Letters

Lifting the Veil

Your stories about women under Taliban oppression in Afghanistan were heartbreaking [SPECIAL REPORT, Dec. 3]. Denied the most basic human rights, a woman is "owned" first by her father, then by her husband. Her life is only as good as the man who owns her at the moment, and she has absolutely no way of changing her future. Any attempt by the West to free the enslaved women of Afghanistan is not cultural imperialism but a moral imperative. DEBORAH WASSER Little Silver, N.J.

Oppressive acts against women, including physical abuse, rape and economic control, are prevalent in all poor regions of the world, irrespective of race or religion. Most Muslim countries--former colonies exploited by the West--are plagued with overpopulation, underdevelopment and illiteracy. Poverty and ignorance are the primary culprits of economic and social injustices suffered by women. AYESHA UMER New York City

There are few moments in history when a lifesaving chance emerges. Now is the time for the world to save Afghan women. But simply replacing the Taliban rulers with a combination of Northern Alliance tribesmen (who have a just marginally less gory past) and other warlords may be meaningless to women.

The new government must include representatives specifically defending the interests of Afghan women. Fundamentalism of the Taliban variety threatens women first (that's why when it begins no one gives a damn) and eventually hurts everyone. Even men should know this by now. SHIVA SHEKHAR Delhi, India

Isn't it ironic that more traditional societies such as Pakistan, India and the Philippines have had women as heads of state, but the progressive U.S. is probably at least 50 years away? American women need to shed their political burkas. FRED OPERE Grand Prairie, Texas

It is gratifying that President Bush relies on the expertise of his advisers Condoleezza Rice and Karen Hughes. But in the Middle East, there's little chance for women to shape their destinies. They have had to put up with terror their entire lives in their very homes. Perhaps the war on terrorism will have beneficial results for a long-forgotten, oppressed people: not the men of Islam, but their wives, mothers and sisters. KATHERINE RYAN Manhattan Beach, Calif.

One of the most salient barometers of a culture's well-being is its treatment of women. It is no accident that the nations with the least respect for women's rights are also the most stagnant in every other way. There will be no future for the Middle East beyond the perpetuation of its present agonies unless there is a fundamental revolution in its approach to gender and power. EDWARD FOX Toronto

Even if those who abuse women believe their actions follow Islamic teaching, their thinking is not necessarily correct. The sins of Muslims must never be confused with Islamic doctrine. Furthermore, quoting from the Koran without context does readers a disservice. It is akin to quoting this verse from the Bible: "Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man" (I Corinthians 11: 9) and concluding that Christianity is a sexist religion seeking to oppress women. Is this fair? No. Islam should be accorded the same courtesy. HESHAM A. HASSABALLA Villa Park, Ill.

While welcoming Afghan women's newfound freedom to throw off the burka, several readers cautioned that the celebration should not veil other limits on women's liberty. "You said, 'Nowhere in the Muslim world are women treated as equals,'" observed a California woman. "Excuse me, but nowhere in the whole wide world are women treated as equals." A Muslim Pennsylvanian challenged cultural assumptions: "The modern Western idea of feminism instructs females to be like males, while Islam encourages us to accept our sex and live as proud females." Looking at both cultures, a Canadian man felt it might be best to merge them: "If there is an answer, it lies in the proud and beautiful faces of the Turkish women you pictured, who have found a way to combine the restraint of the East with the liberties of the West, avoiding the extremes of both."

Securing the Homeland

Mark Thompson's overview of the need for a domestic military commander to protect American territory, "Soldier on the Beat" [HOMELAND SECURITY, Dec. 3], looks at the issue through a Pentagon-centric lens. The nation already has an armed service that conducts war and enforces the law: the U.S. Coast Guard. The Coast Guard has strong and comprehensive law-enforcement mandates, as strong as the FBI's. In recognition of the Coast Guard's unique status and capabilities, the Joint Forces Command and the Navy view the Coast Guard as responsible for the maritime component of homeland security. BRUCE STUBBS CAPTAIN, U.S. COAST GUARD (RET.) Fairfax Station, Va.

"Why Hide The Numbers?", your story on the political reaction to the roundup of immigrants suspected of being connected to the Sept. 11 attacks, truly amazes me. Why are the very politicians who claim to be as concerned about safety and justice as the average citizen so quick to question the way in which our government is going about it? It seems that Senators Orrin Hatch and Patrick Leahy have completely forgotten that the immigrants being held are under suspicion because they have broken laws. Sept. 11 was a devastating blow. And while we are forced to acclimate to a new way of life, I can't help hoping it includes a more stringent immigration system. JENNIFER KIRBY Elmwood Park, N.J.

Let's see now, first we are appalled that our government allowed terrorists to enter the country and wage war against us. Now opponents of the Administration are indignant that the Justice Department has actually gone so far as to arrest and jail foreign visitors to our country whose visas have expired or who have broken other laws. Am I the only person who does not understand this? JOHN J. THORNTON Tampa, Fla.

Getting Back on Track

Congratulations to Daniel Eisenberg for a strong, balanced piece on Amtrak and its future [BUSINESS, Dec. 3]. Breaking up Amtrak only to reinvent it would be a mistake. The intercity rail system is one of the few institutions that unites our country, in a physical as well as spiritual sense, by connecting the small towns and cities of the West and South to the populous coastal and Midwest corridors. Splitting those people off from service, as some would propose, is deeply elitist, and would cast into Depression-era isolation the very people who in so many ways are the backbone of this country. JAMES REPASS PRESIDENT AND CEO THE NATIONAL CORRIDORS INITIATIVE Providence, R.I.

It is beyond me why America has turned its back on regional rail service. However, high-speed rail is not the only answer to this transportation problem. High-speed rail systems appear to work quite well in West European nations and Japan--smaller, highly populated countries with limited superhighways. In the U.S., high-speed rail service doesn't really apply to the needs of most large cities. In many metropolitan areas, a decent and reliable passenger rail service would help alleviate the overcrowding of the interstate highway system. This is the wrong time to kill Amtrak because of federal budget cuts. CHRIS J. LEWIE Hilliard, Ohio

Aid for Impoverished Minds

I certainly agree with Michael Elliott, that we must listen to the stories of Islam's poor and give a large measure of generosity to Afghanistan and other Muslim countries [ESSAY, Dec. 3]. But we must not let ourselves be lulled into thinking that aid alone will change feelings toward us in the Islamic world. It is not America's reaction to the atrocities of Sept. 11 that will inspire a generation of young Muslims to commit themselves to armed struggle against the West; it is the hateful preaching by the teachers of those young Muslims. We must bring the Age of Enlightenment to the Muslim world and propagandize in direct opposition to what the imams and schoolteachers are pumping into the heads of that younger generation. RICHARD BRAWER Ocean, N.J.

Elemental Transformations

I saw Mary Zimmerman's dreamlike production of Metamorphoses nearly two years ago at Berkeley Repertory Theater [THEATER, Dec. 3]. When I saw this production, I regretted my wasted youth for not having devoted my entire life to the stage. It moved me to tears: some for the tragedies played out so beautifully, and the rest out of joy and gratitude that Zimmerman allowed me to experience this gracious summation of humankind in such a stirring and elemental form. MARY BETH PATTERSON Mountain View, Calif.