I Believe Paper

I Believe the Taliban was Wrong to Restrict Clothing
One’s personal clothing choice is thought of as an expression of their individuality. When taken away, this sense of individuality is also removed. The Taliban enforced these rules against the people of Afghanistan, oftentimes resorting to severe physical punishment. Although the Taliban might have thought that it was in the best interests of the people, it really did more harm than good. The Taliban’s decision to restrict the people of Afghanistan’s clothing, especially the women’s, was wrong and a complete infringement upon their sense of individuality, further causing very detrimental effects on their society.
First of all, when the Taliban invaded Afghanistan, they imposed a multitude of rules, dictating the way the people of Afghanistan were to live their lives. Women often bore the heaviest burden when it came to changes in lifestyles. If anyone decided not to conform to these demands, then the Taliban thought it appropriate to punish them physically. The Taliban justified their unjust behavior by saying they were only doing what the Koran told them to do. One of the rules that the Taliban enforced was the mandatory wearing of a chadri by all women when they go outside. Something this specific could not have been cited in the Koran. The Taliban interpreted the Koran the way that they wanted to, not in the way that makes the most sense. The Taliban should not have created all of these “rules,” stating that they were in the Koran, when in actuality they were not.
The chadri is basically a veil that covers every inch of a women’s body, with a little window of cloth through which one may look out. It is the only article of outerwear that women are allowed to wear. The chadri, to the women in them, acted more like a prison than an article of clothing. There are restrictions not only on the wearing of the chadri, but also on the clothes that you are allowed to wear under it as well. The Taliban says that women are not allowed to wear bright colored clothes under their chadris, even though it would not be seen. The Taliban has regulated pretty much every thing that a woman is allowed to wear; not to mention the fact that everything women are allowed to wear is quite unflattering. Women often have to resort to wearing lingerie under their chadris to feel pretty. This inability to express themselves will undoubtedly result in a huge blow to their self-esteems.
This sort of inhibition is not healthy for the women of Afghanistan. The design of the chadri is very drab, and when the women are forced to put them on, they will inevitably get lost in a sea of uniformity. Clothing is supposed to be a way of expressing your individuality, and if you take away that form of expression, and do not replace it with another, the effect is that of being smothered. Without even the littlest piece of individuality, people's self-esteem will plummet so low that they are bound to become depressed. The more depressed people get, the less productive they will be. Although women are not allowed to have a job, their unhappiness will affect their families. If the men are also depressed, then their performances at their jobs won’t be up to par; further hurting the economy. One of the biggest effects of this depression is the lack of creativity, which inevitably ensues. There are many very smart and creative people in Afghanistan, and if they are inhibited by depression, then they will not be able to attain their full potential. Without these people leading the way, then Afghanistan's society will not be able to advance at the rate they should be advancing.
While this idea of uniformity is probably what the Taliban had in mind when they imposed all of their rules, they didn’t really think of the repercussions that would take place. Over time people will get fed up with the Taliban’s rules and revolutionary thoughts will start to form. Seeing that women are not allowed to work, they will have a lot of free time to plan things. The act of revolting is the exact opposite effect the Taliban had when implementing these rules. They thought they were going to have a society that conformed to their rules, but instead, they got people planning revolutions.
It was not only the clothing that was restricted; women were not allowed to accessorize either. If a woman were caught with nail polish on, her punishment would range from a beating, to the removal of fingers. With this horrific punishment hanging over their heads, the majority of the people of Afghanistan decided it was best that they conform. Footwear was also restricted. No one, even men were allowed to wear white shoes. The reason behind this one is that the Taliban’s flag is white, and if you wear shoes the same color as the flag, you would be stepping on the flag. This very petty crime would also get you a beating. The Taliban are creating rules that, from an outsider’s point of view, are extremely bizarre.
The Taliban imposed an abundance of rules on the people of Afghanistan restricting their clothing. These rules inhibited people’s, especially women’s, sense of individuality. In some cases, when the Taliban decided to stifle these people’s expression of individuality, they were met with an adverse reaction. The Taliban had no right to impose all of those rules upon the people of Afghanistan, and doing so was a horrible decision on their part. Their actions resulted in an effective stopper in the advancement of their society.

Ancient Voices Paper

" Heart, we will forget him,
You and I, tonight!
You must forget the warmth he gave,
I will forget the light.

