With all of the attention being focused on Iraq these days, many people have forgotten what has been accomplished in Afghanistan.  US troops helped to liberate the people there from the Taliban two and a half years ago (has it really been that long?), and now the work continues to liberate them from the social issues that continue to rule there today.  One important issue is the education of women.  Under the Taliban, it was forbidden.  Today, girls and women go to school.  They are beginning, from the outside perspective, to take an active role in the future of their country and their own futures as well.

Inside the country, it has not, of course, been an overnight change.  Women are still not treated as equals, and there is still much work to be done.  But creative programs are having some positive effects.  One interesting program that I read about yesterday is a literacy program for women, run by an Afghan-American woman.  The really interesting part about this program is it's requirement that the women attend with their husbands or a male relative.  At first glance, this might seem like a step backward, a requirement left over from the “old days,” but in actuality, it is a very smart move.  Women and men are learning together, as equals.  What a great way to leverage the old system and customs into an asset.  Personally, I can't think of a better way to help change the system.

So what does this one little program mean?  Sure, a few more women - and men - will be literate.  I think the impact is much deeper than that.  By impacting the lives of average people in Afghanistan, we are ensuring that they can read and thus make decisions for themselves.  To use a cliche, the pen is mightier than the sword.  We just have to remember that the pen is slower.