Miss America/ Miss Afghanistan

[meadow]

I'm wondering how these sunless women can be healthy enough to bear healthy
children...and how they can raise such children with the prohibitions they
have.
d

Wayne Johnson wrote:

> Sad to say, the social "rank" of Afghan women is not too different from that
> of women in "Democratic" Greece.  Why else do so many of the classic plays
> reflect the horrific reaction of males of that period to "acts" of
> women...like wanting to bury their brothers, not be sold as slaves &
> chattel, humiliated by their husbands, etc.?  It is not so much of a stretch
> as you might think.
>
> Of course, you have to actually read the plays...Medea, Trojan Women,
> Iphigenia(s), etc. to discover this.  Not likely in the US educational
> scheme.  Probably punishable by death in Afghanistan.  No question that
> these guys are a great leap backward in time and deserving of any death we
> can rig up for them.  Then, many of  our Saudi allies aren't too far up this
> particular social scale either.
>
> So the Saudis treat their women worse than farm animals, they give us a good
> price on their oil! A country's gotta do what a counry's gotta do.
>
> (Note: I know Saudi men and women who are NOT pursuaded by these ideas.
> They all live here naturally.)
>
> I am returning to my fashion reflections for awhile.
>
> W
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: austin-ghetto-list-admin@pairlist.net
> [mailto:austin-ghetto-list-admin@pairlist.net]On Behalf Of
> StepCher@aol.com
> Sent: Sunday, October 28, 2001 7:03 AM
> To: austin-ghetto-list@pairlist.net
> Subject: FWD: Miss America/ Miss Afghanistan
>
> not fabulous, but makes the point.
>
> > >On the left is Katie Harmon, Miss America, wearing the swimsuit
> > she chose for the competition.
> > >On the right is a typical Afghan girl, wearing the heavy
> > smothering burqua as required by the oppressive Taliban regime.
> > >
> > >
> > >Miss America is a junior at Portland State University, hoping
> > to eventually get a Master's degree in Bioethics.
> > >Miss Afghanistan is forbidden from receiving any education at
> > all, and cannot read or write.
> > >
> > >
> > >Miss America has worked as a lab assistant at both the Oregon
> > Health Sciences University and the University of Puget Sound.
> > >Miss Afghanistan is forbidden from working.
> > >
> > >
> > >Miss America's father is an engineer. Her mother is a teacher.
> > >Miss Afghanistan's father was shot by a gang of Taliban
> > militants. Her mother begs for bread scraps since she cannot work or
> remarry.
> > >
> > >
> > >Miss America wowed the judges by singing a Puccini aria, "O Mio
> > Babbino Caro".
> > >Miss Afghanistan is forbidden from singing or even listening to music
> of
> > >any kind.
> > >
> > >
> > >Miss America will be traveling the nation nonstop during her reign.
> > >Miss Afghanistan cannot leave her house without a male family
> > member, cannot drive, and cannot be out after dark.
> > >
> > >
> > >Miss America is an advocate for breast cancer research.
> > >Miss Afghanistan cannot be treated by a male doctor, and for
> > all practical purposes has no access to medical treatment of any kind.
> > >
> > >
> > >Miss America can date, marry, or divorce anyone she chooses.
> > >Miss Afghanistan will be stoned to death if caught in the company of a
> male
> > >outside of her family. She is likely to be sold into an arranged
> marriage
> > >to a man who already has two wives.
> > >
> > >
> > >Miss America wears sunscreen on the beach to keep from burning.
> > >Miss Afghanistan cannot live in a house with windows unless they are
> > >painted black. Since she must wear a burqua outside, her pale
> translucent
> > >skin has not seen a ray of sunlight in years.
> > >
> > >
> > >Miss America could have been disqualified if her swimsuit did not meet
> > >pageant standards.
> > >Miss Afghanistan can be flogged if the holes in the mesh covering her
> face
> > >are too large.
> > >
> > >
> > >Miss America will decide how many children, if any, she wants to have.
> > >Miss Afghanistan will be pregnant 3-4 times more often than Miss
> America.
> > >Unfortunately, her babies are 25 times more likely to die in the first
> year.
>      One out of four will not see their 5th birthday.
> > >
> > >
> > >Miss America is majoring in speech communications at PSU.
> > >Miss Afghanistan is forbidden from speaking in public.
> > >
> > >
> > >Miss America is 21. Since the U.S. life expectancy for women is 80,
> she's still a
> > very young woman.
> > >
> > >Miss Afghanistan is also 21. But since the life expectancy for an
> Afghan woman
>     is 43, next year she will be "over-the-hill".
> > >(Besides having a shockingly short life expectancy overall,
> > Afghanistan is one of the only countries in the world in which women
> have a
> > shorter life expectancy than men)
> > >
> > >
> > >Miss America is a beautiful, intelligent woman and everyone knows it.
> > >Miss Afghanistan could be a beautiful, intelligent woman, ... but
> nobody
> > >will ever know it.
> > >
> > >
> > >God Bless Miss America
> > >
> > >God Help Miss Afghanistan.