General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsI Have A Really Stupid Question About The Taliban's Clothes/Garb/Outfits......
Their garb looks heavy and overly warm and all the pictures I see of the Taliban - their clothes look like they were just laundered and clean.
How do they keep their garb clean - given the terrain in Afghanistan? Do they carry around a number of outfits with them? Are their laundromats available for their use?
I said - this is a stupid question but it's something that has bugged me for a long time.
Hugh_Lebowski
(33,643 posts)marble falls
(57,081 posts)Hugh_Lebowski
(33,643 posts)Treefrog
(4,170 posts)Never have I ever done a mans laundry, I might add.
marble falls
(57,081 posts)... at all racist in your original wisecrack?
Response to marble falls (Reply #21)
BannonsLiver This message was self-deleted by its author.
Treefrog
(4,170 posts)I thought we were supposed to be a well informed group.
muriel_volestrangler
(101,316 posts)eg American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language
Afghani adj.
Of or relating to Afghanistan; Afghan.
n.
pl. Afghanis
1.
A native or inhabitant of Afghanistan; an Afghan.
Hugh_Lebowski
(33,643 posts)The question was SPECIFIC TO THE TALIBAN.
Or I would not have answered as I did.
And they're called Afghans.
Treefrog
(4,170 posts)And thank you for reiterating the correct term.
BannonsLiver
(16,387 posts)DemocratSinceBirth
(99,710 posts)I also buy most of the household goods and groceries.
Treefrog
(4,170 posts)luv2fly
(2,475 posts)BannonsLiver
(16,387 posts)marble falls
(57,081 posts)I don't believe women are enslaved to the laundry in the US, either.
Response to marble falls (Reply #24)
BannonsLiver This message was self-deleted by its author.
luv2fly
(2,475 posts)milestogo
(16,829 posts)Maybe there's a ritual for shaking off the dirt.
Treefrog
(4,170 posts)Dont travel the world.
milestogo
(16,829 posts)I guess I can say I got used to it, but I sure found it unpleasant.
Response to Treefrog (Reply #38)
SYFROYH This message was self-deleted by its author.
dalton99a
(81,486 posts)0rganism
(23,953 posts)Much of the country is mountainous and chilly
For warmer situations they probably remove outer layers
Guerilla fighters don't get to carry around a lot of vanity clothes so I'd assume what they do wear is close to optimal for their purposes
marble falls
(57,081 posts)marble falls
(57,081 posts)WhiskeyGrinder
(22,340 posts)RussBLib
(9,008 posts)That's what you call bigoted? Fascinating.
The taliban has a history of, shall we say, not exalting women?
Not every culture bathes and showers the same amount. Westerners, especially Americans, bathe or shower almost every day. That is simply not done in many other countries, and body odor is rather common. Often unpleasant.
Is that being bigoted? I can think of far worse.
marble falls
(57,081 posts)... people are", are usually BS.
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)were told to limit our showers because they didn't like to waste water and didn't bathe as often as we did (we lived with host families). I asked my Austrian "sisters" one day about how often does the average person shower or bathe in Vienna and they told me about once per week, maybe twice a week at the most.
And this is in a modern, first-world country, with kick-ass bathrooms and all kinds of cool spigots coming out of every side of the shower stall. I loved their showers! But you could tell when you were in the Subway or the Strassenbahn that people didn't bathe often because it really smelled.
They might bathe more often these days, but probably still not as much as we do. It is similar in many European countries, so it's not much of a stretch to assume that a third-world country in Central Asia does not practice the same hygiene rituals that we do here in the US either.
luv2fly
(2,475 posts)To do their laundry, right?
marble falls
(57,081 posts)Hugh_Lebowski
(33,643 posts)We know they mistreat and enslave women.
Speculating that the TALIBAN are making said women wash their clothes is not a bigoted answer and rather logical if you ask me.
Assuming you're harping about my answer, if not, just ignore me.
brush
(53,778 posts)BannonsLiver
(16,387 posts)Theyre sensitive and they have feelings, too.
dalton99a
(81,486 posts)Coventina
(27,119 posts)BannonsLiver
(16,387 posts)leftstreet
(36,108 posts)Link to tweet
?s=20
BannonsLiver
(16,387 posts)smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)marble falls
(57,081 posts)Hugh_Lebowski
(33,643 posts)Last edited Fri Aug 20, 2021, 04:21 PM - Edit history (2)
All I said was I would GUESS that perhaps the TALIBAN's clothes are always so clean because they make the women they subjugate (the latter being a fact we know to be true) keep them clean for them.
I never said the Taliban are 'filthy' or even implied it.
brush
(53,778 posts)Last edited Fri Aug 20, 2021, 03:49 PM - Edit history (1)
Any army after days/weeks in the field is likely to be a bit ripe. Once they get back to base or a place they can clean up, that's what they do, whether they be American or Afghan Taliban.
Hugh_Lebowski
(33,643 posts)I was making an honest answer, specific to the question of how the Taliban's clothes always look clean.
I don't think my answer was bigoted, but I'm not always the best with the rules of PC-dom, I will admit.
global1
(25,247 posts)brush
(53,778 posts)People have changes of clothes.
Elessar Zappa
(13,991 posts)treestar
(82,383 posts)terrain in Afghanistan" - which is an objective fact that says nothing about the people.
