On Sun, 8 Nov 1998, Douglas Whitworth wrote:
>
>
> Dan wrote
> >Again, I'm no expert, but I thought most Afgan women were illiterate.
> Sending
> >in books is not likely to work.
> This is a very salient point - trying to precipitate change in a climate
> where literacy, and thus education, are of a very low level, can have
> potentially catastophic concequences ( witness the numerous revolutions and
> counter revolutions in Africa etc). In order to gain meaningfull change,
> those who have their fingers on the triggers, so to speak, also have to be
> convinced that to change is in their interests too, otherwise, as so often
> happens, all that changes are the hands holding the guns
>
> Well intentioned interventions is such volatile environments as those that
> exist in extremist societies like the Taliban's can so easily have very
> violent repercussions for the very people in need of assistance.
>
> I would suggest that any intervention would have to be very carefully
> considered beforehand . Spaming Taliban Leaders with Porn doesn't sound
> like one of them, as was suggested on a previous post
>
> Douglas
>
Perhaps we can send arabic teachers and teach the taliban how to read the Koran. (Careful study of the Koran reveals a bias towards the equality of the sexes.)
In Liberty, For Extropy;
BilLee Miller
member, ExI