The author says that the story of the bacha posh "cuts right to the most difficult questions of human existence..." Do you agree? Why are the differences between men and women so important to us?

In an interview about the book, Jenny Nordberg said that the story of the bacha posh "cuts right to the most difficult questions of human existence: war, oppression, and the difference between men and women." Do you agree? Why are the differences between men and women so important to us?

I think the differences are so important to us because it is something we have been taught from the beginning of time. It is the expectation of how we are supposed to live in society. I do believe that bacha posh does 'cut right to the most difficult questions of human existence..." because it is beyond the norm we have grown comfortable with. It makes us look deeper into ourselves and ask the question "what would I do". Unless you have lived it, can you really feel it and understand it? We have to question, can a society continue to exist and prosper if half of the group is so mistreated by the other half.

Yes. The differences between how men and women are treated and regarded are important because whenever there is oppression and inequality, whether on the basis of race, gender, religion, etc., there cannot be a free society.

From the time we are born gender differences are apparent. Baby boys in blue, girls in pink. Dolls and toy household items for girls, trucks and guns for boys. Boys learn trades in school. Some genders have gender bias. Fortunately much of this is changing. More babies dressed in yellows and purples, etc. Girls learning trades.

So given these biases from the very beginning, yes, baca posh defies the social norms. Families are getting what they from them, and the bacha posh gets a taste of basic rights of freedom.

I agree. Gender differences have been examined from countless angles and challenged by many since the very beginning of time. The differences between men and women is making big, big news right now (i.e., Bruce/Cait). Stories like those uncovered by Jenny Nordberg in current-day Afghanistan, as well as the similar stories she shared from thousands of years ago, illustrate the timelessness of this issue. The lack of answers to these complex gender challenges further complicates the discussion, and ensures that bacha posh will continue into the future in Afghanistan, and elsewhere.

Are the differences (and I do believe that there are inherent differences) between the genders based on our natural differences (women's bodies are generally smaller and weaker, for example) and are they exacerbated by the society we live in. If society were truly genderless and/or equal, would the physical differences matter? How does bacha posh compare to transgender people? As a teacher of young children, I do see gender differences at ages 3-5, are those differences induced by society or by something more in born?