First it was you wearing a "This is what a feminist looks like" t-shirt, then it was seeing you root your lil Kentucky blue heart out while wearing non-glamorous pig-tails, next it was knowing that you were with me at the March for Women's Lives, and then last night, watching you on the ESPYs and bringing the house down with your feminist ways. *gush*

A group of Afghan female athletes who are spreading the sport of soccer to their fellow countrywomen will receive the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the 2006 ESPYs.

The girls play in organized soccer leagues in Afghanistan. The leagues formed after a handful of Afghan girls traveled to the United States in the summer of 2004 to attend soccer clinics as part of the Afghan Youth Sports Exchange. Two of girls who visited the U.S. that summer and still play soccer -- Shamila Kohestani, 18, and Roia Ahmad, 16, will accept the award.

Seeing these amazing young women get a standing ovation by the world of sports brought tears to my eyes. Knowing that at least a few people, men and women, who might not call themselves feminists watched this presentation gave me chills.

Of course, then the feminist in my really kicked in.

The fairly long video on the life of these young women in Afghanistan was either a wonderful commercial on The Administration's side or a commercial on why we should have never let Afghanistan become our, at most, #2 battlefront. I'd say that it was both.

First it gave an impression that attacking Afghanistan after the terrorist attacks was a good thing - for women. It didn't paint a bright rosey picture, but it was fairly rosey. What it did do is make it perfectly clear that under the Taliban women were made to disappear.

Compare that to Martha Burk's piece, "Crude Awakening", in the current issue of Ms. Magazine. What she does is make the argument that oil is a feminist issue (as the cover screams). In it Burk tells us that the Taliban may not hold official power, but they do still hold some power and is on the rise.

Violence against women and girls remains rampant, including domestic and sexual abuse and forced marriages. According to the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, over 300 girls' schools have been burned or bombed. In five southern Afghan provinces, at least 90 percent of school-age girls do not attend class.

I have little faith that the viewers of the ESPYs will all take last night's video and think, "I should look into this!" but rather will take it at face value and think, "If these girls can play soccer (even if behind a military barricade & hidden from view for their safety), then everything must be going pretty damn well!"

The hubby loves to poke at me and afterwards said, "See, this would not be possible if [he] wasn't President!" I turned and said with a coy smile, "This would be better if we had just stayed there and done our job!" Of course meaning not turn and run to Iraq.

To Ashley: I still love you. I love that you told the crowd to "give it up for these amazing women." I love that you could not contain your enthusiasm. And for that, I say thank you.

Labels: magazines