John Robson: Where Is the Outrage Over the Treatment of Women in Afghanistan?

In case you missed it amid the ruckus over Israel, Israel, and Israel, the alleged genocide in Gaza, or the evils of Zionism, AP reported that “Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers last Wednesday issued the country’s first set of laws to prevent vice and promote virtue. They include a requirement for a woman to conceal her face, body and voice outside the home.”
Outraged yet? If not, here’s an assignment for your next tutorial paper. “Gay rights in Afghanistan and Israel: compare and contrast.” Just kidding. I don’t think they have tutorials anymore, and if so I’m pretty sure they don’t assign papers. And if they did, you’d be in a heap of trouble if you chose that one.
Indeed, you’d be taking a pretty big chance even with “Rule of law in Afghanistan and Israel: compare and contrast.” Especially if you, oh, I don’t know, made some kind of passing reference to the importance of culture and of fundamental beliefs. Like the supposedly divine injunction against women speaking in public at all.
Still, the voice of youth is brave and won’t be silenced, right? And here you have rights. So if your professors are part of the herd of independent minds that stampedes right over anyone who deviates from the rebellious Party line, along with politicians, public servants, and other downtrodden proletarians, you don’t have to submit to their indoctrination, do you?
Heck no. This is a university. We’re students. We think for ourselves. We can set up a protest encampment and bring in speakers and shout slogans and, what the heck, maybe party a bit to stay in practice. (Admittedly some of the encampments last year didn’t exactly come across as cheerful, but I’m pretty sure some people were getting high, however lugubriously.)
We can set up information booths. We can inform people and awaken them to the outrage.
Heck, you can even do a paper on it. If they still have such. Everyone will praise you for speaking truth to power, defying the Establishment, and getting straight A’s at a state-funded, state-run university.
I didn’t think so. But you can create one and wave it. We’re waiting.