Gradual Re-Talibanization.

[Digital Malang]

The Government is going to propose draft of a new law that will introduce wedding dress code, ban on certain dressing styles, set limits for the number of guests to attend one's marriage party, identify the kind of foods to be served, and the amount of money one want to spend on this occasion. The law will ban mixing of male and females, which is getting quite common in Kabul now, in marriage parties in one hall. Once it is approved and enacted, you will be compelled to compromise the style of your dressing, which comes in great detail in the draft of the law that what kind of dresses the brides are allowed to wear on their marriage party. It also says the number of your guests should not be more than 300. Where are we heading to? The rulers are taking us on the path of institutional re-Talibanization with such shameful, ridiculous and senseless moves. This discussion has been for some time, but one could not imagine the Government is so keen that it will come up with a draft of law and decide our private lifestyle. It is a direct interference in people's privacy and violation of our basic freedom. The Government is taking us on the way to gradual Talibanization in appeasement to the militants and radicals. President Karzai has been very keen about his "confidence building measures" for Taliban in order to show them that he is ready to reverse the improvements in freedom and basic rights that we have achieved during the last nine years with the blessings of international intervention that toppled the brutal rule of Taliban. They want the people to go back to the days of Burqa under Taliban rule when women were not allowed to go out of home without a male guardian. There is no sense in such a ridiculous move. A Government that cannot provide the very basic needs of life to its citizens is interfering in the very private life of a citizen. We fear that if media and civil society do not oppose such attempts of the current Administration, it will go on and on. Soon there will be another law making you compelled to go to mosque for prayers five-times a day, with police implementing it, as was the routine in darkest period of our history under Taliban. Recently in a similar move of appeasement to militants, President Karzai dismissed the deputy governor of Helmand just because he had allowed some female singers to perform in a Nawruz concert. We are on our way to an institutionalized Talibanization. We strongly condemn this move and demand the Government to drop the idea of such Taliban-style legislation. It's no more offensive to the very private lives and rights of the people.

[Catya Sher]

The law is one step in the right direction.
Many more need to be made.

But just an hour ago I was engrossed in an account of an American woman traveler's experience at a Kabul wedding in May 1979, before the Soviet invasion.

She wrote that her carefully selected Afghan outfit was stared at by the other guests.
They were all attired in Western business suits and tight [probably unbecomning, too] dresses.

She was the only person attending wearing Afghan clothes !

It was worse when the women got up to dance [not a good idea in my opinion anyway] and performed some dances [in front of men too] in these tight slithery outfits....

Maybe a metaphor for the society's need to go back to its own roots.
To stop aping these Western ways as the latest and coolest.
Instead to be confident in traditional ways of life.

It's really the key to TRUE success for Afghanistan !
Before all the invasions, they cannot be blamed for not understanding this.
Hopefully, now they do.

Any step in this direction can be applauded as a good idea.

[sahil112]

hmm isit weird that in saudi it is also the law that a woman can not go any where without being accompanied by a man but when it is done by the taliban there is an outcry of rights etc?
just confuses me that if your so aginst it then you should also speak out to the arabs.

[randolph85]

there should be more mass weddings in afg like i have read about in mazar. men paying off the debt of their wedding for the rest of their lives is just damn ridiculous.