We Forgot to Liberate Half of Aghanistan's People

The liberated one? She'd be the one in blue.

Our leaders can't help themselves. Every time they want to jumpstart enthusiasm for the go-nowhere mission to Afghanistan, they trot out the liberation of the Afghan people. We got rid of the Taliban. We got Karzai installed in their place. The people are now free.

What a load of rubbish. Power has changed hands, yes. That power, however, hasn't gone where we intended it to go. Karzai's power is minimal, his remit not extending much past Kabul. Warlords rule the north. The Taliban are gaining control of more territory in the south. Yet none of this matters much to one segment of Afghan society - its women.

Our leaders trotted out their ladies' auxillery, Laura Bush and Cherie Blair, to trumpet the liberation of Afghan women in the wake of the ouster of the Taliban. Half the population, free from the yoke of gender intolerance. Yeah, right.

About the only freedom Afghan women are exercising these days is the freedom to take their own lives. The rate of suicide among Afghan's newly liberated women folk has seen such an alarming rise that they just held a conference on the problem in Kabul a few days ago.

But surely Afghan's new crop of female legislators can deal with it, right? No, wrong. According to The Independent, they're kind of busy right now just trying to stay alive:

"Those who should be in the best position to help, women MPs, another supposed sign of the brave new Afghanistan, are themselves facing violence and intimidation. Malalai Joya, at 28 one of Afghanistan's youngest MPs, regularly changes addresses because of death threats. "When I speak in parliament male MPs throw water bottles at me. Some of them shout 'take and rape her'.

"'Many of the men in power have the same attitude as the Taliban. Women have not been liberated. You want to know how women feel in this country? Look at the rate of suicide,' she said.

"Nasima Niazi, who represents Helmand, the centre of British operations, is frightened to go back to her constituency. 'During Eid I went to visit relations and friends. I had to constantly change my burqa because I was so worried that I was being followed. Obviously it is not possible for me to represent my constituents, women or men, under these circumstances.'"

This reality beggars the notion of Afghan democracy pitched so readily by Harper and O'Conner and Hillier and Fraser and, from the wings, Lewis MacKenzie. This war isn't about democracy or the liberation of Afghan women or bringing freedom to Afghan peasants beset by corrupt police. If it was, we'd be pointing our guns in both directions.