On this episode of the Gap, Tammy and Althea start by discussing what the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan means for women and the gains in gender equality over the last 20 years. Despite the fact that the Taliban says they won't harm women or roll back their rights, many women who have been educated or working are in fear for their lives. The Taliban were out of power for 20 years, which means that anyone under 30 or 35 has spent most of their life living a certain way, one that was much less restrictive to women. The median age in Afghanistan is 18, which is pretty young -- compare that to the U.S., our median age is 38. None of this is to say we're hyped about American imperialism or that the U.S. occupation of Afghanistan was a good thing, but there's a lot of politicking about how the exit went down and not enough talk about what this materially means for Afghan women and the gains they worked so hard to make.
Then, we ask our community about sustainability and what changes they've made in their own lives to have less of an impact on the environment. This is in the backdrop of the grim IPCC report on climate change. Our callers bring up great points about buy-nothing groups, community responsibility and food sovereignty. To quote a couple callers, "systemic problems require systemic solutions."
Related links:
Midway song - Bache Kabul by Aryana Sayeed
Donella Meadows, Environmental Scientist (mentioned by Caller Brian)
Engineered by Sonia Battrell
- KBOO