Mandy Arioto, President and CEO of MOPS International (Mother Of Pre Schoolers www.mops.org ) sat down with the Bill McIntosh Show to discuss the dystopian new reality of life under the Taliban for Afghan women who are extremely vulnerable. MOPS is active in 70 plus countries and is a mission of faith based women living out Christianity at times in the face of extreme adversity.
MOPS works to help women to be good mothers and builds relationships. According to its website:
“MOPS International encourages and equips moms of young children to realize their potential as mothers, women and leaders, in relationship with Jesus, and in partnership with the local church.”
Building relationships and helping mothers reach their potential is often times best done without attracting attention especially in repressive countries in the Mid East. It’s especially effective with countries like Afghanistan where the Taliban may talk a good game about rights for women yet are prohibiting them from receiving potentially life saving medical care from a male doctor while female physicians and nursing staff can expect to be impeded from leaving home without a male relative.
Mandy Arrioto commented:
“The one thing we’re seeing right now in Afghanistan….our media isn’t really talking about it but under Taliban rule, women are not allowed to see a male doctor. The problem with that is women are also not allowed to work or to be educated, which means that under Taliban rule there is essentially no healthcare option for women or young girls. So what’s happening right now, is that people on the ground are working under the radar and there are small groups of moms, who are gathering together in their communities, and the women who have been educated are training the women who have not how to deliver babies safely and how to deal with trauma care both physical and emotional.
This restriction requiring a male relative to escort a woman outside the house also impacts education, work and satisfying basic needs on a daily basis. It also renders women as mere objects for exploitation. While feminists are notorious for their craven absence addressing these horrendous injustices, Mandy Arioto is blunt about this ugly reality that’s unfolding there and how women are courageously taking the initiative despite terrible odds against them:
“And they’re helping each other because they know that under Taliban rule the Taliban says that they are marrying off girls between the ages of 15 and 49, we know that that’s not marriage its rape and enslavement and so women are learning how to help each other deal with their physical and emotional trauma that comes from that so that they can bind up each other’s wounds and say we’re taking care of one another even if the Taliban says that we can’t and doesn’t give us human rights, we’re taking that back”
A group even in greater danger than females in Afghanistan are Christians who are in extreme peril with their meetings often being raided and those present executed by the Taliban thugs. In the U.S. we are amazingly fortunate, indeed. However, our relative safety behooves us to help others I other countries. Those interested in finding out more about MOPS or helping the organization should go to www.mops.org
