The
Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is the official name of the country commonly known
as Afghanistan. From the name itself, it is evident that religion, specifically
Islam, plays a significant role in the rule of the country and the decisions made
by the government. Afghanistan is 80 percent Sunni Muslim, 19 percent Shia Muslim,
and one percent other. (CIA) These striking statistics show that the Sunni sect
of Islam is powerful, dominant and has a great influence on the state of
Afghanistan as a country. Unfortunately, Sunni radical groups such as the
Taliban and al-Qaeda are utilizing this power to cause violence and terror in
Afghanistan. The immense influence that religion, particularly Sunni Islam, has
on all affairs in Afghanistan has contributed to the growth of child labor
because of the effects of the violence caused by radical Muslims and their misogynistic
views in regards to education.
Taliban
rule in Afghanistan before the interference of the United States resulted in
drastic changes within Afghan society. Laws such as one that states that women
were not allowed to leave their homes along with Islamic law which declares
that, “if a woman has been widowed or her husband is unable to work due to
injury or illness, support of the family falls to other male relatives”
(Reihing), have resulted in an increase in child labor because women were unable to work, thus leaving the children to work. El Fadl’s book, The Great Theft, states, “since puritans
believe that the empowerment of women is part of Western cultural invasion of
Muslim lands, they seem to act as if political defeat can be compensated by a
cultural victory—a supposed victory that comes at a great expense to women”
(256). The Taliban, radicals or “puritans” as El Fadl describes them, have
prevented young girls and women from leaving their homes and consequently
attending school. “…Authorities there have been investigating a series of
attacks by suspected Taliban sympathizers against girls' schools…near Kabul. Four
schools were attacked in ...2002 in an attempt to stop
parents sending their daughters to study. The attackers fired rockets into the
schools, and raided them…The attackers left behind an unexploded grenade and
several leaflets warning parents to keep their girls at home" (BBC). Events
like this one leave young girls no choice but to work in order to support their
families somehow and also prevent families from sending their children to
school due to safety issues.
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| Afghan girls attending class at a madrassa. (http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/About/General/2011/5/17/1305629573922/madrasa-007.jpg ) |
“Puritan”
groups such as the Taliban and al-Qaeda are strict interpreters of the Islamic
text, but only choose parts of the Qur’an that apply to their cause. Due to the
fact that the “Puritan” Muslims believe their actions are justified by God, they
are fervent and often engage in violence as demonstrated by the raid of the
school. During Taliban rule, schools offering religious education known as
madrassas were opened. Although these schools were positive in promoting
education, the problem with them is that this narrow-minded, “Puritan” Sunni
Muslim approach to Islam can mold the minds of young children who, unable to
make logical decisions for themselves, may be inclined to join the al-Qaeda or
Taliban forces. More madrassas can lead to an increase in insurgents and the additional
problem of child soldiers alongside child labor.
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| Afghan boys studying at a madrassa. (http://www.worldpress.org/images/20090211-madrassa.jpg) |
Child
labor in Afghanistan occurs partially as a result of the effects of radical Muslims
instituting laws preventing women from educating themselves and prospering in
addition to raiding schools, causing them to be places of danger rather than
learning. One last point that must be mentioned is the fact that the Taliban,
although suppressed by US forces, is still powerful due to the opium trade among
other interests. However, the large amount of money made by the Taliban is in
their hands rather than in the hands of the population of Afghanistan where it is
needed and could be most beneficial. Reihing stated that education dramatically
increased after the Taliban were quelled, a sneak peek of the future without
the Taliban. It is ironic how religion, a fount of nonviolence and assistance, is
actually causing the issue of child labor due to puritanism rather than
battling it head on.
Sources:
El Fadl, Khaled Abou. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco,
2005. Print.
"CIA
The World Factbook: Afghanistan." The World Factbook. Central
Intelligence Agency. Web. 28 Apr. 2012.
<https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/af.html>.
Reihing,
Alexandra. "Child Labor in Afghanistan." Policy Innovations.
20 June 2007. Web. 28 Apr. 2012. <http://www.policyinnovations.org/ideas/briefings/data/afghan_child_labor>.
"Case Study:
Education In Afghanistan." BBC World Service. BBC. Web. 08 May 2012.
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/people/features/ihavearightto/four_b/casestudy_art26.shtml>.
