User:Wawavatarasta/sandbox

= Truth and Propaganda =

Okay so I wrote a short introduction on propaganda and truth, but I just basically rephrased what we had before. When we meet on Friday let's try to write a proper one and see what we come up with. Also I found a good article which talks about how the dehumanisation of the muslim man in Western media spawns islamophobia: its quite long but read through the introduction (towards the beginning), I think that's where most of it is :)

Case Study: using the veil to justify military intervention in the Middle East
Propaganda (from the modern latin term propagare meaning to spread or to propagate) is "the systematic dissemination of information, esp. in a biased or misleading way, in order to promote a political cause or point of view". It often manipulates facts, presenting them in a selecive manner, in order to spawn an emotional rather than a rational response in the viewer, and to persuade him to develop a specific opinion or point of view about a situation. Propaganda techniques were commonly used by political parties throughout history and are still prominent in the workings of the contemporary world. Although this sort of subjectification and manipulation of reality is often considered misleading, harmful and controversial, there is very little possibility of regulating it legally as it can always be both defended and condemned in terms of truth.

A contemporary example of the usage of propaganda as a political tool can be traced to the criticism that the U.S. presidents have used democracy and freedom to justify military intervention abroad, without taking into account the various local socio-cultural particularities. There is an ongoing debate regarding the entry of the US into Afghanistan after the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre in New York City. In October 2001, the international "war on terror" was declared and although this action was initially supposed to end the country’s support for Osama bin Laden and impede the progress of the al-Qaeda, it also enforced the concepts of women's rights, freedom and democracy onto the Afghan society according to Western Standards. Some of the justification relied on the veil, especially the burqa, as a symbol of oppression of Muslim women, a propagated idea which then globalised gaining international attention.

Taking into account the particular cultural background of the local area, the validity of this situation can be studied from the perspectives of different disciplines, including anthropology, psychology, history and politics/international relations, and explained through the concepts of propaganda and truth.

= Imperialism and the politics of the veil =

The issue of imperialism is typically attributed to the past, but it is still prevailing in the contemporary world, although perhaps in a more subtle, yet still forceful manner. Modern imperialism is not only a reference to colonialism but also the imposition of a nation's societal ideals on other countries. After the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City, the US invaded Afghanistan, starting an ambiguous "war against terrorism" in October 2001. Although this action as initially referred to as the war against terror, the US did not only attempt to impede the al-Qaeda but also enforce their Western ideologies of women's rights, (capitalism) and democracy onto the Afghan society in an imperialist spirit.

Disciplinary Approaches to Women's Rights Enforcement Anthropology Do Women in Afghanistan need the same liberties as in other societies, or are we disregarding their cultural and religious needs? Psychology The psychology of the imperiaist / reasoning of the imperalists and their mindsets History Main issues:


 * the extent of historical imperialism in influencing the mindset of female modesty and inferiority (with the assumption that it was relatively forward-thinking before)
 * if modern oppression of women was triggered by modern imperialism (western intervention). i.e., is the backlash towards liberalisation of women the result of intrinsic denouncing of female freedom (based on religious and cultural traditions), or does it represent subliminally the denouncing of western values instead because of the distaste of imperialism? or did imperialism and the coerced liberal values strengthen hatred towards forward-thinking ideals, in a society that would have been relatively open to it otherwise?
 * the irony of imperialism and the coerced values of freedom and compassion; their intrinsic contradictory values.

brief history of Afghanistan

controlled by dynasties in the 18th century

became a buffer state between british india and russian empire in 19th century

from 1919 it was rid of foreign influence and became a monarchy under king amanullah - issue here: amanullah and his father were both liberalisers- wanted full independence from foreign influence and more modern education. does this mean that they associated imperialism with old values that they were desperate to eradicate?

amanullah was known as the reform king and took back control of their own foreign affairs, land reform, extended education, wrote first constitution (sounds very westernised- a case where it westernises but whilst simultaneously rejecting western control/ explicit influence). issue here- when he tried to take power away from village elders and religious establishments, revolts happened- thus is it implicitly still dictated by imperialism which led to people rejecting it?

Nadir Khan took control in 1938 and established a dynasty that was run by prime ministers (but still rife with nepotism- his uncles were the prime ministers) and that was closely allied to the USSR (asked them for military aid). This constitutional democracy lasted from 1964 to 1973. during this time intellectuals enjoyed more freedom, women began to enter the workplace and government, International Relations https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/mar/19/afghanistan-american-imperialism-glenn-greenwald policies based on Western theories UK Australia etc. liberalism

Internal Imperialism In November 2001, the Northern Alliance took control of the Afghan capital Kabul. They were being helped by the US and other countries that agreed with it, including the UK.

Hello, here is the link to the book I found a few days ago about the western view of veiling:

and the article:

They're about whether Muslim women need saving and how they are conceptualised as oppressed by Islam in the West. The article especially talks about the meaning of the burqa and the many misunderstandings and misconceptions about it. It talks about global feminism turning into "colonial feminism", which does not pay enough attention to local particularities, insead generalising the different needs of women according to western standards.

The main points she makes are:

- A recourse to ‘culture’ flattens social and historical complexities: “We need to be suspicious when neat cultural icons are plastered over messier historical and political narratives” (pp.785)

- It talks about the patronizing use of ‘culture’ – politicised about race and class

- The significant political-ethical problem that the burqa raises is how to deal with cultural "others”

- The acceptance of the possibility of difference means accepting that ‘others’ might desire/need different things than we would want for them: “Advocating hard work involved in recognizing and respecting differences - precisely as products of different histories, as expressions of different circumstances, and as manifestations of differently structured desires” (pp 787)

It poses the questions: Can we use a more egalitarian language of alliances, coalitions, and solidarity, instead of salvation? Can we break with the language of ‘alien cultures’?

Also regarding imperialism just in general there's a really intersting new show out on netflix called 1983. It's about an alternative reality where Poland did not get free from the communists. Like a dystopian vision of imperialism, it looks really interesting! Here's the link if you want to check it out:

Unveiling imperialism: media, gender and the war on Afghanistan https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0163443705055734 Analysis of US justification for the Afghan war in the perspective of 'freeing' the veiled women

Obama's speech https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/transcript-president-obamas-speech-at-the-un-general-assembly/2013/09/24/64d5b386-2522-11e3-ad0d-b7c8d2a594b9_print.html

'Psychology today' article - People's contradictory thoughts and feelings towards the veil Psychology Today Article

Feminism https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/01419870.2014.887744

All different people's opinions and feelings on the veil: https://www.secularism.org.uk/veil-debate-should-the-uk-ban-th.html