Who Are Our Troops Struggling Against Who Are Our Troops Struggling Against in Our Efforts to Help Afghanistan?in Our Efforts to Help Afghanistan?

Is this a fight Is this a fight worth fighting?worth fighting?

Key Questions:Key Questions:-What is an insurgency?What is an insurgency?- Who are the Taliban?Who are the Taliban?

Part 2: Canada in Afghanistan – What Should Our Role Be?

Instructions: Who are the Taliban?• Fill in the following slides

which ask questions about the Taliban in Afghanistan by clicking on the following Wikipedia link.

• You will also be asked to find school appropriate photos to illustrate the information you will be asked to find. You will have to create hyperlinks to the pages where you found your photos.

http://info-wars.org/2009/04/26/american-taxpayers-finance-the-taliban/

Who Are the Taliban?• Read the first paragraph on the Wikipedia page

about the Taliban and then answer the following questions.

• 1. What does the word Taliban actually mean? – Taliban means ‘student’ in Arabic.

• 2. When did they form the government of Afghanistan and who forced them from power?

– Taliban's Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan increased political credit from only three states: Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates after five years in control. Following the attacks of September 11 2001 the Taliban command was conquered by Operation Enduring Freedom.

• 3. Click on the links for the following concepts and then define them in your own words:

– Insurgency • Insurgency means a revolt against a

comprised power when those taking part in the uprising are not familiar as antagonists.

– Guerilla War

• Guerilla War means when a group of people use martial strategies to hassle a customary military.

• 4. The Taliban as a social and political “movement” (group) is made up of “volunteers” from which Afghan tribe and people of what neighboring countries to Afghanistan?

– The Taliban group is mainly made up of members belonging to Pashtun tribes. The main leader of the Taliban association is Mullah Mohammed Omar. Omar's unique commanders were a mixture of former small-unit military commanders and madrassa teachers.

• 5. Where does the US government believe that the Taliban’s headquarters is (city and country).

– U.S. officials believe their headquarters is in or near Quetta, Pakistan

Taliban Leadership and Organization• 1. Who is considered by many as the

current “leader” of the Taliban? – The main leader of the Taliban movement is

Mullah Mohammed Omar.

• 2. Follow the link to his page and then answer the following questions:

– This man is on the US government’s most wanted list for what 3 activities?

• For sheltering Osama Bin Laden• For also sheltering al-Qaeda militants• For being in Pakistan leading the Taliban

rebellion against NATO forces and the Karzai management in Afghanistan

– What is one of the only physical details really known about this man?

• Omar is believe to only have one eye.

– How did he get this physical feature?• Upon being injured by a piece of shrapnel,

Omar detached his own eye and sewed the eyelid shut.

It is difficult to find a picture of this notorious man because no one has really been sure of his appearance or taken a believable picture of him.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammed_Omar

Origins of the TalibanScroll down the main Taliban Wikipedia page

until you find the heading Origins in order to answer the following questions:

1. What are the two competing stories about the creation of the Taliban?

– The most believable story of how Mullah Omar first assembled his followers is that in the spring of 1994, neighbors in Singesar told him that the local governor had abducted two teenage girls, shaved their heads, and taken them to a camp where they were raped constantly. 30 Taliban freed the girls, and hanged the governor from the barrel of a tank.

– Another story was the Omar started his rebellion with only (or fewer than) 50 armed students from his hometown.

• THINKING QUESTION: – Of the 2 stories a supporter would choose to

believe which one?• A supporter would probably choose to

believe the underdog situation of the story, when the Omar started all of this with only 50 students, and had done so much with what he was given.

– Of the 2 stories an opponent would probably choose to believe which one?

• An opponent would probably choose to believe that the Taliban were bad people for hanging the governor in such a harsh way and from there on were killing people and taking provinces.

http://climbingoutofthedark.blogspot.com/2009_11_01_archive.html

Taliban Treatment of Women1. Read the very first paragraph and

then summarize the Taliban’s quotation about its reasons for harsh treatment of women below: • Their reasons for harsh treatment was to

generate secure settings where the chasteness and pride of women may once again be sacred.

• Under the Gender Policies heading, summarize the 8 points about the treatment of women by the Taliban provided:

– Women should never emerge in the streets without a relative and without wearing a burga.

– Women should never put on high-heeled shoes as no man should heed a woman’s footsteps in case it enthuses him.

– Women must not converse loudly in public as no foreigner should hear a woman's voice.

– All ground and first floor housing windows should be painted over to prevent women being noticeable from the street.

– The photographing or filming of women was disqualified.

– The changing of any place names that included the word "women."

– Women were banned to emerge on the balconies of their apartments or houses.

– Outlaw of women's presence on radio, television or at public assemblies of any kind.

Dress Code and Mobility• Scroll back up the page to find the definition of Dress code

stuff:• “mahram”.

– A mahram is basically a relative to the woman and they cannot have sex, because it is described as forbidden.

• What are some other restrictions that women faced regarding moving around the cities and countryside in Afghanistan under the Taliban?

– Outlaw on women riding bicycles or motorcycles, even with their mahrams.

– Women were banned to ride in a taxi without a mahram.

– Isolated bus services began in order to avert males and females from traveling on the same bus.

• Why would an all girls’ orphanage be practically a prison under this system?

– It would be hard for a girl in an orphanage because they would not have a mahram to escort them around the streets or villages, and they would not likely have a burga

– What is the name for the traditional outfit that women had to wear in Taliban Afghanistan?

• The traditional outfit for the women was a garment called a ‘burga’.

