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Miss America vs Miss Afghanistan
© 2001 Guy Malone  guymalone.com

Note: I actually did not post the photos in the e-mail, as many people on my mailing list would not appreciate a woman in a swimsuit in their Inbox. I am not the author of this article (only the comments after), but received it by forward. It raises many valid points. There are also many valid counter-points to this topic as well, which (as usual) is where I come in.

On the left is Katie Harmon, Miss America, wearing the swimsuit she chose for the competition.

On the right is a typical Afghan girl, wearing the heavy smothering burqua as required by the oppressive Taliban regime.

Miss America is a junior at Portland State University, hoping eventually to get a Master's degree in Bioethics.

Miss Afghanistan is forbidden from receiving any education at all, and cannot read or write.

Miss America has worked as a lab assistant at both the Oregon Health Sciences University and the University of Puget Sound.

Miss Afghanistan is forbidden from working.

Miss America's father is an engineer. Her mother is a teacher.

Miss Afghanistan's father was shot by a gang of Taliban militants. Her mother begs for bread scraps since she cannot work or remarry.

Miss America wowed the judges by singing a Puccini aria, "O Mio Babbino Caro".

Miss Afghanistan is forbidden from singing or even listening to music of any kind.

Miss America will be traveling the nation nonstop during her reign.

Miss Afghanistan cannot leave her house without a male family member, cannot drive, and cannot be out after dark.

Miss America is an advocate for breast cancer research.

Miss Afghanistan cannot be treated by a male doctor, and for all practical purposes has no access to medical treatment of any kind.

Miss America can date, marry, or divorce anyone she chooses.

Miss Afghanistan will be stoned to death if caught in the company of a male outside of her family. She is likely to be sold into an arranged marriage to a man who already has two wives.

Miss America wears sunscreen on the beach to keep from burning.

Miss Afghanistan cannot live in a house with windows unless they are painted black. Since she must wear a burqua outside, her pale translucent skin has not seen a ray of sunlight in years.

Miss America could have been disqualified if her swimsuit did not meet pageant standards.

Miss Afghanistan can be flogged if the holes in the mesh covering her face are too large.

Miss America will decide how many children, if any, she wants to have.

Miss Afghanistan will be pregnant 3-4 times more often than Miss America. Unfortunately, her babies are 25 times more likely to die in the first year. One out of four will not see their 5th birthday.

Miss America is majoring in speech communications at PSU.

Miss Afghanistan is forbidden from speaking in public.

Miss America is 21. Since the U.S. life expectancy for women is 80, she's still a very young woman.

Miss Afghanistan is also 21. But since the life expectancy for an Afghan woman is 43, next year she will be "over-the-hill".
(Besides having a shockingly short life expectancy overall, Afghanistan is one of the only countries in the world in which women have a shorter life expectancy than men)

Miss America is a beautiful, intelligent woman and everyone knows it.

Miss Afghanistan could be a beautiful, intelligent woman ... but nobody will ever know it.

God Bless Miss America
God Help Miss Afghanistan

While I obviously agree with the sentiment of the above enough to post and forward it, allow me to play Op-Ed for a minute, if for no other reason than to stem the negative reactions some might have to this posting, and to cause others to consider a few things they may not have otherwise...

The last line, "Miss Afghanistan could be a beautiful, intelligent woman, ... but nobody will ever know it..." makes a valid statement, but also needs the addendum "...except her husband" to be accurate. Before we judge, we need to at least understand that Muslims believe a woman's shape and features should not be so garishly flaunted as in the West, bringing them to shame, and inducing men other than her husband to lust for her. This thinking is not so different from "puritan" America 200 years ago. Outside of religious contexts, modern Americans would certainly argue that this should be her choice however.

Some believe that the very fact that this "contrast" uses a woman in a swimsuit for the example, reveals that Americans are overly fixated on sex and outward appearances, to our detriment. One might even say that we don't truly value the life, desires or intellect of "Miss America" (or any woman); we see her solely as an object for our pleasure, and only value her if she can stimulate and satisfy us. Further, our culture covets the money generated from the marketing of images of women, and the sales of make-up, clothing, etc that is made from creating the desire - in both men and women - for the looks of "the model." If we "truly" valued women's rights, we would not force them by our society's norms to conform to a "cardboard cut-out" image, before we considered them attractive or valuable.

It could also be argued that Americans do not have the right to impose their beliefs and values on other countries or cultures. America was attacked by Islamic fundamentalists largely because our "decadent society's" movies and values are spreading to their "holy" culture, and they want to put a stop to it! Some say they are less attacking the American way of life, than defending their own. But specific to the above e-mail forward, the suffering of women under this regime however, is seen by many primarily as a human rights issue, transcending national and religious boundaries, and certainly worthy of intervention.

Some may also argue that Christianity is oppressive to women. To this, I would simply ask you to compare the role of women in societies that are largely "Christianized" to those that are not. Compare Africa, Europe and America to Afghanistan, Iraq and China, and critically study the roles of women there. In which countries do you see Queens, female landowners, professionals and politicians? Despite whatever other interpretations (and misinterpretations) one makes from the Bible, among all world religions, only Christianity states "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." (Galatians 3:28)

While men and women may have different roles, in Christian society wives (not women in general) are submitted to their husbands (but not men, or society, in general). This teaching is highly qualified by the husband's duty to follow Christ's commandments to love, respect and care for her (not beat and oppress her; Ephesians 5:21-33; 1 Peter 3:7) - in a manner which releases her to her own unique destiny, even to the receiving of acknowledgement and praise from others (Proverbs 31:10-31). But the role of a submissive wife is linked in the same passage to the man's submission to God, and his fulfillment of God's commands to him to rule as Christ rules. Simply, a man who "rules" with Christ's love and nurturing manner as the source of his authority, will be submitted to, Biblically speaking.

It has been said that in view of human history, no other ideology, movement or person has done more to free women from oppressive and unjust male domination than the gospel of Jesus Christ. Modern charges of "Christian oppression of women" are viewed only in light of a culture already thus transformed, never from women in countries that do not have strong Christian underpinnings, who are sometimes envious of women's freedoms elsewhere. Just as flags can only be burned in a free country, women can only make such a statement publicly within the context of a Christianized culture.

Finally, for years there have been many e-mail petitions relating to the suffering of women in Afghanistan. Certainly the cause is just and the efforts sincere, but they are also wasted. Such petitions are simply not taken as legitimate by those who might actually be able to do something about the cause of the petition. Those who would truly wish to further the cause of relieving the suffering of women in Afghanistan may wish to visit http://www.rawa.org (Revolutionary Association for the Women of Afghanistan - which notably does not have "E-mail Petition" as one of their links). Personal e-mails and letters could prove quite effective if the current contacts of these sites below were regularly bombarded:
http://www.afghangovernment.org/ and/or
http://usembassy.state.gov/posts/af1/
Specific Afghan Political Party sites are listed here http://www.gksoft.com/govt/en/af.html

Food for Thought from Jay Leno, Tonight Show 10/17/01
"I heard a newscaster say that the "alleged" terrorists are devout religious fundamentalists. Wait a minute - shouldn't that be the other way around? -- the "devout terrorists" are "alleged" religious fundamentalists!"

Related Link: The Demographic Bomb
Arab Muslims, Multiple Researchers, See Meaningless Sex and Loss of Family Unit as Hastening America's Fall

Visit AncientofDays.net to listen to "Biblical Ufology To Date" -an audio lecture by Guy Malone

www.guymalone.com