Dedication to Education

The Taliban are doing anything to keep Afghanistan girls out of school, but the girls’ dedication toward their education is superseding to their threats and terrorizations. Using fundamentalist Islamic values as a motive, the Taliban forbid women to attend school, work outside of home or wear any other clothing besides burkas. Originally these were only threats imposed to the public, but as the Taliban kept seizing more control over the nation disobeying these rules could lead to grave situations. Now girls are not allowed to attend school and those that do are paying a high price. The Taliban have gone to such drastic measures that they are spraying acid, like in Shamsia’s case, or monitoring specific schools until they close, like in Malala’s case.
Even though they use traditional Islamic values as an excuse for their terrorizations, it is more likely that their real intentions are to keep women as “stupid things” to prevent them from becoming individual minds that can endanger their control. Women, being almost half the population in Afghanistan, have the potential to unite and rise up against the Taliban successfully. With a decent education, girls can learn how to form, express, and put to action their opinions. Fearing that with a good education there is more of a chance that the women will resist against their control, the Taliban are doing anything to prevent these girls from attending school.
However, what is more impressing then the assaults the Taliban are doing is the devotion many girls have toward their education. While many students in the U.S. are cutting classes, girls in Afghanistan are defying not only the Taliban’s orders, but their parents’ will and sneaking out of the house just to go to class. As many schools were close many girls convert their own rooms into miniature classrooms. Some girls, like Shamsia Husseini, that have already been attacked by the Taliban are also continuing to attend classes. Such intrepid actions demonstrate these girls’ staggering dedication for their education.
It is clear that for many girls the Taliban’s threats and terrorizations will not stop them from persueing a decent education. Such dedication should be admired. These girls, like any other girls in the world have the right to an education and they should not have to be fighting for their rights. Yet they are. And they are fighting against a very dangerous and violent group. They are being penalized for not doing anything wrong. Facing such unjust punishments with such bravery should be commended for.

No Modern Day Gestapo

For me to relate Nazi Germany to modern day Afghanistan would be going out on a limb and tying together laces of history that do not make for a tight knot. I believe that a strong argument claiming 1930’s Europe is identical to modern day Afghanistan does not exist. While wrestling to form an argument about Nazi Germany and Afghanistan, one might start by comparing the similarities between the Nazi Party and the Taliban. One might say that the Taliban kills innocent citizens just as the Nazis did, and that they instill fear into the hearts of those they rule over. One could say that the Taliban takes control of communication and commerce as if they were Nazis. Let me convince you that the Taliban is no Nazi party. For one, all of Afghanistan disapproves of the Taliban's tactics and mentality, as exemplified through the democratic government that is in place -- a clear message that the Taliban is not welcome. We must remember that the Nazi party gained party members in the legislature through Hitler's campaign tactics, and took control of the government through politics rather than force -- something the Taliban demonstrated in 1996 after defeating the Soviet Union. As Hitler took control of Germany through the government, he gained followers that helped him ingrain the Nazi ideals into the German core. The momentum of the Nazi party did not grow through gunfire, but rather through the excitement of the German citizens. The Nazis then continued to prove to Germans that they were the answer to all of their economic failures. They succeeded in raising the unemployment rate from a few million to a few thousand, and brought Germany from a loser of WWI, to a major world power leading up to WWII. Hitler had an organized police force and bodyguard in the S.S. and S.A., and with Heinrich Himmler, Hitler convinced the Germans that they belonged to a nurturing and politically enhanced nation that would one day belong to the middle class that built it. The S.S. and S.A. created job opportunities for the youth of Germany, encouraging young men to belong to something greater than themselves, which from an economic and political standpoint is a strikingly good idea. This is completely different than the Taliban because these new jobs were a contributor to the strengthening economy of Germany. The Taliban are far from prominent in the economy of Afghanistan. Instead they are helping with its demise. Although it may appear that my argument is applauding the Nazi Party, I am only proving that they had everything that the Taliban does not -- the support of their nation.

