Readings for 12/2

The readings for this class were about feminist issues and how they relate to terrorism. Lila Abu-Lughod explained how the United States is using an ethnocentric view to justify the war on terrorism in Afghanistan.  Instead of just fighting terrorism against the United States, the war has also come to represent a moral issue about women's rights. We are being led to believe that women in Afghanistan are being oppressed and are therefore radically relieved after US troops remove the Taliban. Specifically, the burka has come to symbolize the oppressive regime and the plight of Afghan women. This is however unrealistic. First, the burka can not represent all of the problems faced by Afghan women. It is simply an article of clothing and does not encompass many other issues present in society. Second, the burka has been present in Aghanistan long before the Taliban. It represents a woman's piety to God and is frequently worn elsewhere in the world voluntarily. Their presence has become the social norm in such societies, "so conventional that most women gave little thought to their meaning." Expecting Afghan women to completely change their style simply because a new government is in place is unfair. Instead, the government should enable the women to have a choice in their wardrobe, rather than forcing them into either burkas or Levi's. We must remember that forcing American ideals on other countries is not "saving" the other country, it is in my opinion, just installing new and different oppressive laws.

Bunch wrote in her article "Whose Security" about the effects that the war on terror has here in the Unite d States. After 9/11, the United States experience a "resurgence of the masculine warrior discourse." Women's issues were therefore pushed aside for more pressing matters of national security. Within the media, strong males were depicted in order to reassure audiences of the strength of our nation  but they also "served as a rude reminder that when it comes to ussues of terrorism, war, defense, and national security, women and especially feminists are still not on the map" Bunch goes on into further detail about how the Bush administration weakened the protection for human rights all in the name of fighting terrorism. Lowering standards for human rights sets a dangerous precedent for women's rights and is therefore a problem for feminists. She concludes by stating "women's activism in the United States must be both local and global to succeed." We must remember that foreign policy effects domestic policy and vice versa.

Enloe similarly writes how wars have impacted the roles of women in society. She explains how such policy-makers as varied as empire-builders to NATO have directly impacts women's lives. Enloe also discusses Afghan women's roles in society, or lack thereof. They have been left out of constitution writing processes and are therefore voiceless in terms of the law. Enloe writes how "closed-door bargainers" are the people with the loudest voices in the process because they are actually able to gather weapons, men, and economic resources which subsequently leads to public support. Afghan women are unable to establish connections and remain helpless. The future for Afghan women is not looking bright unless some major changes occur within the law writing process.