Afghanistan: A Question of Freedom

"You can't go back and you can't stand still,
If the thunder don't get you then the lightning will."
-Grateful Dead

I was recently asked how I, as a journalist, would cover what’s happening in Afghanistan.  The truth is that I really have no business providing any real commentary on the situation. Not professionally, anyways. I lack the thorough knowledge and expertise required to even begin to properly dissect this complicated conflict and region.

But what I do understand very clearly is the human impact.

Namely, the idea that over the past 20 years, some individuals in the region have begun to enjoy a freer existence. Some women, in particular, were able to study, work, and not have to cover their face to the point of disappearance. For younger women, perhaps this is even all they’ve ever known—this degree of freedom. And now they must submit to Sharia laws and shed their freedoms and identities. Overnight.

I can’t help but think of Margaret Atwood’s novel, The Handmaid’s Tale.  When Hul…