Parallels Between the Taliban and the Nazis

We study the fascist dictators of the early 20th century in a very simple-minded way. When we read about them in our World History book it truly makes them along with all of their ideas seem like: history. In our country, and specifically where we live, we see no trace of these ideas. But, the truth is that these ideas are still present in the modern world. The Taliban in Afghanistan are a modern example of a fascist group. By living in the United States and learning so much about the destruction that these reigns of dictators caused, it is clear to us that these ideas are not only morally wrong, but also unproductive. In the U.S. we are lucky to be able to practice a number of freedoms. We have a very powerful, stable, and democratic government. It would be nearly impossible for a fascist group to turn Americans off of the democratic government and on to them. In countries such as Afghanistan, it is the polar opposite. For many people, the Taliban seems very attractive. The government is unstable and distrusting. The Taliban provides a stable set of laws and an alternative to the unorganized and unproductive government. Sound familiar? In early twentieth century Germany, the economic troubles combined with the unstable government made the Nazi movement look promising. Both groups started and gained followers in the same manner. Many of their ideas are also very similar. They both value the traditional lifestyle of woman in the home (demonstrated by the story of the girls getting acid thrown in their faces when attempting to attend school) and violence and fear to gain followers. The Taliban have not gone as far as the Nazis, trying to limit the world to one race, but who's to say that eventually they won't. When we look back and learn about the enormous amount of terror that the Nazi party bestowed upon the world, we have to remember that history has a way of repeating itself. Let's not forget that at its early stages the Nazi party was simply regarded as an overthrowing of the communist government.  To paraphrase a character in Cabaret: They will overthrow the communists and then we will take over. Who's we? Germany.

Similar Tactics to Power

My first reaction to the film was that it was a really sad situation, yet it is amazing the people are still holding strong and fighting back to the oppression by continuing their education. Looking back on it, you can really see the influences that fascist groups have over human psychology. The Taliban seem to use fascist tactics that have been used throughout the past to gain support at the same time as instilling a sense of fear and power. They have been trying to be the new totalitarian form of government through forcing people to conform to their radical views and have taken rash and quick momentary actions, such as throwing acid in girls faces and creating mass chaos. Although they seem to be a shady, unidentifiable group with no single leader, they have definitely used similar tactics as the nascent Nazi group when they rose to power. The Nazis were originally seen as a hoodlum gang, rather than a form of government. They gained support because Germany was suffering from the bad economy due to the aftermath of the war. They were able to steadily gain support through propaganda which convinced much of the youth. By taking control over the newspapers and other forms of communication, they were able to spread their ideas, scapegoating Jews, and creating xenophobia. These were all major contributing factors in their rise of support. Also, studies have shown that when a group does something that would normally be seen as unjust, people are much more likely to follow along because no one else is acting out. (group behavior) By creating a single ideal and mindset that many people conformed to, the Nazi party was able to take control of Germany. The Taliban too have been using similar tactics to gain support. They are primarily using fear to force people to conform to their leadership and their fundamentalist ideals. Their control over many parts of the middle east has greatly taken a toll on these countries economy and more importantly, their future generations. Hopefully the Taliban will be stopped and the millions of innocent people who are living in fear can get the education and the peace that they deserve.

The Price of Going to Class

At Menlo, the price of going to class is registered in dollars.  In Afghanistan, the price of going to class is your life.  We have the luxury of riding in cars or on trains to school.  Everyday thousands of women across Afghanistan travel miles by foot to get to schools.  Along their routes, they face the dangers of Taliban.  The only dangers we face are of street cameras catching us running a red light or making an illegal u-turn. Conditions in Afghanistan are frightening. Women are burned with acid, like Shamsia Husseini.  Her face was injured so badly that she was forced to leave the country to get it healed.  Posters, or Propaganda, are place on Mosques and on buildings saying "Don't let your daughters go to school." Afghani women face these problems because of the Taliban and their fundamentalist take on Islam.  The Taliban consider women as lesser beings, just as the Nazis did with the Jews.  These two examples of persecution are strikingly similiar.  While the Taliban may not have the same organization or power that the Nazis did, they certainly still believe in persecuting those who they view as lesser beings.  The Nazi party had to be completely crushed in order to stop the persecution.  The same has to be done for the Taliban.  We had them cornered in 2003, but we let them slip away. And now, they have begun to rebuild and regroup.  President Obama told us of his plans to redeploy troops from Iraq to Afghanistan.  He must come through on this promise for it is our duty, as Americans, to help those in the face of persecution.  It always has been and it always will be.  We can't allow a price for going to class.

An Inspiration to All

Tomorrow, I have a lab report, a paper, and a test. For the past three hours, I have sat at my desk, complaining to myself about how tomorrow is going to be a bad, stressful day. It's amazing how I'm giving the oppurtunity to complain, the privilledge to have such a academic day. Forget the fact that we go to an unbelievable school with extraordinary resources. Reading this article in Upfront and watching the video about Malala made me realize that they're are hundreds of thousands of girl who sit at home and dream about being in my position. Not only should I be grateful to have the chance to learn and get the level of education I am getting, but that I don't have to worry about being shot or having acid thrown on me on the way to school. For girls like Malala, her work is something to look forward to; her life is what is on the line.
We've been studying the fascist governments of Italy, Germany, Russia, and Japan. Fascism is defined as a dictatorial and nationalistic right-wing system of government and social organization, usually including obedience to a political leader and harsh ways of approaching the task at hand. I can't say whether I believe the Taliban are fascist or not. I am not fully educated on their beliefs on government, but their actions signal that they are semi-fascist. While it does not seem that they have the leadership or organization of a party like the Nazis or Mussilini's Italy, they take similar approaches as the leaders of the nations above. Through unjustified violence and hatred, they maintain power out of fear. In that short video we watched in class, we could see that more than half the girls didn't show up for school because the Taliban said not to over the radio. But education is too important to not have. None of these fascist movements overall have done much good and in no way are they permitted to take away one's rights, let alone education. Girls risk their faces and their lives everywhere. This dedication should never be denied, but looked up to.

