Sally Armstrong
Veiled Threat
The Hidden Power of the Women of Afghanistan

Sally Armstrong first traveled to Afghanistan in 1997, long before the country was drawn into America's war on terror and its map featured nightly on every American television screen. Armstrong's purpose was quietly audacious: to document the abuses against women and girls perpetrated by the Taliban, which seized power in 1995. The Taliban's fundamentalist interpretation of Islam resulted in many misfortunes for women: they were barred from education and medical treatment, freedoms regarding social and personal life were severely restricted and breaches of law were punished without mercy. Armstrong wrote of these injustices in a magazine article that provoked an unprecedented reaction among its readers, who were shocked by the Taliban's dehumanization of women.

Veiled Threat documents Armstrong's return to Afghanistan as a special UNICEF representative. The terrorist attacks of September 11 turned Afghanistan into a hunting-ground for Al-Qaeda. The Taliban was ousted, replaced by a coalition government devoted—at least nominally—to democratic principles. And a sign of changing winds was the appointment of Dr. Sima Samar as deputy prime minister. She became the only woman to serve in the coalition.

In the new Afghanistan, Armstrong found a society inching toward freedom and democracy. She acknowledges the literal and figurative import of the Western media's favorite image—Afghan women gleefully shedding their burqas. At the same time, she cautiously notes that the lingering influence of the Taliban is more pervasive than anyone would like to admit, and the liberation of women and girls is far from complete.

But more than merely a ledger of injustice, Veiled Threat is a testament to hope in the light of uncertainty. Armstrong convincingly demonstrates that the Koran calls for equal rights for women, and she chastises Arab regimes that have perverted the teachings of Islam for the purpose of misogyny. She also has sharp words for the international community, which knowingly turned a blind eye to the plight of Afghan women.

Sobering in its revelations, Veiled Threat chronicles acts of resistance both great and small: from Dr. Samar's rebellious decision to run underground women's hospitals and girls' schools to the stories of ordinary women who first cautiously discarded their burqas. For all of the thoughtful news coverage Afghanistan has received, no account is as committed and compassionate as Armstrong's.

Sally Armstrong is an award-winning Canadian journalist. She is currently serving as a special UNICEF representative in Afghanistan.

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