The display of women in Afghanistan, fully covered in cloth, eyes, hands or feet, is not a display of men's power, although many may want to believe it. It's about power over life. Life is merely another commodity in man's attempt to be in control.
Living in a capitalist society we have been taught to believe, we are isolated individuals competing for the most of what each of us wants (IICFTMOWEOUSW), so we have populations who cannot find enough food to eat, shelter or health care. But entertainment is everywhere whether you want it or not.
The inclusion of women in leadership has made life better for some of us but we still fear violence. Might doesn't make right, it makes politics and religion. We label ourselves and one another. We follow trends to establish scapegoats and arguments that favour those with power and acceptance of injustice towards those whose power has been taken away by prejudice.
Women are still raped and murdered which we have filed under "bad luck". Men have been murdered if they have been labelled as "other". We think we are civilized because we created laws and punishment.
It's easy to get lost in arguments of justice/injustice yet most of us suffer. The beliefs of those who have more power, traditions, what others think of us, and where we stand in the family hierarchy, or the office where we work.
The love of power in position or money, keeps us imprisoned to various degrees. We might be victims of others' ignorance, poor health or loneliness.
Today we may call this luck of the draw, worldly wise or conservative. We also work tirelessly to calm ourselves with our personal wisdom and parents often work hard to train children to avoid unnecessary pain and fit in.
It's a matter of having enough good fortune to find a home, a job and the education needed to survive. Living in a place where we are respected and working in a company that is fair, is more than luck, it depends on political responsibility where we learn the morality of our society.
Had we abandoned the idea of social justice, not only would life be more brutal, but we wouldn't have learned anything about peace and justice. More importantly we must see the world as it is with the question of how to make it better for all as an ongoing tension if we don't want to be like Afghanistan.
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