Suppressing Education is the Way to Keep Our Society the Same

In Afghanistan, the Taliban is going to extremes to keep girls out of school. Spraying acid on the faces of girls walking to school and ordering that girls stay away from schools—or else—are horribly normal occurrences. The idea is this: keep 50% of the population uneducated and that many more people will have no choice but to follow you. Mahmood Qadari, the headmaster of a girls' school in Afghanistan that was attacked by the Taliban, says, "Education is the way to improve our society." Education is a powerful force. Unbiased education gives students a chance to form opinions, while at the same time they are taught to express feelings and opinions with clarity and poise. It is obvious why the Taliban are so against girls attending school. Individual minds are irritating and dangerous, who wants more of them to deal with?
Although neither boys nor girls spend as much time in school in Afghanistan as the equivalent age range here in the US, on average girls in Afghanistan go to school for just over a third as many years as the boys. Boys, on average, attend for only 11 years. The Taliban practice a fundamentalist version of Islam, and this is blamed for the suppression of women's rights—rights that are considered basic and inborn in the US. It is naturally easier for the Taliban to oppress women, because that is what society has been doing since gender divisions were first recognized. It's easy to say "we must follow the rules of our religion", but in no religion should it say that one group is inherently better than another, and especially not that this "inferior" group should be punished for pursuing something as natural as knowledge.

For another opinion on girls' education in Afghanistan, click here.

Education: The Ability to Choose

Most of us wake up every morning to the sound of a beeping alarm, and we realize that we have to get up and go to school again. We get to school, and we moan and grumble about how boring our classes are, how we just want to go home and sleep, and how we wish we had no homework. We see education as something that is forced on us and that while it is useful, it is tedious and requires too much effort. But it has always been something readily available to us; there are so many sources that we have access to from which we can gain knowledge, like libraries and the internet. Because of this, we never really learned the value of our education.

But then we hear about the lives of people around the world, people like the girls in Swat Valley, Pakistan, who do not have this widespread access to knowledge. And we realize how lucky we are. They are not encouraged to learn like we are; in fact, the opposite occurs. The Taliban militants, who have taken control in several areas of Pakistan, pour acid on them and destroy their schools to discourage girls from getting an education – a basic right that we should all be guaranteed to. Instead of encouraging progress, they are using their religion, a fundamentalist interpretation of Islam, to keep what they believe are the traditional and therefore better ways.

The only reason I can see for this is that they are afraid of what women getting an education would mean and the changes that would arise. They are afraid that they would no longer be able to exert control over the people, since there are more people that are educated and not clueless, and educated people are much harder to control than the clueless that will just accept whatever they say. But they are also afraid of change and of progress. Women receiving an education creates a huge change in their society, and they fear this change.

This fear of new or different things is something that has caused many conflicts through history, like the treatment of Jews in Nazi Germany. The reason Hitler was able to gain support on the idea that Jewish people were not human was because the rest of the people in Germany did not understand them. The Jewish people practiced a different religion and had different beliefs and a different lifestyle. Many of the them were not as hard hit by the Depression, which probably caused some resentment among the other Germans. Because of their lack of knowledge about them, the Germans agreed with Hitler and alienated them. But perhaps if they tried to understand the Jewish people rather than persecuting them for being different, people would have stood up to Hitler rather than ignorantly following whatever he and the media said.

So, I ask you to think about the role education plays in your life. You can still grumble about going to school but don’t take it for granted. Education frees us from our ignorance; it allows us to understand others and helps destroy prejudices, reducing the fear we all have of the strange and the different. It basic right that we are all entitled to. If everyone was able to get an education, everyone would be able think for themselves and to choose their own actions. They would not follow the media as blindly as we have done in the past. As someone who is able to receive an education, it is our job to make sure that everyone else has the same choice. Today, little is being done for these girls in Swat Valley and around the world who are fighting for an education. So I ask you do you want a world that is still susceptible to being led by their fear like the world during World War II, or are you willing to do something to change that by fighting for equal education for all?

