(Editors Note: The following essay was written during the month of the attack on the United States.)

A few months ago, I received an e-mail from a friend, describing the horrible conditions that women faced in Afghanistan under the Taliban’s rule. The e-mail informed me these women could not receive education or hold any sort of job. They were reduced to begging and were suffering from extreme depression. I did not forward this e-mail message as I had been instructed, because I thought the conditions must be exaggerated. I had not heard any of this information on the news and could not believe that the United States would be uninformed of such events. Then Sept. 11 came and went.

With the bombing of the World Trade Center towers, suddenly America’s interest in Afghanistan became national news. For several weeks I have been bombarded with images of veiled women being beaten in the streets for a garment that is out of place, as well as women being executed because they were accused of adultery. I can’t help but wonder where these images were a year ago. Surely this treatment did not begin on Sept. 11.

The reason that these disturbing images did not run across our television screens until recently is because it did not promote our nation’s political interests until now. Pollitt writes, “until Sept. 11, this situations received only modest attention in the West – much less than the destruction of the giant Buddha statues of Bamiyan,” (10). It took terrorist attacks on the United States to educate its citizens about the treatment of the women under the Taliban’s rule.

One may ask what the unfortunate state of Afghan women has to do with discrimination. I believe we showed discrimination when we, as a nation, ignored their plight. It became too easy to lose sight of the veiled individual and instead see only the veil. If another nation, with a culture much like our own, treated people in such a way, I cannot help but believe that we would rally to their aid. Instead, the majority of U.S. citizens have been ignorant of the treatment and when informed, acted as I did, in disbelief.

American feminists often view their international counterparts with a bit of uneasiness. Perhaps it is the exotic dress, like the veil, which keeps us from realizing these women are just like us. The women in Afghanistan have talents, flaws, families, hopes and aspirations. Yet, they dress differently and speak another language.

We must be careful voicing our sympathy for the conditions of the women in Afghanistan. Are we turning these women into a political statement as to why the United States should wage war, or are we seriously wanting to help improve their current situation? I believe the United States has practiced a form of discrimination by broadcasting such news only after the terrorist attacks.

Too often, we, as individuals, see the issues of foreign nations as those of “other people” and lose the connection that we have as human beings. We, as people, have similar needs and desires despite the cultural differences and should not simply pick up or drop a cause because of how it helps or hinders our political agenda. There are many cultures in which women face persecution and lack basic rights, such as whether or not to have children or receive an education.

Rey Chow comments on the hardships that the women of China face in “Violence in the Other Country.” Chow states “In an event such as the present one, the Chinese woman, who is forever caught between patriarchy and imperialism, disappears as a matter of course,” (88). The women become invisible because of the focus which the world places on the violence and scandal. Americans are not immune to this behavior as we often see on the violence and cease viewing these women as who they really are; women with a cause. This is the same situation as what we face when viewing the treatment of the women in Afghanistan. Only after we live with fear and uncertainty, which has been inflicted by terrorists, are we able to gain a sense of urgency that will inspire us to help the women of Afghanistan.

The political problems and issues international women deal with vary some from country to country, but the strength that can be yoked from unity is immeasurable. It is impossible to support people who are living in oppression in other countries when we view them as exotic and radically different from ourselves. When we lose sight of our shared sense of basic humanity and see only the existing differences, the people fighting for their rights then turn into the “other” and the sense of community is lost in the cultural crossover.

Americans should be inspired by the women in Afghanistan. Pollit writes “The women of RAWA are a different model of heroism…In Afghanistan, they risk their lives by running secret schools for girls, delivering medical aid, [as well as] documenting and filming Taliban atrocities,” (10).

We, as Americans, must be careful not to use these women simply as part of a convenient excuse for the United States’ war against terrorists. To join in the Afghan women’s struggle because it is convenient for our political views belittles their heroic struggle. Instead, we need to focus on the Afghans’ battle for equality apart from the political turmoil that has resulted in tragedy for our nation. We need to find out what is important to these women and unite with them to help them receive education and freedom from their persecution. While the Taliban is to be held responsible for the deplorable conditions of the Afghan people, we do the Afghan women a great injustice to use them as a pawn for war and paint them as just a sad situation in the Middle East. These women are strong, courageous and inspiring. Their identities must not be lost behind their shadow-like existence. The stories of struggling people around the world must not be overshadowed and lost by the perceived “barriers” of culture and the sensational nature of violence. The people of the United States need to join in the fight of the internationally oppressed, not as Americans, but as people with a common struggle for justice. Then, and only then, will the discrimination end.