In “Come September,” Arundhati Roy critiques the narrative surrounding the U.S. military intervention in Afghanistan. She challenges the portrayal of the war as a noble effort to overthrow the Taliban and improve the lives of Afghan women. Roy argues that this framing oversimplifies complex geopolitical motives and reduces the struggle of Afghan women to a mere justification for military action.

Roy highlights the irony in presenting U.S. marines as champions of feminism, suggesting that the true objectives of the war are more aligned with political and economic interests than genuine concern for women's rights. By questioning these narratives, she encourages readers to think critically about the implications of foreign interventions and the misrepresentation of social issues in the name of war.