If you are interested in other opinions about what can be done to improve the situation in Pakistan go here

Who is in Control

To me, a lot of what is and has been going on has to do with who is in control over who and how they are using that to their advantage.  For example, Hitler tried to influence and use/control the youth of Germany as a big part of his supporters.  He could target the youth because they are at a time in their life where they are wondering who they are and are forming their own opinions and therefore can be influenced if good opportunity presents itself.  For younger people, it is really important to be accepted into a group so that you are not alone.  The Nazi party presented that opportunity.  The opportunity for the younger people to be with other people who all share the same leader and ideals.  Young People are also the future, (like the song "Tomorrow belongs to me" in the movie Cabaret that we watched) and if you can manage to control them, then you have a huge step up in controlling the future.

 

Similarly, the Taliban recognize that the younger people, girls included, are the future, and if they go to school and get an education, they can pose a threat to the Taliban whether through education of others, or becoming organized against them.  You can already see this from the New York Time documentary where the girl was speaking out against the control that the Taliban has over their school-going.  They are trying to establish their power by showing that they will carry out their beliefs/orders that the girls shouldn't be in school.  As we have seen so much throughout history, the powers usually try to make an example out of someone so as to warn the others.  The girls though have taken this warning and basically stepped on it refusing to stay at home.

Both Hitler and now the Taliban were trying to contain the people that they were controlling making sure that there could not be anything that could lead to future uprisings or threats to their power.  Both groups used fear and weren't afraid of things getting a little messy.  The difference now from Hitler though, is that the girls have shown a tremendous strength and most have gone back to school instead of living in the contained fear.  Fear only works on the weak-spirited, and these girls back in school are showing that they are determined and could very well be the threat that the Taliban is trying to get rid of.

"Are you a man, or are you a mouse?

It is easy, when sitting in the comfort of your cushy armchair or in a beautifully maintained classroom, to proclaim that you would do the "right thing" if faced with two morally difficult choices. Sadly, the "right thing" is more often than not the least practical option to take. Unconvinced?

Paint a picture in your mind, for a moment. You are no older than 40. You are sitting in jail, convicted of a death-penalty felony (pick a card, any card.), and are scheduled to be executed tomorrow. This is a twisted society- peace officers, government officials, and people of that nature are allowed to do as they will. A particularly twisted judge offers you a decision: You can kill an innocent on the street and get out of jail with a clean record- free to partake in the sweet freedom of life again, or you can refuse... upon penalty of your death and the death of every member of your immediate family.

What would you do? This is only a hypothetical situation, but pretend for a moment that it is true. Would you sacrifice one innocent to protect those who are close to you, or would you sacrifice yourself and your entire family for one innocent? So I ask again: What would you do?

Indeed, in Maus, one must sympathize with the mouse who gives away Vladek's location to the Nazi's. He did it perhaps to protect himself, or his family. A part of this is not because the mouse was of low morals, or was a crook only looking to make a quick buck. It is because we, as animals, have an instinct of self-preservation- of survival. We prioritize survival in social circles that increase in size. There is oneself, then there is one's family, then there is one's close relations, and et-cetera.

Now, I am not trying to convince you that moral failings are totally acceptable; at this point in our evolution, morals and ethics have become so ingrained in our mental makeup that they can compete with our natural instinct of survival.

I just want you to keep in mind that when judging people based on their actions, consider that people think and act differently under stressing conditions than they would at peace. Things in the world are not definite black and white. They are various, multitudinous shades of grey. We are only human, and to err is human. In times of war, such as Maus, we err quite often.

Things are all relative- relative to place, time, situation, emotions, other things (which, too, are relative).

* * *

". . . Grant me the Serenity

to accept the things that I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
...and Wisdom to know the difference."

Indeed, there are things that we must do quite often that we detest, yet there are no other choices. This we must understand.

~ ~ ~

With that final parting note, I bid you so long, and good night.

~Kevin Ji

P.S.: The movie Valkyrie is an interesting twist. Klaus von Stauffenberg, a Colonel in the German military, plans to kill Hitler to "do the right thing" and save Germany from destruction.

A Lesson to Learn

At Menlo, and at other institutions around the world, History is not only studied to learn about our heritage, but to learn about the mistakes of the past, and how not to repeat them. Right now in the Swat Valley in Pakistan, people are being discriminated against, and their basic rights as humans - the rights to education, free speech, and buy goods, for example - are being taken away. This has happened so many times before in history, every time with bad consequences, yet little has been done right now by the outside world to stop this phenomenon.

While the situation in Swat is not as grave as it has been in the past (for example, when Jews were being discriminated against, and later put in concentration camps during the Holocaust), it is still noteworthy. Thousands of girls are now not able to go to school because of the Taliban; next to nothing has been done to ameliorate the situation. Yet, we know what is going on. In the video we watched, the family had a computer, and thus the means to let people know about their situation via the internet. Also, the New York Times, and other newspapers, I assume, have extensive coverage of the situation. However, just now is president Obama suggesting that we give Pakistan some military aid to combat the Taliban, and Congress, instead, is suggesting that we give them non-military aid. If the Pakistani government is unable to control a region 90 miles from its capital, it is obvious that what they require most is military aid. Then why are we so hesitant to provide it?

