Last week, the New York Times’ Nicholas Kristof captured in one headline and story (and one shimmering photograph) the central pathology of religious fundamentalism: What’s So Scary About Smart Girls? – NYTimes.com.
He begins thusly:
WHEN terrorists in Nigeria organized a secret attack last month, they didn’t target an army barracks, a police department or a drone base. No, Boko Haram militants attacked what is even scarier to a fanatic: a girls’ school.
That’s what extremists do. They target educated girls, their worst nightmare.
That’s why the Pakistani Taliban shot Malala Yousafzai in the head at age 15. That’s why the Afghan Taliban throws acid on the faces of girls who dare to seek an education.
Why are fanatics so terrified of girls’ education? Because there’s no force more powerful to transform a society. The greatest threat to extremism isn’t drones firing missiles, but girls reading books.
And there it is in one question − “Why are fanatics so terrified of girls’ education?” − and its answer: “Because there’s no force more powerful to transform a society. The greatest threat to extremism isn’t drones firing missiles, but girls reading books.”
I bolded that last sentence. Whenever in the (near) future I post under the category The Global War Against Women I could just repeat that sentence over and over again. “…girls reading books.”
Thank you, Mr. Kristof.