Portfolio: SPEECH

Imagine living in a country where women have no

rights and there are soldiers wherever you go. The
Taliban is an Islamic group who took over
Afghanistan in 1996. They decided that they would
enforce the rules of their religion to incredible lengths.
According to one Talib spokesman, "the face of a
woman is a source of corruption" meaning that the
face of a woman should not be seen because they
might do something to upset the government. Part of
their belief is that women are not to go outside
without a male escort and with the proper clothing
such as a burka. This affected every family in
Afghanistan because it applied to everyone.
Parvanas family, whos main male had just been
taken to jail for incoherent reasons, had almost run
out of food and was in a devastating state. The
family had no choice but to change Parvana into a
boy to go into the marketplace to work and buy
things. They had to cut her hair while she marveled at
her sisters, and had to wear boys clothes. She felt
sometimes like she was incapable to do something
because she looked like a girl. She had lived her
whole life as a girl and was now asked to change her
gender. In this situation, I would feel hideous. The fact
that my family were so deprived that I had to
change gender would overwhelm me with shock
and sadness. I also would loathe my hair if I had to
cut it short. I think that what is happening in
Afghanistan is not fair. Many people in real life have
had to do what Parvana did and that is incredibly
devastating. Lets all remember how grateful we are
to live in Australia and have so many rights that
others dont have.