We need to dust the relative defeat in Iraq off, and get back on our feet to help these girls in Pakistan get to school without being violently attacked by Taliban fighters. We need to learn from past mistakes in history to avoid any more harm being done to Pakistan, and moreover, we need to realize that these girls are people, too, just like us, who want the brightest future possible, but who live in a world of violence and danger, and are unable to attain their hopes and dreams.

Girls Just Wanna have Fun...and Learn

The Taliban do not have the right to prevent girls from receiving an education in Afghanistan. The girls in Afghanistan have done nothing wrong to receive such punishment. The Taliban have their own vision on what things should be like. When something or someone goes against their vision, they force what ever it is to make it fit. In the girls in Afghanistan's case, they had acid thrown onto their faces to prevent them going to school. Although this had life altering affects on this group of girls, they continued to go to school a year later anyways. That is what they should do because they should not be cheated out of an education just because the Taliban decided that they shouldn't have one. Also, I believe that the Taliban are afraid of what women can do if they receive an education. This is like how in the past, when slaves weren't allowed an education so they wouldn't become too smart. This is what the Taliban is doing to the girls in Afghanistan. The girls have all the right to learn just like the boys if they want to.

The Price of Going to Class

Imagine your daily routine. Wake up, eat breakfast, take the train, get to school, complain about work, go to lunch, play lacrosse, go home, eat dinner, do homework, and go to sleep. We often complain about how horrible our lives are until we consider the lives of others. Specifically, we read an article about girls in Afghanistan who were told not to come back to school, but returned anyways because of their desire to learn. 11 girls and 4 teachers were attacked by 10 Taliban militants who were employed to throw acid on the faces of these courageous women. Can you imagine going to school and being brutally attacked? These men, The Taliban, are afraid of young women learning to read and write. Shamsia Husseini said, being brutally attacked by the Taliban and receiving many scars, "The people who did this to me don't want women to be educated. They want us to be stupid things." I don't understand how anyone could be so brutal and vile. The Taliban are some of the most powerful men in Afghanistan and they are afraid of young women. What would our society be like without women and allowing them to get an education? Education has come a long way in the U.S. but it also faced hardships along the way. Including mandatory public education, integration of women in education, and finally the integration of blacks and whites in school during the Civil Rights Movement. I believe that the Afghanistan government needs to rid the Taliban from their beautiful country. They are corrupting the education for women and bringing violence to the country side. This situation reminds me a lot of the one in Germany in the early 1930's. After Hitler was appointed chancellor of Germany, the Nazi party was now the official party of Germany. History teachers often ask, "Why even study history?" And one of the main responses is that we need to learn from our past mistakes. And I believe that this point relates to the current situation in Afghanistan and even Darfur. In the past there have been brutal homicides such as the Holocaust and the Armenian Genocide. Other governments should step in and rid the Taliban once and for all. During the Holocaust the U.S. knew what was going on in Germany and didn't step in while millions of Jews were being slaughtered. When they finally decided to join in the war effort it was too late; the damage had already been done. Now it may only be schoolgirls and teachers, however the Taliban could spread and there presence could affect the entire world.

The Price of Going to Class

It is almost hard to imagine a place where you are in danger by just walking outside of your house. A place where girls aren't even allowed to go to school because the ones in power are afraid that they might gain too much power if they are literate and if they are intelligent. Living in a country where education is mandatory and going to a school where you are almost guaranteed to go to college, it seems almost unreal what is going on in Afghanistan. Often we hear people say that people in Afghanistan face horrible problems everyday, but do we how often do we actually comprehend what they they have to go through everyday? I will admit that I didn't understand quite how horrific the problems the Afghan women are faced with before reading this article and that I never thought about them because I was so busy in my life. After reading this article, you really slow down and think about what it is that you complain about in your life, like that schoolwork is so much and you have no time to do your homework, when they are worried about survival. Suddenly our problems seem so unimportant and little. I will go through the day knowing that I will have food on the table to eat tonight and that tomorrow i will be able to get an education. It makes me sick to think that someone, let alone a huge group of people (the taliban) could be so selfish to ban education from others for their own personal gain along with torture of others.

