By publicizing these sorts of acts, though it may be within its rights under Islamic law, the Taliban does its cause of trying to win international recognition no good," said a spokesman at the regional United Nations office in Islamabad, the Pakistani capital. The militants, the spokesman said, "are only hurting themselves." The Taliban's insistence on secluding women from public life is a political maneuver disguised as "Islamic" law. Before seizing power, Taliban manipulated and used the rights of women as tools to gain control of the country. "To secure financial and political support, Taliban emulated authoritarian methods typical of many Middle Eastern countries." Taliban's stand on the seclusion of women is not derived from Islam, but rather, from a cultural bias found in suppressive movements throughout the region.Some members of the Taliban have been quoted as saying that these actions are temporary and that women's rights will be restored once the government is more stable. +One must bear in mind that, as history has amply demonstrated, other Muslim countries have committed the same atrocities and the result is that women is that women within their boundaries continue to be oppressed, politically and otherwise. "To maintain control over the people, the Taliban divert attention away from political and economic crises by oppressing half of the population." Such a view has no basis in the Quran, yet it has been promoted by the Taliban as "Islamic." This situation is very distressing considering that women were given rights in the Quran to contribute to the economy by owning and selling property 1400 years ago:Men shall have a benefit from what they earn, and women shall have a benefit from what they earn. (4:32) This verse emphasizes the equality of men and women in the economic growth of a society, an ideal that is obviously not even close to the Talibanistic goals.I had the opportunity to discuss the Taliban and its imp...
