I was reading a New York Times article about Safia Amajan, who had served as chief of the women's affairs department in Kandahar Province in Afghanistan for five years. She was assassinated by suspected Taliban gunmen as she was walking to work.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/26/world/asia/26afghan.html?
ex=1183089600&en=5275f8b8e4a5fc0b&ei=5070
When people who are being oppressed choose to stand up for what they believe, it becomes a threat to those who oppress. Why does one group feel the need to control another? Is it fear? In this case, the Taliban forces women to live a nearly subhuman existence, with no rights and controlled by the men in their families. If they become widowed, they're reduced to begging in the street to support their families, but if they go out on their own without a male family member they're beaten.
Why does the Taliban have this attitude toward women? Ms. Amajan was an advocate for women, working for women's rights, education and vocational training. When women are educated and empowered, they're harder to control, and if the Taliban can't control women, what is their purpose?
Ms. Amajan was well-liked and respected, but was obviously considered a threat. Her assassination has created an atmosphere of fear, which will make it less likely that other women will carry on her work. (212)
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It looks as though the Taliban feel they have the right to judge and carry out the sentence. This is what they choose to believe is justifiable. To them the women are their slaves, they are weak and have no opportunity or abilities to think for themselves. Recently in the Seattle Times, there was a small article from Britian where a Muslim father hired a hitman to kill his own daughter because he felt she fell in love with the "wrong man". We are created equal, so why can't we have equal rights? I think too many people want to feel superior and have power and control who they can.
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