Nucha's Small World Articles: MISS AMERICA VERSUS MISS AFGHANISTAN

(From a Forwarded Mail -- First published in Small World Ezine on 22 March 2002)

Miss America is a junior at Portland State University, hoping
to eventually get a Master's degree in Bioethics.
Miss Afghanistan is forbidden from receiving any education at
all, and cannot read or write.

Miss America has worked as a lab assistant at both the Oregon
Health Sciences University and the University of Puget Sound.
Miss Afghanistan is forbidden from working.

Miss America's father is an engineer. Her mother is a teacher.
Miss Afghanistan's father was shot by a gang of Taliban
militants. Her mother begs for bread scraps since she cannot
work or remarry.

Miss America wowed the judges by singing a Puccini aria,
"O Mio Babbino Caro".
Miss Afghanistan is forbidden from singing or even listening
to music of any kind.

Miss America will be traveling the nation nonstop during her
reign.
Miss Afghanistan cannot leave her house without a male family
member, cannot drive, and cannot be out after dark.

Miss America is an advocate for breast cancer research.
Miss Afghanistan cannot be treated by a male doctor, and for
all practical purposes has no access to medical treatment of
any kind.

Miss America can date, marry, or divorce anyone she chooses.
Miss Afghanistan will be stoned to death if caught in the
company of a male outside of her family. She is likely to be
sold into an arranged marriage to a man who already has two
wives.

Miss America wears sunscreen on the beach to keep from
burning.
Miss Afghanistan cannot live in a house with windows unless
they are painted black. Since she must wear a burqua outside,
her pale translucent skin has not seen a ray of sunlight in
years.

Miss America could have been disqualified if her swimsuit did
not meet pageant standards.
Miss Afghanistan can be flogged if the holes in the mesh
covering her face are too large.

Miss America will decide how many children, if any, she wants
to have.
Miss Afghanistan will be pregnant 3-4 times more often than
Miss America. Unfortunately, her babies are 25 times more
likely to die in the first year. One out of four will not
see their 5th birthday.

Miss America is majoring in speech communications at PSU.
Miss Afghanistan is forbidden from speaking in public.

Miss America is 21. Since the U.S. life expectancy for women
is 80, she's still a very young woman.
Miss Afghanistan is also 21. But since the life expectancy
for an Afghan woman is 43, next year she will be
over-the-hill". (Besides having a shockingly short life
expectancy overall, Afghanistan is one of the only countries
in the world in which women have a shorter life expectancy
than men).

Miss America is a beautiful, intelligent woman and everyone
knows it.
Miss Afghanistan could be a beautiful, intelligent woman...
but nobody will ever know it.