"If you're a woman over there it pretty much sucks..."

As I was reading A Thousand Splendid Suns, there were several times where I would simply think to myself, "Wow. I'm so glad I live in the United States." In the United States, girls grow up knowing that they can be anything they want to be, there are no limitations on their dreams. Women here aren't defined by their marriage or how many children they have. In Afghanistan, under Taliban rule, women weren't allowed to do anything, as evidenced in the novel. Even today, after the Taliban's reign has ended, women there are still not granted the freedoms that we are so fortunate to have as Americans. Last week, Melanne Verveer spoke to Congress about the plight of women in Afghanistan. Although since the downfall of the Taliban women have been able to gain jobs in politics, their everyday life has continued to suffer, according to Verveer. I can't imagine what it would be like to grow up in a country where I couldn't follow my dreams because of my gender. We saw in the book how well Zalmai was treated by Rasheed because he was a boy and how poorly Aziza was treated because she was a girl. Unfortunately, that's how life is for many girls growing up in Afghanistan today. Reading this book just really made me realize how different my life would be if I had simply been born in a different country. I could have the same parents, the same friends, the same wants and needs but have a completely different life. Because I was one of the lucky girls fortunate enough to be born in America, I can do anything that I want to do.

Here's the link to Verveer's address to Senate http://www.state.gov/s/gwi/rls/rem/2010/137222.htm

And the title is a reference to one of Kathy Griffin's specials. Ask me or Lauren about it : )