Taliban View

Regarding the actions of the Taliban members I fully disagree with what they performed towards the young students. The government has allowed women to freely get an education, therefore I do not think it is right that just because the Taliban members felt women didn't have the right to be educated and would rather women be "stupid things" they do not have the right to act out against women. I personally think the Taliban would get across their point much better if they proposed an argument to the government stating why they felt this way rather than acting out in such violence. However, this didn't come as a surprise to me that the Taliban would act in such violent ways considering their past. I do not think the Taliban is a fascist regime but i would say the Taliban is indeed a totalitarian state. The Taliban has definitely taken over the social, political, economic, intellectual, and cultural aspects of Afghanistan without the governments consent. The Taliban does not allow any opposition and instead responds violently, instigating fear into the civilians. By instigating fear the Taliban creates a one sided relationship with the people, the Taliban having all control. All in all the Taliban is a great example of a totalitarian state without out being part of a fascist regime.
I believe the Taliban is not a fascist regime because the definition I found for Fascism was a governmental system led by a dictator. However, I found that when I searched for one main leader of the Taliban, there was not one. I found that Mullah Akhtar Mohammad founded the Taliban but was not the main leader, therefore I had come to my conclusion that the Taliban was a totalitarian group.

Inspired Fear

Everyone thinks that they would chose to do the “right thing” when faced with a dangerous situation concerning your pride or safety. However, would they actually choose the brave and valiant path? In the graphic novel, Maus, and the article “The Price of Going to Class”, Vladek, a man owning up to his Jewish heritage in World War II and Shamisa, a girl courageous enough to go to school despite the Taliban, choose the path of putting what they believe in before their safety.

Vladek and Shamisa, have another aspect in common besides their bravery: their government, or the people who are making them chose between life or staying true to one’s values. The Taliban and the Nazi’s fascist system of trying to control people using tradition and conformity are very similar. It is the reason that both organizations got power, a popular movement and an attempt to unify people under one set of rules. And if you aren’t within the requirements, violence is used to make you stay quiet or to just get rid of you. It is very effective way to make people back you up: the tactic of fear. By being a fascist and totalitarian government, there is only one right way, one organization, and one way to behave and look like. And fear was and is the method of control for the Nazis and the Taliban.

If you were faced with the option of going to school and knowing that you would have acid thrown on your face by the Taliban due to your ongoing education or staying safely in your home, what would you would do? Or would you take the chance to cover up your Jewish heritage during a time of Nazi rule? It would mean you would slip past the horrors of World War II, but is that worth the price of betraying your religion, your God, and your fellow Jews? Would we succumb to the fear of the terrifying fascist government, or defy them by upholding your values and heritage? We would all like to say we would pick the latter, but I suppose we won’t every truly know until we are faced with a similar impossible situation.

The Taliban and Fascism

Jackson Siegman
Fascism Op-Ed
2/25/09

By definition, fascism is a system of government distinguished by centralizing authority, enforcing strict sociological and economic rules, and suppression of any opposition using all means necessary, even if that means physically or mentally harming people. We have seen examples of this throughout history: Nazi Germany, for example, centralized their government under Adolf Hitler and established the Aryan social norm, which was enforced with concentration camps, Jewish ghettos, and the overall decimation of Europe’s Jewish population. Italy also was known for having a period of fascism, with Benito Mussolini as a dictator and a strict police system created. Much of this happened 70 plus years ago, and many people think that fascism is a thing of the past. Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but there is a new fascist regime rising in Afghanistan, and it is the infamous Taliban. The Taliban is using their political power to enforce traditional Islamic rules restricting women’s rights. But Islamic culture is not so much the problem; after all, people are very protective over their religious beliefs. The issue at hand is that the Taliban is forcing women to sell themselves short in life, as they are limited to playing the role of the stay-at-home mothers of the world while men fill jobs. I looked up Afghanistan’s poverty statistics (www.rawa.org/temp/runews/2008/10/17/afghanistan-20-million-people-under-poverty-line.html),

and over a third of all people live in poverty. If women were able to work and go to school without being ridiculed or tortured or killed, we would most likely be looking at much more promising statistics. We have seen similar actions before; in other fascist regimes, as we discussed in class, women were promoted as homemakers and babymakers to further the development of the government and the ideals they try to bestow upon the people of their country. If we look at the definition of fascism, we can see that the Taliban fits the mold perfectly, and as their power increases, our war there will unfortunately increase as well.

Fascism in the 21st Century

Attending school to receive a proper education has always been an expected part of my life whether I wanted it for myself or not. I feel privileged and somewhat guilty when I hear of the terror befalling girls in Afghanistan who simply want to attend school, and are barred from doing so because of the Taliban. These girls risk their lives everyday just walking to school, but for them, the opportunities that an education make possible greatly outweigh the risks.

The political momentum of the Taliban today has similarities to the fascist movements that took place in Europe during the 20th century. The Taliban target activities that do not follow certain strict traditions: women attending school are encountering acts of violence by the Taliban, increasingly so since public schools for girls were shut down. The role of women in Afghanistan has been progressing into a new phase, but the Taliban want women to remain in their traditional place as mothers and housewives who cover themselves completely when outside their own homes. The fascist movements in Italy and Germany put constrains on the freedoms of women as well. Presenting the ideal role of women as mothers and homemakers. These figures in Europe tried to convince women that they should return to a recently abandoned image of a woman's place in the home through means of persuasive propaganda and occupational limitations.

