Afghanistan and Pakistan

Tom Friedman, writing in his column in The New York Times, asks "Teacher, Can We Leave Now?" His answer is a firm "No."

What he is talking about is the United States.  The thrust of his answer is that part of the answer to the war against extremism is education.

The author quotes one authority as saying:

that since 2007, the Taliban and its allies have bombed, burned or shut down more than 640 schools in Afghanistan and 350 schools in Pakistan, of which about 80 percent are schools for girls.

One way to think about it is to ask oneself if one's own daughter should be free to do what she wants and wear what she wants and marry who she wants?  Those are the kinds of issues that are being confronted in Afghanistan and Pakistan today and the "Taliban and its allies" have been working to keep females at home and under the thumb of their male relatives.

We worry about Judge Sotomayor using the term "wise Latina."  How lucky we are that such is the question, rather than if we should risk a female child having acid thrown in her face on the way to school.  If we can, let's continue to help out.

UPDATE
Ann Althouse has an extract from an article in the Jerusalem Post on treatment of young people in Iran, to include those young women who have received a death sentence.

In the Islamic Republic it is illegal to execute a young woman, regardless of her crime, if she is a virgin, he explained. Therefore a "wedding" ceremony is conducted the night before the execution: The young girl is forced to have sexual intercourse with a prison guard - essentially raped by her "husband."

Here is the original article.

Regards  —  Cliff