– What was the main reason for this strict control of women's’ dress?

• Brightly colored clothes were disqualified as they were seen as sexually drawing.

Dress code stuff:

http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/article.php?p=37119

Employment and Education• Were women allowed to work at all under

the Taliban rules?– No, but some were excused. Allowing women to

work was breaking purdah, which was for the division of men and women in places counting the place of work. Women in rural areas were still necessary to work, mostly because there was no profits for them.

• What industries were particularly hit hard by the Taliban’s work policies for women? Pick 2.

– One industry that was hit hard by the policies for women were elementary school teachers, and the other was female health professionals.

• Were women allowed to be educated under Taliban law? What age did they have to stop going to school?

– Yes, women were allowed to be educated, but a decree was passed that only girls under the age of eight were allowed to be educated.

• Find the quote that illustrates that the Taliban actually thought that they had increased women’s rights in Afghanistan.

– “No other country has given women the rights we have given them. We have given women the rights that God and His Messenger have instructed, that is to stay in their homes and to gain religious instruction in hijab.”

Health Care and Forced Confinement • Give 2 reasons it was really tough for

women to receive health care when the Taliban ruled Afghanistan.

– Male doctors were not allowable to treat women patients because of the few women health professionals, women patients were mandatory to drive a long ways which was not likely due to mobility laws.

• A study done in 1991 concluded that roughly what percentage of Afghan women they surveyed were showing signs of mental distress and depression?

– 97% of women have shown signs of mental distress and depression.

• Describe 3 other cultural prohibitions that were imposed on women or about women if Taliban ruled Afghanistan.

– Makeup, beauty salons, and nail polish were prohibited if used by a woman or on a woman.

Punishments for Breaking Taliban Laws• Read the information about the types of

punishments women (and men) were subjected to in Afghanistan during the Taliban’s rule and summarize 2 extreme examples below:

– When a Taliban attack saw a woman running an casual school in her apartment, they beat the children and threw the woman down a flight of stairs and then locked her up. They threatened to stone her family openly if she refused to sign a statement of devotion to the Taliban and their laws.

– In May 1997, five female CARE International workers with approval from the Ministry of the Interior to carry out a study for an emergency feeding program were forced from their vehicle by members of the police. The guards used a public address system to insult and harass the women before striking them with a metal and leather whip over 5 feet in length.

• Who is the woman in the photo on this part of the web-page?

– Zarmina

• What is happening to her?– She is being publically executed.

• Where is it happening?– Ghazi Sports Stadium

• What crime is she accused of? – Allegedly murdering her husband.

• What happened to her for 3 years before this event?

– She was imprisoned and tortured.

• What organization took the film this photo is a screenshot from?

– Revolutionary Association of the women of Afghanistan. (RAWA)

Women’s Resistance to the Taliban• Explain what the Golden Needle Sewing

School was.– It was an underground school for women, since

by law, they were not allowed to be given education.

• How did women “sneak in” 2 details. – Children playing outside would aware the group

if the police advanced, giving them time to hide their books and pick up embroidery tools.

– They would get there in their burqas with their bags full of fabric and scissors. But beneath they would have notebooks and pens.

• Why was the area that this school was in one of the most oppressed by the Taliban? 2 reasons.

– Herat was so different because it was a very refined society.

– Also, it was filled with many Islamic heritage.

• What is RAWA?– It is an organization made to defend the rights of

women in Afghani.

• Who was the founder of RAWA and what happened to her?

– Meena Karnal was a student activist and the founder of the organization. But soon after she made the group, she was assassinated.

• What does RAWA work for? 3 main things.– Involve the women in political and social

activities to obtain parity rights. – Struggle against the government of Afghani

based on non fundamentalist values.– Strives for mutual disarmament.

Now that you know … • Write a personal reaction on this slide (3-4 sentences) in which you express your opinion about the

treatment of women in Afghanistan by the Taliban. How does it make you feel? Why? – It may be a bit biased knowing that I am a woman, however, the treatment of these women opened

my eyes up to how cruel our world and how sexist people in other countries with different values can be. Knowing how these women were treated makes me feel grateful for my life and where I live, knowing that people who are sexist can be ignored and that women are treated equally. If I were to live where these women are continually faced with prejudice and violence, there would be no hope for me. Loud spoken , and confident women like myself are not going to survive for very long in Afghanistan. In Afghani, there are probably large amounts of women who have things to say that could change the way people live in their country, but no one will listen unless someone who has *male parts* says it first; and that frustrates me to no end.

Do we … • As citizens of a country in which we are relatively free, safe, and equal do we have the

responsibility to help places like Afghanistan become more like us? Why or why not? Explain your answer in 3 – 4 sentences.

– As much as I would love to say that we have the responsibility, we do not; even though we wish we could. Unfortunately, Afghanistan has their own spoken values, traditions, and cultures that we cannot fathom-and I’m sure that if someone tried to come into Canada and change our values, there would be many angered people (even if it was for the better). I wish there was something that we could do, but we can’t change it even if we wanted to; there is too much already at stake for these women and it has effected millions. Afghanistan women have fought long and hard for their freedom for the a very extended time, and we have done nothing to stop it at present date and the women are forced to think on their feet about things they can do to change their lives. As long as the women in Afghanistan don’t lose faith, there is nothing we should do. Women are strong, and they can do anything just as well as men (if not better) ; so no, we shouldn’t do anything nor can we do anything. We will just have to let the women of Afghanistan do as they have always done; take it day by day-which they have done without our help.