Quote:To say that Afghanistan is “medieval” is historically lazy and politically dangerous. It legitimizes the Taliban’s regressive policies by painting them as culturally authentic, when in truth they are violently imposed and widely resisted. It erases decades of modern struggle—particularly by the women who have led civil society movements, built institutions, and served in the republican government. These women give lie to Benard’s puerile and condescending assertion that Afghan women are inherently predisposed to a “traditional lifestyle and village values.” Predictably, Benard never mentions them.