What can we do for the women democratizers in Afghanistan?

Ismaili Muslim women gather in Queens. The Ismaili in Afghanistan is a small group that favors modernization. So far, they report that they are unharmed. Photos: Tiffany Owens/A Journey through NYC religions

The democratizing strategy of the United States centered around the liberalization of mores and morals concerning the role of women in Afghan society. Although we have already pointed out that this emphasis caused us to overlook the strategic key of religious change, there was some progress in raising up a group of Afghan women who supported the democratization of their place in Afghan society. This meant that the women’s voices should be heard in the decision-making processes. We have an obligation to protect those whom we have encouraged to be so daring.

While the movie stars and paparazzi are currently gaining attention for the secular democratizers, we should make sure that the religiously-based democratizing women are included in our concern. So, what can we do?

First, we can positively reinforce the Taliban’s soft approach toward women democratizers. We can keep the focus on what is happening to this group of women. The Taliban seem to believe that their soft treatment will win them support from among Afghans and overseas donors. Of course, we don’t know how long this leniency will last, and it is likely not to be the policy where we have no eyes to see what is going on.

Second, we should make sure that the religious women who democratized based on Islamic or other religious theologies are not left out of our concerns. The movie stars and paparazzi will likely ignore this group of women. All women, religious and non-religious, should be helped.

We should cherish the Afghan Muslim women democratizers like Jamila Afghani (who is in exile already). She recalls, “When I started learning Arabic and studying by myself, I found out that Islam is totally different from what my family was saying, what my environment was teaching.”

Third, we will likely need to take some leading women democratizers out of the country. We need this to be done much more quickly than is the present chaotic spasmodic pace of evacuation. We must make sure that Afghani women of faith are included in our rescue priorities.

Hope with caution.