Is the plight of Afghan women our business?

Beyond the usual interest and concern that we should feel for fellow humans no matter where they live, the plight of the women in Afghanistan is not our business. They are merely at a point in the evolutionary process that women in most parts of the Western World have already passed. We tend to forget that women's suffrage was only gained in Canada in 1918, and in the United States in 1920.

The women of Afghanistan will procure more power within their society and greater human rights when they are ready to fight for them, just as North American women did. At that time, no outside nation would have dared to intrude and try to force American society and its government to alter the customs of the day. The struggle had to be launched and conducted by the women themselves.

Religious Muslims believe that Western societies are degenerate and corrupt. If our military forces tried to interfere in their established way of life, it would likely have a counter effect. All Afghani citizens would unite in an effort to retain their traditions and culture. It would take the women even longer to progress towards equality with their male counterparts.

Think for a minute what our reaction would be if Muslim forces descended on our cities and towns and tried to force their traditions and customs on our society. Every citizen would be ready to fight, with every means at their disposal, to repel the enemy. We would cling even more ferociously to our cherished customs and way of life. The Afghan people would probably react the same way, if outsiders tried to intrude and alter the lifestyle they have created.

We can send the Afghan women our prayers and good wishes as they wage their struggle to gain freedom from the repression under which they live. Other than that, we should mind our own business. The battle is theirs to wage. You can't stop progress. Sooner or later they will prevail, and they will emerge stronger and more confident for having wrestled the specter of male prejudice to the ground. We mustn't deprive them of that opportunity to flourish.