Barbara Walters of Television’s 20/20 did a story on
gender roles in Kabul, Afghanistan, several years
before the Afghan conflict.
She noted that women customarily walked 5 paces
behind their husbands.
She recently returned to Kabul and observed that
women still walk behind their husbands.
From Ms. Walter’s vantage point, despite the overthrow
of the oppressive Taliban regime, the women now seem
to walk even further back behind their husbands and are
happy to maintain the old custom.
Ms. Walters approached one of the Afghani women and
asked, “Why do you now seem happy with the old custom
that you once tried so desperately to change?”
The woman looked Ms. Walters straight in the eyes, and
without hesitation said, “Land Mines.”
