Afghan women face life in domestic slavery
Plus, China bans international adoptions, and a deadly prison break in the Congo
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Every so often, a news event rattles my worldview, and today’s first story is one such moment.
I am a staunch anti-imperialist, especially from an American perspective. I find the GOP criticisms of Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan to be a bit ludicrous, as I believe he deserves immense credit for being the only president willing to get the US out of that war.
But, over the past week, the New York Times published a lengthy feature that details the hell imposed on Afghan women living under the Taliban.
The details are horrendous, and it made me wonder if leaving was the correct decision. I believe the US should exercise restraint when meddling with foreign governments, but, part of me wonders if the Taliban has crossed a line and cannot be allowed to govern.
I don’t think I’ve changed my anti-imperialism sentiments, but they are a bit shook.
This is an informative issue, but definitely a bit dark.
Follow up on A6 topics
Israeli attack kills five in central Syria: State media
Iran ships’ hundreds’ of ballistic missiles to Russia
Sudan rejects UN call for peace force to protect civilians
A6 - Where the World Happens
Afghan women face slave-like conditions
A new manifesto codifying Taliban decrees has outlawed the sound of a woman’s voice outside of the home.
In most places, this would represent an extreme escalation in sexist laws, but the Afghan government already bans women from employment, schooling after sixth grade, access to public spaces, and long-distance travel without being accompanied by a male.
While Afghanistan was not a bastion of women’s rights during the American occupation, the draconian laws have escalated dramatically in the three years since the Taliban took control of the country.
When the Taliban overthrew the government in 2021, the world largely allowed it to happen, conveniently believing the lies from the group, which said it would be more moderate. That deception bought the Taliban enough time to solidify power, and now the world ignores them.
Today, Afghanistan is the most restrictive country in the world for women, and experts are worried that the new decrees will facilitate a crackdown from the country’s morality police. Those men are now emboldened to detain rule violators for up to three days and legally damage property.
Women interviewed by the New York Times say they are essentially imprisoned in their houses, and any hope of a future beyond being a domestic slave has been destroyed. One woman told the Times that she had not left the house in three months.
Analysts also said the laws are designed to reject any perceived remnants of American culture in Afghanistan.
On Sunday, the US Republicans released a partisan report that claimed Biden misled the public about the risks of the withdrawal, which is a cynical example of leveraging a tragedy to score political points.
China stops foreigners from adopting its children
Beijing announced last week that it would ban international adoptions of Chinese children.
The government said it “would not continue to process cases at any stage,” ending the adoption hopes for hundreds of American families and undoubtedly many more internationally.
The only exceptions to international adoptions will be children who are blood relatives with their new guardians or step-parents adopting a child.
Over 82,000 Chinese children have been adopted by American parents since 1999, according to the US State Department.
International adoption can provide a potential avenue for children in need of a happy and healthy home. Many of these children will surely face a more uncertain future.
However, the international adoption system can be abused. South Korea sent 200,000 children abroad since the Korean War, essentially creating a baby export market.
The adoption rules from Beijing come as the country faces a massive demographic crisis. The country is aging rapidly, and birth rates remain remarkably low, making it easy to imagine that authorities in China do not want large numbers of newborns leaving the country.
The overall population in China has shrunk for two straight years, a trend that is unlikely to reverse this decade.
Former aide to NY governor charged with spying for China
The US Justice Department charged Linda Sun, a former top aid to New York Governor Kathy Hochul, with spying for China.
Sun, 41, is accused of money laundering for the Chinese government and using her position to push pro-Beijing policies in exchange for expensive gifts. The kickbacks are said to have been worth millions of dollars and even included food sent to Sun’s family in China.
Sun was appointed as Hochul’s deputy chief of staff in 2021. She previously worked for the governor’s predecessor, Andrew Cuomo.
Sun’s husband, Christopher Hu, was also allegedly involved in the scheme. The couple has been charged with violating, and conspiring to violate, the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Both are naturalized US citizens who have pleaded not guilty and are free on bond.
