My blog is going to be focusing on the United States removing their troops from Afghanistan and what effects this will have on the local women and girls in the country. The Department of the Defense article that I am going to be focusing on, discusses how the support for Afghanistan in the future will mostly be financial. Financial support is mainly in regards to paying Afghan National Defense and Security Forces and providing maintenance for military aircraft. There is also a major focus on the Kabul Airport being a stable location for the future of a Post-U.S. Afghanistan.
From a strictly American perspective, this all seems like a good thing. We obviously cannot afford to stay in Afghanistan forever and at least the U.S. is providing funds to help the country run smoothly following American departure. From a feminist perspective on the hand, this is not a good situation. One of the biggest issues with the Taliban is their stance against young women, getting an education. Young women were brutally attacked, had their schools burned down, killed, and had acid thrown on them. During the U.S. occupation, the presence of the U.S. troops could prevent such brutality from occurring. Now that the Americans are leaving, there is the terrifying chance that the Taliban could spread their power and continue their brutality towards young women and girls. Taliban control is spread throughout the country, though heavily in the more rural southern, southwestern, northern areas of the country. These areas are under Taliban control or Taliban contested control. On the other hand, there is no Taliban control in major government controlled cities like Kabul. Therefore the securing of a far off airport does very little for protection of young women in these rural areas and the Afghan forces taking back these areas will be even more difficult once American troops are gone.
Overall, through continued funding of Afghan military forces America is attempting to keep some stability in the region. Also control of the Kabul airport will act as a way that we can supply the Afghan army with weapons that they can use to fight the Taliban. Hopefully these actions can be enough to defeat the Taliban or at the very least keep them at bay. I myself am not so optimistic, especially if we go off of our historical experience in our troop withdrawal from Vietnam. Taliban power is entrenched in everyday Afghan society and our troop withdrawal could lead to the Taliban’s attacks on women and girls growing, if the Afghan armed forces do not have the ability to stop them. I also have attached a map below of government, contested, and Taliban controlled areas in Afghanistan.
Work Cited:
Lopez, C. Todd. “Military Leaders Plan for Post-Withdrawal Financial Support for Afghans.” U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, www.defense.gov/Explore/News/Article/Article/2642935/military-leaders-plan-for-post-withdrawal-financial-support-for-afghans/.
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