.



"God bless us, every one".



Elaine

[laundryhater]

My question is, why don't the Afghanistani women rise up and overpower those men? Why don't they fight for their rights?



Remember when American women weren't allowed to vote? They stood up to American men and changed that.



Afghanistani women could do the same if they wanted to. They could form their own army and fight for their rights.

[dragonladybug]

Actually, they can't even go out in the street without a male member of their family - they can be stoned or shot for doing so - and they are being stoned or shot.



I read an article about public executions being held and that 80% of those executed are women.  They are executed for such crimes as being in public with a man not of their family, or not wearing the burqa, or allowing a bare arm to be viewed in public.  Widows are not allowed to work or to re-marry, so they have to beg in the streets.  



It would be almost impossible for these women to fight against the men under these circumstances.  When American women fought to gain the right to vote, no one was executed for standing up for her rights.

[whitesatin]

Many of us have heard that question "Where was your GOD when the World Trade Center and the Pentagon was attacked?"  Well, I know where my GOD was the

morning of September 11, 2001, and He was very busy!



He was trying to discourage anyone from taking these flights. Those four flights together held over 1000 passengers and there were only 266 aboard.



He was on 4 commercial flights giving terrified passengers the ability to stay calm. Not one of the family members who were called by a loved one on one of the high-jacked planes said that passengers were screaming in the background.  On one of the flights He was giving strength to passengers to try to overtake the highjackers.



He was busy trying to create obstacles for employees at the World Trade Center. After all, only around 20,000 were at the towers when the first jet hit.  Since the buildings held over 50,000 workers, this was a Miracle in itself. How many of the people who were employed at the World Trade Center told the media that they were late for work or they had traffic delays.



He was holding up two 110-story buildings so that 2/3 of the workers could get out. I was so amazed that the top of the towers didn't topple when the jets impacted.  And when they did fall, they fell inward.  GOD didn't allow them to topple over, as many more lives would have been lost.



And when the buildings went down, my GOD picked up almost 6,000 of His children and carried them home with Him.  Reassuring His frightened children that the worst was over and the best was yet to come.



He sat down and cried that 19 of His children could have so much hate in their hearts.  That they didn't choose Him, but another god that doesn't exist, and now they are lost forever.



He sent His children that are best trained for this disaster and had them save the few that were still alive, but unable to help themselves.  And then sent many others to help in anyway they were needed.



He still isn't finished though, He held the loved ones that were left behind in His arms.  He comforts them daily.  His other children are given the strength to reach out to them and help them in any way they can.



And I believe He will continue to help us in what is to come.  He will give the people in charge of this great nation the strength and the wisdom to do the right thing.  He would never leave us in our time of need.



So when anyone asks, "Where was your GOD on September 11",  you can say "everywhere"!  And yes, although this is without a doubt the worst thing I have seen in my life, I see God's miracles in every bit of it.  I keep praying for those who don't believe in GOD, every chance I have. I can't imagine going through such a difficult time and not believing in GOD.

Life would be hopeless.



AUTHOR UNKNOWN to Poster

[spitfire78]

WhiteSatin - I'm speechless.  I'm also crying.  That was so lovely.  Thank you so much for sharing this.  It echoes my sentiments exactly but in a way so much better than I could ever express.

[radaro]

Your quote was beautiful.



This question reminds me of a quote we got in a book before we attended the March of the Living.  The trip includes visits to Majdanek, Auchweitz and Buchanaw (Nazi death and concentration camps).  The quote asks where was God during the Holocaust.



I can't remember the exact quote but it went something like this: "I always wanted to ask God how does He allow starvation, murder, war,...to happen"

"So why don't you ask?"

"Because I'm afraid He will ask me the same thing."

[whitesatin]

Spitfire,



Sorry for the tears.  A friend of mine sent it to me.  She said a "dear friend" had sent it to her.  I don't know if her "dear friend" actually wrote it, or received it from someone else.  All I know is that it really touched my heart.



We so often blame God when horrible things happen.  We need to remember that God gave us freedom to choose.  We can choose good, or we can choose evil.  Our choices impact others, in good ways and bad ways.



Thanks for sharing that quote RadarO.  Really makes you stop and think.



WhiteSatin  

[spitfire78]

White Satin - don't dare apologize for the tears!  The day this country is in trouble is the day that people STOP crying over this incident...the day that it becomes just something that happened long ago.

[whitesatin]

You're absolutely right Spitfire.  I thank God for your tears.  He's storing them up in Heaven.