海角大神

The panel鈥檚 meticulously researched account of former President Donald Trump鈥檚 rhetoric and actions will be studied by historians for decades. But one chapter in that history is missing: why Capitol Police were unprepared.

Even before Israel鈥檚 new, hard-right coalition has taken office, the naming of a religious anti-LGBTQ extremist to a new education post is roiling the public over fundamental questions of Israeli identity and Jewish values.

Even in the darkest times, an unexpected present from Santa Claus can light up a child鈥檚 life. For Ukrainian children near the front lines, St. Nicholas鈥� Reindeer is there to help.

The holidays generate more of it than any other season. A program in Louisiana uses discarded Christmas trees to help rebuild shorelines 鈥� symbolizing progress on a larger challenge of dealing more wisely with waste.聽

Light may be a symbol of progress, but these communities treasure the humbling wonders of the dark.

Step by step since they returned to power in Afghanistan 16 months ago, the Taliban have sought to erase women from public view. Yesterday they banned female students from attending public and private universities, effectively ending education for girls beyond the sixth grade.

That may turn out to have been a step too far. Male university students refused to take their exams. Professors resigned. Social media buzzed with hashtags supporting education for girls. In Jalalabad and Kabul, university students 鈥� men and women 鈥� staged open protests today despite the risk of violent reprisal. 鈥淗ow can we sit idly by as millions of girls are denied their human rights,鈥� Afghan journalist Lina Rozbih tweeted.聽

What was meant as a sign of strength has instead exposed a weakness 鈥� amplifying a remarkable turn in the relationship between Islam and political power. In the world鈥檚 two most repressive theocratic states, Iran and Afghanistan, women鈥檚 rights have become a battle cry for democratic renewal. That points to a transformation at work within both societies 鈥� a rejection of religion as justification for condemnation and harm, and its restoration as a wellspring of equality, joy, and unfettered individuality.

The voices of reform are becoming a chorus. 鈥淓ducation is obligatory for both men and women, without any discrimination,鈥� the Taliban鈥檚 deputy foreign minister, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, said last month, appealing in a rare public break with senior Taliban leaders for a reopening of secondary schools for girls. 鈥淣o one can offer a justification based on sharia [Islamic law] for opposing this.鈥�

鈥淣ow, it鈥檚 people who know they have no way out of the country who are taking to the streets,鈥� a female teacher in Kabul, who asked not to be named for security reasons, told The New Humanitarian. 鈥淭hey know they have nowhere else to go, and so they are demanding their basic rights under Islam.鈥�

鈥淚slam is what guarantees women their rights to participate within society and their rights to education,鈥� Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said in September. 鈥淪o we expect, not only in Afghanistan but across the world, for women to not only be guaranteed these rights but also for these rights to be protected.鈥�

The Taliban鈥檚 increasingly restrictive rule may be a response to their lack of credibility. No country has recognized their government. The United Nations estimates that 90% of the population is food insecure. Increasing violence and terrorist activity have scared off even the most avid foreign investors like China. Skirmishes along the borders with Pakistan and Iran are escalating.

Perhaps most threatening to their rule is a persistent defiance among Afghans themselves. Across the country, fathers and tribal elders have implored the Taliban to reopen schools for girls. In cities like Kabul, decrees banning females from classrooms and public places of entertainment have driven women to start schools and gyms underground. 鈥淥ur generation fought for equality,鈥� Laila Ahmad, who runs a clandestine exercise class in her basement in Kabul, told The Japan Times today. 鈥淲e will not give up and remain silent. Even though we can鈥檛 play music, we still dance.鈥澛�

For the hardened men of cloth in Afghanistan, as in Iran, stifling the human spirit is a hard problem.