Yet More Agony in Afghanistan

The status of women is central to the pace and shape of demographic change anywhere in the world. Unfortunately, Afghanistan has long been the poster child for the poor treatment of women, and a new story has emerged to highlight the plight of young women in that country.The July 29, 2010 cover of Time featured a photograph of and story about a girl who had been married at a very young age to a member of the Taliban. She had run away and when caught, her husband cut off her nose and ears. She survived and was taken in by a charitable organization that has brought her to the United States for reconstructive surgery. Women seem to be scarcely more than chattel in Afghanistan and it is a tragedy for humans to be treating other humans in this way here in the 21st century.