At the beginning of March 2001, the Taleban began a campaign to destroy all
statues and
monuments in
Afghanistan that belonged to other
religions. This is for the fairly logical reason that these ornaments are
un-Islamic.
Two large statues of Buddha at Bamiyan have been completely dynamited away.
As one might imagine, devotees of those un-Islamic religions are apoplectic, the (Indian) Hindu Nationalist Party (BJP) is incandescent with rage, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan is grumbling, various aid packages to Afghanistan are under threat, and the whole story is even now ricochetting around the global media.
Interestingly, the Taleban have been dynamiting away at the civil rights of Afghanistan's female population since they came to power. Nobody talked about cancelling aid packages when 50% of the country's population was barred from studying, working, or freely moving outside their homes. The cries of outrage on this matter have been decidedly muted, and it would appear that the world's movers and shakers care more about the rights of statues than those of women.