The goal of the fascist ideals constructed for women in Europe is different from that of the Taliban. The Europeans believed that increasing the population was a sign of a strong leader. In order promote large families and subsequently increase birthrate, propaganda was widely distributed to provide men with the image that the ideal family raised a flock of children. In contrast, the militia in Afghanistan are not concerned with whether or not their terrorizing tactics garner support. Their concept of control requires fear to induce conformity. Mussolini and HItler used systems that gained mass support by sympathizing with the plight of the citizens. Hitler's approach gained active support from his followers by initiating an oath of loyalty. The Taliban do not aim to win over the hearts of the Afghans: their mere compliance is good enough. For many people, the fear of death associated with disobedience will keep them out of school, but just as many Afghans will pursue their education because it holds the most hope for a better future.

Although the Taliban have once again gained momentum, I do not believe they will have lasting power because so many people experienced a taste of a freer life. No one who has experienced the potential unleashed by education would give it up without a fight. Even thought the Afghani government has given the Taliban some legal power, as Hitler once did in Germany, I believe that the Afghanis will endure this set back and eventually rebuild public schools for girls because the ember of determination has already been set.

Class Dismissed

The Taliban is using the most common form of rule: fear. They do so by frightening the population with guns, forcing them to obey. They force girls to stay home from school, keeping them illiterate. That is another form of power, for if un-educated they have a lower chance of realizing the situation they are in (being controlled by a terrorist originization) and thus not retalliating. This is a horrifying way of ruling, one that the Nazis as well as so many other Fascist governments used. It makes me think about how ridiculous the problems that a typical menlo student has. The largest problems are usually doing terribly on a test, while students in Afghanistan have problems that include being murdered while on their way to school. Articles like these give us some perspective on the different worlds we live in. However, it also brings hope to see that these women are retalliating, fighting for what is right. It shows that ruling through fear only works for some time, until enough people realize what is going on. And right now, the Afghanistanian women know exactly what is happening, and they are prepared to fight for it.

Op-Ed "The Price of Going to Class"

In this article, the actions of the Taliban show us that they wont stop until Afghanistan is under their control and that they are a completely Fascist. Fascists believe that violence is a natural part of survival, and that only the strong can and should survive by being healthy, vital, and agressive through conquering and eliminating the weak. From this we can clearly see the Taliban is promoting violence, conquering Afghanistan, and eliminating the weak by throwning acid on girls to stop their view of "weak" from getting any stonger through education. I also see that the girls see education as the Taliban do except the complete opposite because they feel that "Education is the way to improve our society". Mahmood Qadari clear sees what the Taliban sees that it is the only way to defeat them with out weapons or the military. Lastly, we can easily compare the motives of the Taliban with the Nazis in Maus with eliminating the "weak" and conquering.

By Bobby Pender

Fascism Op-Ed

Matthew Roy
2/25/09
History

Fascism and the Taliban
The Taliban’s actions have another motive that the media usually does not empathize. We see them as terrorists, insurgents, radical religious fanatics and more. But what we don’t often realize is that they represent more than just a form of religion, they also represent many of the key elements of a fascist regime. Many of the basic ideals of the Taliban coincide with those of fascist regimes such as that USSR and Germany.
The Taliban are famous for their stance on woman’s roles in society. They enforce the fascist element of a woman’s role as a stay at home mother whose duty to society is to have as many children as possible. They want them to stay uneducated, going so far as throwing acid in the face of schoolgirls who have the audacity to look to have more in life than running a household. They back their claims with military might, and are attempting to install a totalitarian government. Whether it is intentional or not, the Taliban movement represents a push towards the return of a Fascist government.

"The Price of Going to Class" and Fascism

Filkin's article about the hardships faced by modern day Afghan schoolgirls remind us that fascism is not just a distant memory of the past, but a fact of modern life. Maus reminds us of the past and the atrocities that a government with unchecked powers can do. But what both of these pieces do is give a personal, human spin by telling the story of a person, instead of giving percentages or statistics.
Both of these works give us the true human experience of what it is to live in the intolerant, fascists regimes of both modern day and of the past. The similarities between the modern day Taliban and past fascists regimes, such as Hitler's and Mussolini's, are abundant. Both the Taliban and past regimes used fear to subdue their enemies, and were willing to use brutal methods of torture to silence them if necessary. The Taliban, in their pursuit to put to an end to the schooling of girls, use the fear of the people in Swat Valley to achieve their goals. It is their fundamentalist interpretation of Islam that leads them to terrorize the girls that wish to succeed in life, saying that a woman's place is at home. Hitler's Germany had a similar plan for separating those that were not of the "pure" Aryan race. The Nazi party's rise to power was during a time when the world was at a turning point: on one side, there was total economic collapse; on the other side, salvation and restoration of cherished times. The Nazi party, through it charisma and eventual rise to power, was able to sway the German citizens to rally against its own Jewish citizens. Those deemed unfit to be part of Germany, especially, but not only Jews, were slowly purged from their homes and sent to labor camps. As the party began to gain more and more power, they relied on more drastic measures to fulfill their end goal. The Nazi party saw their goal, a world ruled by the Aryan race, as an end that could justify the means. The horrid tactics they employed to get their plan through is shown through Maus. And these tactics of fear and torture are once again on the rise in Taliban ruled Afghanistan.