Response to Christine by Aleksandra:
ReplyDeleteChristine accurately portrays how the Taliban, who claims to be a religious faction, contributed to the rise of child labor. However, I don’t think that child labor transpires “partially as a result of” the laws installed by the Taliban; rather, the laws against women are a key factor of this issue. The Taliban is filled with Puritanical Muslims, who select which beliefs to follow, as Christine correctly points out. They do this in order to retain their powerful position (El Fadl), and this narrow-mindset is reflected in laws they codified, in which women were denied an education and were forbidden to work outside the home. Through these laws, the Taliban forced onto the population the mindset that the female’s place was only in the home. This idea was stitched into the societal blanket as gender norm and became culturally acceptable. Even after the Taliban was overthrown and the degrading laws were removed, Afghan society still retained the narrow socio-religious mindset.
In many situations, the male of the house is incapacitated due to military violence and thus is unable to work. Rarely does a mother ever decided to work in place of her husband since dire societal consequences exist, i.e. losing family honor and becoming an outcast. (Sim) As a result, the responsibility of financially supporting family survival usually falls to the children, who are sent to labor. Therefore, the Taliban laws concerning women had a great impact on the increase of child labor.
One incident that supports Christine’s argument occurred in March 2002, where at least fourteen girls died in a fire that engulfed a school building. The religious police, who were Puritans, stopped anyone from saving the girls since they were not properly covered. (El Fadl, pages 250-252) This shows the attitude of the Puritanical view toward children, of how they will go to extreme lengths to protect their religious law, rather than preserve the basic rights of children.
Response to Christine by Cathlynne:
ReplyDeleteAlthough Christine brings up key factors as to how child labor is enforced by religion, she does not put more emphasis on the main problem that started child labor, which is the aspect of the role of women. As Christine mentions, during the rule of the Taliban, women were forbidden to leave their homes without a close male relative by their side. This forced the women to have to work at home, leaving the children with incapacitated fathers a bigger responsibility to care for their family. What Christine failed to mention was that the laws that were set by the Taliban for years have become culturally and socially embedded into the lives of Afghans today. Because of the cruel punishments and far-fetched circumstances that the religious force would do to the women if they did not follow their laws, women are now insecure about stepping out of the oppression that they have been under. This left the children having to work rather than educating themselves. This oppression on the women by the Taliban and religious forces has ultimately caused a big downfall for many Afghan families and is one of the main causes of child labor.
Response to Christine by Kevin
ReplyDeleteChristine does mention that the Taliban's puritanical Islamic traditions are factors in the cycle of child labor. I agree with the traditions she mentions, the household bound role of women and the religious education institutions. The Islamic faith traditionally regards women as inferior to men, but did not restrict them to the extent that the Taliban did. With the implementation of Taliban's laws, people became scared and adapted to women's new social status. Christine correctly points out that due to this household-bound status, specifically male children must go work in place of the mother. Regarding the madrassahs, Christine incorrectly states that madrassas were opened during the Taliban's rule, when in fact madrassas are traditional Afghani schools that date back to the 7th century. (Abdulbaqi) However, she is correct in stating that much of the religious education supplied coincides with the Taliban's beliefs. Also these madrassas "cannot produce graduates who can provide effective guidance and leadership to society to address its current problems," hence parents send their children to work instead of getting an education.
THIS BLOG IS MISSING ITS CONCLUSION.
ReplyDeleteSorry, I had written it earlier, but forgot to post. Here it is:
DeleteConcluding Response:
Thank you all for your helpful comments. Aleksandra brings up a good point in that the Taliban’s rule in regards to women was the premier issue rather than a supplemental one, as I had mentioned, that led to child labor. Also, Aleksandra substantiated the claim that the Taliban go to extremes to protect their puritanical beliefs as seen in the incident where young girls were not saved from a fire because they were not wearing the proper covering mentioned in El Fadl’s book The Great Theft. Cathlynne also brought up good points such as the fact that women are afraid to rebel against those ideals put forth by the Taliban which is hindering progress in Afghan society and resulting in an increase in child labor. Moreover, Kevin is correct, madrassas had been in place before Taliban rule and is actually where the Taliban arose. "Taliban are students of "deeni madrassas" or religious seminaries, which have existed in Afghanistan, the Indian-Subcontinent, and the Central Asia since the arrival of Islam in these areas.” (Kakar) I agree with Kevin in that madrassas offer a one sided education, but would like to add that parents are weary of sending their children to these schools because of safety issues and the possibility that their child might become influenced to join the Taliban. A possible solution to the issue of child labor is an increase in the rights of women which would encourage them to work while simultaneously decreasing the amount of children working.
Kakar, Kawun. "An Introduction of the Taliban." An Introduction of the Taliban. Institute for Afghan Studies, 2000. Web. .