Rules of Taliban for Women - Essay Example

My mother and I are left with little to no options.

          My mother, feeling like there is no other option, has had the idea to dress me as a boy in order for me to seek employment.  She has opted to call me ‘Osama’ and we both are desperately concerned that the Taliban will discover my true identity if we are not very careful.  I must embark on a journey to find employment as a boy in order for my mother and me to have enough money to survive.

          I am only 12 and it is hard for me to understand the stringency and rules being placed on the society in which I live, especially when they create such a difficult environment for women and girls.  Every moment of every day must be planned out in advance if one is female, in order to make sure that there is a male to provide accompaniment.  If a woman does happen to venture out on her own, the Taliban will surely punish her.  These patriarchal rules make being female not only next to impossible but almost like one is living under a curse.  It is as though women are such lesser beings that they must cover their faces and bodies to hide every part of themselves from view.

          I dream of living in a place where the patriarchy of the Taliban does not dictate every move of one’s life and where women are not only free to experience sunlight on their skin but are also able to leave their homes without a man.  I long for this burden of making ends meet to be lifted from my mother as well as from me.  It is so difficult to survive under circumstances where one needs to work alone but tot hen not being permitted to do so is painfully difficult.

          I do not like the culture to which I live and am accustomed.  I want to leave this place but feel trapped as though I will be stuck here all of my days.  I do not feel that this culture offers me any type of future as a female.  I watch my mother and can see how years of this type of oppression have weighed her down and made her who she is today.

          I dislike having to lie about my identity.  I feel as though on some level, I should be able to enjoy being just who I am but even some of the boys in my town, do not believe me when I tell them that I am a girl.  I feel that I will never be able to be who I am if I am to remain in Afghanistan, but I fear that I will be here always.  I feel also as though this life holds very few positive happenings for me.  It seems as though I am constantly subject to being used, to being oppressed, and to suffering.

          Perhaps one day, the rule of the Taliban will be overthrown, and I will be able to start a life for myself where I can just be who I am and find some sort of happiness in this life, as a female.