The "PRICE" Innocent People Pay

Life is precious and meaningful, but in the cases we've read about this week -- the Holocaust and Afghanistan - there appear to be very inconsiderate people that go as far as destroying other people's lives for their "benefit". 

"The Price of going to class," (an article in our current Upfront issues) written by Dexter Filkins displays the "regrouped" members of the Taliban's extremely harsh treatment on Afghanistan teenage girls. In the article a seventeen year old girl named Shamisa Husseini was sprayed with battery acid by a man. She was not the only woman attacked, many others were. And for what reason? What did these girls do? They were  just living their lives and going to school to learn like we do everyday, and because of this, they were attacked by the Taliban.  Throughout the article we are able to see Shamisa's strong eagerness and willingness to learn - even after the battery acid incident.  (She continued to go to the Mirwais School for Girls). It's incredible the way she and the other girls that got attacked are standing up for what they believe in and going against tradition and finally realizing that they deserve to live better lives and be treated the right way. 

I believe the answer  to why the Taliban did such a thing to those innocent girls is clear. They wouldn't allow girls to get an education because they feared loosing power. If people were more educated (80% of the women in Afghanistan are illiterate) they would rise up against the Taliban and see that they're missing out on their own rights. (They would go against the Taliban and tradition)

There was another group that suffered greatly and this was Jewish people during the time of the Holocaust when swastika flags and khaki uniformed men - the German Nazis - created chaos in Germany and other unfortunate places in Europe. 

In Maus, Vladek, a Polish "mouse" is telling his life story about his horrible life during the Holocaust. From his story I am able to say that the Nazis were a fascist group. First of all, they were a single organization in Germany that quickly became more and more powerful. (We know they became more and more powerful because they started off being guards and asking people for their "papers" then they took away businesses and finally killed anyone standing in their way) The Nazis eventually became a totalitarian group that controlled everything. Because even Jewish people - the Nazi's target - joined the Nazis, ( to avoid being killed) I believe that it grew into a popular movement. The Nazis were also very militaristic because they had SS guards throughout Germany. They also made everyone conform to their beliefs by force. All these factors are key elements of fascism.

Both organizations are very greedy and did whatever it took to gain complete control over society. When one has power, one does anything to assert one's power. These people abused/are abusing the power they had/have. 

Faith and Fear

Faith and fear. These are relatively vague terms, but seem to be the underlying aspects of both Maus and the Price of Going to Class. As an atheist and a young person with little experience regarding life threatening decisions, I find it hard to even relate to these two experiences. I don't even know if I would be strong enough to stand by any 'belief' I may have. Would I be willing to endanger my life to keep whatever remains of my lifestyle, or more importantly, would I be able to cope with the guilt of caving in?

In Maus, Vladek constantly relies on his strong will to live. He is surrounded by weaker people, such as his depressed wife and fearful mice. In one scene a fellow mouse even betrays Vladek by ratting out the location of the bunker to the cats, which seems awfully repulsive on paper. Even though Vladek is at the direct mercy of the cats several times, he always manages to understand t hat he will live through it. Vladek should be respected for his level-head that many other mice seem to have lost.

This brings me to the article from Upfront. While Menlo students count the minutes that their teachers are late, in hopes that they will get a free period instead, girls in Afghanistan cannot even legally attend school. In the article, the Price of Going to Class, Shamsia Husseini still secretly goes to school. She does this with pride and for a good cause, however. In regards to the supressive Taliban, Shamsia stated, "The people who did this to me don't want women to be educated. They want us to be stupid things." She refuses to be held down by the Taliban, just like Vladek refused to be taken over by fear from the Nazis.

Even though we have the privilage of attending a great school, many of us lose sight of this opprotunity. While I understand that we will probably not be in the same position as Vladek or Shamsia, these stories help us gain perspective and take advantage of what we are given.

Oooh, a Blog!

Welcome, fellow investigators of modern world history, to the experiment. We've got a blog. It's pretty cool. The goal is to use this space to collaborate, share, critique, and commend. It's out in the open; it's a living archive that can be read by anyone, anywhere with internet access. It's our foray into the new system of news and opinion. Let's jump in...