In 2002, a journalist visited a province of Iraq. While touring the region, he came across an Arab man walking through the fields with his wives. Noticing that the wives all walker about ten paces behind the man, the journalist approached and asked him why this was.
"You see," said the Arab man, "women are naturally inferior to men, and if they were allowed to walk alongside me, they might start thinking they're my equals and then they would become unmanageable."
Shocked and disgusted, the journalist berated the Arab man for his back ward way of thinking, telling him that women and men are equal and should be treated as such.
The Arab man pondered the words of the journalist, promising him he would think over what he had said.
Satisfied, the red-faced journalist finished his tour of the province and returned to the west.
2018 arrives and ISIS have been defeated. The journalist decides to return to the country and the province he had visited 16 years ago and do a new report.
Arriving in the province, he is surprised to see the same Arab man walking through the fields as he had so many years ago. But this time, to his delight, he notices the man's wives are now walking ten paces ahead of their husband.
He approaches the Arab man and reintroduces himself, smiling the whole time.
"I see you took my word to heart since I was here last," the journalist says. "Do you allow your wives to walk in front of you because you want to give them the feeling of superiority you had over them for so many years?"
"No," replies the Arab man.
"Then why," asked the journo.
"Landmines."
"You see," said the Arab man, "women are naturally inferior to men, and if they were allowed to walk alongside me, they might start thinking they're my equals and then they would become unmanageable."
Shocked and disgusted, the journalist berated the Arab man for his back ward way of thinking, telling him that women and men are equal and should be treated as such.
The Arab man pondered the words of the journalist, promising him he would think over what he had said.
Satisfied, the red-faced journalist finished his tour of the province and returned to the west.
2018 arrives and ISIS have been defeated. The journalist decides to return to the country and the province he had visited 16 years ago and do a new report.
Arriving in the province, he is surprised to see the same Arab man walking through the fields as he had so many years ago. But this time, to his delight, he notices the man's wives are now walking ten paces ahead of their husband.
He approaches the Arab man and reintroduces himself, smiling the whole time.
"I see you took my word to heart since I was here last," the journalist says. "Do you allow your wives to walk in front of you because you want to give them the feeling of superiority you had over them for so many years?"
"No," replies the Arab man.
"Then why," asked the journo.
"Landmines."
Dying to live, living to die.