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The following account is an interesting read on the Afghanistan of the 50's and 60's, and what one immediately notices is how it starkly contrasts with the Afghanistan of today. That said, this is stating the obvious. The pictures are in my opinion partially reminiscent, or at least one is reminded of the Pahalvi dynasty's Iran, prior to the advent of revolution and Ayatollah Khomeini. The women are dressed in elegant skirts and dresses which, while being fashionable, are also respectable and modest in their countenance, as in the sort that doesn't attract too much attention. Many of the women are also strikingly beautiful, especially this woman reminds me of many a old-time Bollywood actresses like Jaya Bhaduri and Hema Malini. The degeneration of Afghan society from being a healthy, liberal and progressive people to being engulfed and caught in the fallacies of religious extremism and constructed orthodoxy just goes to show how religious fascism, be it Islamic-extremism or not is an essentially anemic phenomenon that is a hindrance to progression, and in general, happy living. This religious extremism is also hypocritical since customs such as the Bacha Bazi - a highly backward practice in which young boys are sold to and kept by male Pashtun patrons — often powerful warlords, former military commanders, and wealthy businessmen — for entertainment at private gatherings, for use as sexual objects, and as a sign of prestige at that, are very much prevalent. I am sure it is not Allah's will to abduct or "buy" orphaned, homeless, and underprivileged boys from their families to satisfy their own bizarre homosexual fetishes. It is truly a pity that they went from what is illustrated in the album, to a society that cuts of a woman's fingers because she accidentally touched a man, that too only because she reached out to the man to stop herself from falling*. Women like these (and also [1][2]) seem to be a far-cry from the desolate and dreary expressions that Afghan women like Sharbat Gula and Aisha, who was subject to an absolutely sadistic punishment by the Taliban, sport today.

*In rural south Afghanistan a woman took her son out to get medicines. Wearing the traditional powder-blue burqa, she tripped (unpaved roads) and reached out to stop herself from falling. She accidentally touched a male passerby. She apologized immediately, withdrew her hand, steadied herself and went on her way. The young son tattled on her once home. Her male relatives cut off her fingers to set an example.

The pictures I was referring to above can be found on an album on Facebook, along with the excerpt that follows. You have to have an account for you to be able to login and see it since the permissions are set to everyone.

The Afghanistan that my parents lived in, were Kabul was once called the Paris of central Asia. Once the jewel of Asia, a very progressive and moderately modern country. Kabul once had, cinemas, cafes, formal French gardens, schools, libraries, universities, fine boutiques. Where both women and men had access to education and a better future. A country were women were granted the right to vote in 1963! In many of these pictures is not the clothing nor the style of their clothing that make the women then "liberated" but the fact that those women were able to choose and decipher for themselves what they thought was appropriate to wear. The very fact that they were in a class room to further their education, is what I am proud of most. In Islam, education it is not only stressed but is an obligation, for both women and men. Women are not only our other half of society but they are our mothers, sisters, aunts, and perhaps most importantly our first teachers.True liberation is only possible through education. How is it possible that Kabul went from these photos to the mess that is Kabul and Afghanistan today? I would never blame Islam. I blame lack of education and foreign interference, Afghanistan being a product of the cold war paid the heaviest price.

The Afghanistan that once existed, was the Afghanistan my family experienced. They were highly educated, modern, progressive and cosmopolitan people. My mom and her sisters attended primary school, high school and attended university. Classmates wore mini-jupes, went to the cinemas, went to sporting events, shopped at boutiques, and picnicked at Paghman the city of gardens every Friday near the formal french gardens.

Highly educated, culturally aware and yet religious at the same time, there was never an issue with not having your hair covered or the clothes you wore. Some have described my parents Afghanistan as very "western", but I don't choose to call it that, I describe it as a highly modern and progressive society that flourished. Freedom, equality, and education are not western but in fact universal themes. This progressive peaceful society lasted until foreign interference occurred in the late 1970's plummeting the country to what Afghanistan has become today. Now the question is — to what extent do you agree with and can attest to the author/album owner's assertion that this progressive peaceful society lasted until foreign interference occurred in the late 1970's plummeting the country to what Afghanistan has become today?