Whose chains?

Imran Khan is delighted at the Taliban win.

A day after the Taliban seized power in Kabul and President Ashraf Ghani fled the war-torn country, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday said Afghans have “broken the chains of slavery in the country”.

Unless, of course, you think women are people, and included under the label “Afghans.” For women and girls the chains of slavery have very much been re-forged.

“When you adopt someone’s culture you believe it to be superior and you end up becoming a slave to it. It is more difficult to free your mind from mental slavery. Afghans have broken the shackles of slavery,” Imran Khan said.

Maybe. But “someone’s culture” is a complicated thing. Imperialism is bad, colonialism is bad, but drastic suppression of women is also bad. Imran Khan should maybe give that a thought.

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