Prosecutors said Sun tried to organize high-level meetings between New York officials and their Chinese counterparts. Prosecutors also said Sun tried to prevent New York government workers from meeting with Taiwanese representatives. She also is accused of altering speeches so that there was no mention of China’s detention of over 1 million Uyghurs.
Sun was fired a year ago after officials were alerted to potential suspicions about her activities. Hochul said she was “shocked and outraged” by the accusations, while Beijing spokespeople said the US was overhyping the spying allegations.
Nearly 130 die in Congo jailbreak attempt
At least 129 people died last week during an attempted mass breakout from a prison in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Prison guards shot live rounds at the detainees, killing 24 of them. Over 100 of the deaths were attributed to a stampede-like situation. The country’s interior minister said women were raped during the chaos.
Videos of the incident highlighted the extreme disaray of the prison break. The imagery showed dead bodies, ransacked cells, and walls with their bricks removed.
The prison was a bomb just waiting for a spark, as 12,000 inmates were housed in a facility designed to hold 1,500 people. Amnesty International had previously called the conditions at the prison “appalling.”
Prison breaks are relatively common in the DR Congo, one of the poorest countries on earth. They often include outside “invasions” from religious sects, including a 2020 mass escape facilitated by a group linked to ISIS.
Also in 2020, a group of inmates at a different prison managed to seize weapons from the facility and use those to escape.
Iraq is kicking out ISIS genocide investigators
In 2014, the Islamic State launched a years-long campaign to murder, torture and kidnap members of the Yazidi ethnic group. It was a clear and obvious example of a genocide.
The Yazidis are indigenous to the Middle East and are a Kuridsh-speaking people who follow a unique religion that harkens back to ancient Persia.
When the Islamic State took over portions of Iraq, they aimed to eliminate the Yazidis, killing 5,000 people and capturing another 7,000 women and children. ISIS used religion as a justification for the crimes.
Since the fall of ISIS, UN investigators have been excavating mass graves in Iraq, gathering evidence to help prosecute crimes while helping families to find closure.
The Iraqi government wants to move on from this dark period in its history. It informed the UN projects last September that it would only have one more year to complete its work. That year is now up.
The government is frustrated that the UN is not handing evidence over to Iraqi officials, who have shown enthusiasm for using the death penalty to prosecute former ISIS members. The UN wants them to stop doing that.
Iraqi politicians are also trying to promote local nationalism. American troops are still stationed in the country, and Iran exerts strong influence over some parts of Iraq. Experts think Iraq’s separating itself from the UN mission is aimed at exerting its independence.
The UN team is scrambling to finish their work, but they have come to accept that, for now, they simply won’t finish the job.
Environment: Researchers invent one hundred percent biodegradable “barley plastic”
Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have created a plastic-like material made of barley starch and fibre from sugarbeet waste, making it extremely biodegradable.
Plastic pollution can often feel like an overwhelming problem, so finding viable alternatives is crucial to building a cleaner planet for future generations.
The new barley plastic completely decomposes in two months and could be used in simple use cases, like food wrappings. It won’t be able to replace industrial-quality plastics, like what is used in hospitals, but food waste is a major source of global garbage.
Additionally, it could provide another revenue source for barley and sugar producers who can sell their waste to manufacturers of this product.
Kevin’s Article: 5,000-year tradition of healthy tooth removal offers insights into indigenous Taiwan
From the first three paragraphs:
Losing our baby teeth is a rite of passage for everyone, often requiring clever strategies to remove those stubborn little gnashers.
For nearly 5,000 years, the indigenous communities of Taiwan practised a tradition called teeth ablation, the deliberate removal of healthy adult teeth, primarily targeting the visible front-facing anterior teeth. This practice would become a significant tradition that persisted for millennia.
According to a recent study published in Archaeological Research in Asia that analysed research reports from over 250 archaeological sites of Austronesian peoples in Taiwan, tooth ablation was a widespread custom that migrated along with the communities.
Charity to consider: Afghanaid
From the About Page:
For forty years, our dedicated personnel have worked with millions of families in some of the most marginalised and remote communities in Afghanistan.
We build basic services, improve livelihoods, strengthen the rights of women and children, help communities protect against natural disasters and adapt to climate change, and respond to humanitarian emergencies.
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