The Taliban's Ongoing War Against Women

Many in the world know about Malala Yousafzai, the courageous Pakistani girl who stood up for her right to an education, and nearly lost her life at the hands of the Taliban.  Malala and two other girls were shot by the Taliban in the October of 2012.  The assassination attempt made headlines all over the world, turning Malala into an international icon.  She has become the face of the struggle for the equal rights of women in Islamic nations.  

What many are not aware of is that while her plight brought increased attention to the suffering of women under the Taliban, it has not dissuaded the Taliban from their goals.  In fact, the Taliban's War on the equality of Women is still ongoing is Pakistan right now, nearly six years after Malala nearly lost her life.  The Taliban believe that under Islamic Sharia Law, women must accept an inferior status in society.  The Taliban firmly believe that women should never occupy a high status within society, and any offer of education would lead to a women lead women to pursue a greater status then the what the Taliban prescribes, and this cannot be allowed to happen.  Thus, the Taliban believes that they must eliminate this threat by destroying any and all possibility for a woman in their society to have access to an education.  

When the Taliban began establishing footholds in northern Pakistan in the early 2000's, it was not long before they began acting on their ideas.  Schools throughout the region soon began to fall victim to attack.  As early as 2004, the world was starting to become aware of the Taliban's actions in Northern Pakistan.  The Taliban began to attack girl's schools all over the nation.  Even after Malala's assassination attempt, they have not stopped.  Just recently, 12 schools (8 girl schools, 4 boys schools) were bombed or burned across northern Pakistan.  Over the years, hundreds, if not thousands of schools have been attacked by the Taliban, or Taliban-inspired insurgents.  Thousands of female school teachers have left their jobs out of fear of attack  Hundreds of thousands of children no longer attend schools due to the ongoing attacks.  

The truth is that there are many who are still suffering in Pakistan for the very reason that Malala suffered, and we must not allow this to stand.  The right to an education is a universal right, and we must urge both the nation of Pakistan and the entire world to stand united against the evil of the Taliban, but there is a way in which we can take direct action in defying the evil of the Taliban  By sending a donation to Express Missions International: we can help build a new elementary school for poor children to attend and have the chance to obtain the basic knowledge they need to help succeed in life.  Just make a note on your donation that you want it to go to the A&R Relief Project.  We cannot allow the sacrifice of Malala and so many others to be in vain.

Sources:

Ahmad, Jibran.  "Twelve School Bombed, Burned in Northern Pakistan."  Reuters.  August 03, 2018.  Accessed from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pakistan-blast-schools/twelve-schools-bombed-burned-in-northern-pakistan-idUSKBN1KO1TV

"Pakistan: Surge of Militant Attacks on Schools."  Human Rights Watch.  August 03, 2018.  Accessed from https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/08/03/pakistan-surge-militant-attacks-schools

Yousafzai, Malala & Christina Lamb.  I Am Malala.  New York: Little, Brown & Company, 2013.