When you have done pray tell me,
Then I, my thoughts, will dim.
Haste! ‘Lest while you’re lagging
I may remember him!”
-Emily Dickinson
Yaeko and Kiyoshi had grown up together, but until they were teens, had not given each other a second glance. One day Yaeko sat doing her family's laundry, and Kiyoshi walked by. He had done this many times before, seeing as his family lived down the road from hers; but this time was different. Instead of just walking by, paying no attention to Yaeko, he was smiling at her with a very nervous look plastered on his face. She was caught off guard, and smiled nervously back.
This ritual kept up for a couple of days, and everyday as soon as Yaeko saw Kiyoshi approaching, she would try to look so engrossed in her laundry, that when he got close enough, she would look "surprised" to see him. This charade was Yaeko's way of concealing the joy she felt every time Kiyoshi came by. This time unlike the others, Kiyoshi stopped to say hello. Yaeko responded with a weak ohayou gozaimasu. Their ten-minute conversations soon became the highlight of Yaeko's day. A year had gone by and their love for each other grew with every discussion. Then one fateful day, their dream of one day getting married, was shattered abruptly.
Yaeko's family had long since been in poor financial shape, albeit to say that Kiyoshi's family weren't well off financially either. In Yaeko's family's eyes, a union between Yaeko and Kiyoshi was not in their best interest. This is why Yaeko's parents arranged for her to marry another man. When Yaeko received this very unexpected news, she was furious at her parents. If not for her upbringing, she would have rebelled against them saying that she wanted to marry Kiyoshi. Instead, she was forced to keep her feelings to herself. The only justification Yaeko could scrounge up was that it was the best thing for her family. She knew that there was nothing she could do to stop this marriage, and was hoping that Kiyoshi would understand. She was deeply in love with Kiyoshi, and was sure that she would not be able to get over him and love her new husband.
His name was Teruo. He was a fairly wealthy man who worked in the Shogun's palace. Teruo had been married before, but his wife passed away two years ago. Since his wife's passing, he has been a very lonely man looking for a wife. He soon settled for Yaeko to be the woman to fill that void in his life. Teruo and Yaeko met for the first time at the exchange of the wedding gifts, and Yaeko was, truth to be told, a little disappointed by his appearance. The age difference between Teruo and Yaeko was a great obstacle for her to overcome. He was a man of thirty years, and she a tender age of eighteen.
After the wedding, Yaeko moved in with Teruo in a house just outside of the Shogun's palace. As time went on Yaeko hoped that her feelings towards Teruo would soften, and that she would grow to love him. But that didn't seem possible at the moment, because her love for Kiyoshi was real; the love she felt for Teruo wasn't true, it was an empty love. Yaeko would spend her days tending to the house and preparing for Teruo's return from work. Every night at dinner, Teruo would either keep to himself or talk about issues at work, which Yaeko never understood. Yaeko knew that she could not tell Teruo about her day or ask him to explain his, because it is not the wife's place to burden her troubles on her husband. This meant that Yaeko ended up ignoring the majority of the things that Teruo said during dinner.
Three years had passed and the monotony that Yaeko felt every day had not subsided. She knew that she should not feel this way about her husband, but she could not help it. Many daysYaeko would catch herself thinking about Kiyoshi. Envisioning his boyish good looks, remembering their conversations; soon Yaeko would find tears welling up in her eyes as she remembered that she couldn't be with him. Everyday, she would look out at her old village, imagining Kiyoshi walking over the hill towards her. This day was no different, but when she blinked, the image of Kiyoshi did not disappear. He was actually coming to her. When he got close enough, Yaeko ran out to greet him, but he didn't seem to be coming towards her. Yaeko shouted, "Kiyoshi Kiyoshi it's me Yaeko!" Kiyoshi stopped and turned towards her. A look of surprise grazed over his face, soon turning into joy. They greeted each other and Yaeko found out that Kiyoshi was heading to the Shoguns palace to deliver an offering to the Shogun from his village.
Their reunion had been a joyous one, and Yaeko once again found herself enjoying one of their conversations. Then a dismal expression glazed Kiyoshi's face, and the words that would haunt Yaeko for years were to be uttered. "I have married," muttered Kiyoshi. At that moment, Yaeko's hopes diminished. Ever since her marriage, she had secretly hoped that Kiyoshi would save her from her new husband. Now that she knew that that would never happen, she had to force herself to pretend that she was very happy for Kiyoshi. This pained Yaeko the most, knowing that another woman would be waiting for Kiyoshi to return home, and there was nothing she could do about it. Eventually Kiyoshi had to leave, and Yaeko said her final good-byes, wishing him and his wife a long and healthy life. Yaeko watched Kiyoshi disappear over the hill, and she knew that it would probably be the last time she will ever see him. As soon as Kiyoshi was out of earshot, Yaeko said finally, "good-bye my love." And with the last breath of the phrase, she expelled all of the dreams that she had been harboring for Kiyoshi. Never knowing what could have been, Yaeko returned to her house to finish her chores.

This is my blog

Woo hoo!