MineralMan
(146,307 posts)I assume they wash their clothing as needed. Why do you assume otherwise?
Treefrog
(4,170 posts)MineralMan
(146,307 posts)countries. There is poverty there, of course. There is also wealth.
Many people also know nothing about Islam. They are simply reacting to the situation without knowledge.
Which is not to say that I would choose to live in that area. I was stationed in Samsun, Turkey for 15 months back in the late 1960s while in the USAF. While there, I met quite a few Turks, in all walks of life. The vast majority of them were nice people, but with different ways of thinking than I had.
I learned a lot about their country, their lifestyles, and how they lived. It's not my cup of tea, although I drank a great deal of Turkish tea while I was there.
Treefrog
(4,170 posts)Someone posted a thread about this earlier but obviously no one paid it the slightest amount of attention.
Response to Treefrog (Reply #29)
MineralMan This message was self-deleted by its author.
LeftInTX
(25,317 posts)My grandparents were born and raised there.....
Afghanistan is not even in the Middle East...
Turkish men have been wearing slacks for the last 100 years...
Please don't generalize.......
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/Afghanistan_%28orthographic_projection%29.svg
greenjar_01
(6,477 posts)crud
(619 posts)One of my friends asked him if they had ironing boards in Peru. He said we have ironing boards and irons and two maids to do the ironing. We laughed and laughed about that for years.
Treefrog
(4,170 posts)Ive got some similar stories from growing up abroad.
Treefrog
(4,170 posts)I swear, one of them messed with his headscarf like six times in 20 minutes. All of them were very colorfully dressed, and seemed to constantly adjust their clothing. We were laughing our asses off.
Being on tv I guess, but what a bunch of preening idiots.
doc03
(35,336 posts)LeftInTX
(25,317 posts)SYFROYH
(34,170 posts)Chellee
(2,096 posts)This is a completely different example, but I think the principle is the same. I saw a video made by some historical costumers examining the question of how women in the 18th/19th century could wear so many layers of clothes and not be fainting from the heat left, right, and sideways.
So, what they did was dress in full historical garb, trooped out to the desert (they live in Reno,) and used a heat measuring device that shows on a computer a color heat map of how hot parts of the body are. And then they changed into modern clothing and did the same thing.
Not only did they feel more comfortable in the historical clothes, they were actually physically cooler. Number one, the historical clothes were made of natural fibers and that helped wick moisture away. Two, the layers of clothing trapped air between the outside and the body, kind of insulating them from the heat. Third, the one wearing a short sleeved tee was hottest because the sun could reach her skin.
Obviously, Afhgan clothing is different, but a lot of the same ideas are there. Hats, natural fibers, covered arms and legs, and layers. So, it would make sense that the traditional clothing would be adapted to living and working in a hot climate, and even though it's counter-intuitive, more clothing can keep you cooler in some situations.
BannonsLiver
(16,387 posts)Especially the part about the video. The fabric part also makes sense. I also think a lot of what they wear is durable, as well.
Chellee
(2,096 posts)They actually wore the whole outfit. The thumbnail implies they went out there in their undies. They did not.
LeftInTX
(25,317 posts)They were not dressed for the conditions in their modern clothes.
I wear lose skirts, lose undies, always sleeveless super loose tops and a bra that is several sizes too big. Everything sags...
I only go outside if necessary....(This is what I wear if I'm going to do anything outside)
If I am doing anything in my backyard, I do not wear a bra. The other day, I was in my backyard and some guy was staring at me. (Pissed me off)
I live in South Texas, where it is both hot and humid.
Treefrog
(4,170 posts)I think Id wear it for gardening.
It looks airy and comfortable.
global1
(25,247 posts)Chellee
(2,096 posts)"Dust storms can happen any time of the year in Afghanistan. On average, Afghanistan experiences blowing dust one to two days per month in the winter and six days per month at the height of the summer."
So, most of the time it's not that dusty, and when it is, you'd just change clothes because you feel gritty and gross.
Reference: https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/76763/afghanistan-dust-storm
global1
(25,247 posts)And I guess they go to the local laundromat to wash their dirty clothes
Chellee
(2,096 posts)But our soldiers don't go to war with just one uniform. Most people who are traveling take a change (or several) of clothes, and wash them when and however they can. I can only assume that they are washing themselves, and their stuff whenever an opportunity arises.
Washing machines are not the only way to wash an article of clothing. I have washed tons of sweaters in the sink, and then spread them out flat to dry. And frankly, in a pinch, any body of water will do, a river, a bucket, a hose in the back yard.
Act_of_Reparation
(9,116 posts)It's clean because they wash it, or have somebody wash it. The guys you see looking prim and proper in front of the camera aren't the dudes fighting on the front lines.
betsuni
(25,519 posts)This is a weird thread.
LeftInTX
(25,317 posts)I've seen pictures of white in India and Pakistan and their garb often looks dusty and dirty...
Now there are politicians in India who wear white and it always looks nice, but they have their laundry professionally done.
JI7
(89,249 posts)old ass rapists , I mean husbands show the clothes dirty and full of stains.
LeftInTX
(25,317 posts)This is a recent image.
Are you talking about their leaders or are you talking about commoners? This is an image of the Taliban from Aug 17th in Kabul. Their clothes don't look particularly heavy or clean.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/afghanistan-taliban-us-biden-militants-vow-amnesty-afghans-live-in-fear/