There was once an Afghan woman who was repeatedly raped for 5 days by a local police officer. The police officer got his justice by being locked up, but the Afghan woman is now in hiding in fear of being punished by the other local policemen. This is just one sad story of what an Afghan woman has to go through on a daily basis. Stories like this are happening because of the results of the Soviet-Afghan War. Before the war, Afghanistan was a fairly free place. Women could go out on their own, wear what they wanted, and go to university. Now they are restricted from almost anything that involves the outside world. The Soviet-Afghan War, which happened in 1979, was a war in which the Soviet Union, who did not like what was happening in Afghanistan, …show more content…
Right when the war started, women exceedingly dropped in their status in society. Because they were not allowed to participate in the war first hand, they were not seen as important. This unimportance essentially granted them few rights, although the constitution said otherwise. In the article “Women Under Imperialist Occupation” it said, “While the 1964 constitution had declared women equal to men, equality largely remained on paper except for a few women in the upper strata of urban society” (Workers Vanguard). The constitution was only a “piece of paper” to those in charge. It didn’t matter that everyone was “equal,” it only mattered what role you played in society. With problems like these, women were very much excluded from societal issues. Despite their success years before the war, the women’s opinions and actions did not matter. Because these actions did not matter, women slowly but surely were pushed out of the public eye and locked in their …show more content…
After the war, the Taliban, a fundamentalist group, known for providing safe haven for Osama bin Laden, came to power. They were known for twisting Islamic law and filtering it to their needs. The Taliban showed no respect to women and despised them, giving them unjust laws with harsh consequences if broken. In the article, “Women in Afghanistan-The Back Story,” it’s stated that, “There were many other ways their rights were denied to them. Women were essentially invisible in public life, imprisoned in their home. In Kabul, residents were ordered to cover their ground and first-floor windows so women inside could not be seen from the street. If a woman left the house, it was in a full body veil (burqa), accompanied by a male relative: she had no independence.” Under the Taliban, women were locked up in their homes like prisoners, and not permitted to leave unless accompanied by a man. Women were already denied the right being involved with the war physically, and now they are being denied the right to actually leave their house physically. This “imprisonment” made it even harder for the women to be involved with the war, because they didn’t have the chance to go out and make a change when they were stuck in their homes. They couldn’t get involved with the war, or act on feminist rights because they didn’t have a chance! Because they were
In Afghanistan, Women’s rights were very denied and completely dismissed. Women were treated horribly. They were beaten, abused verbally, and even killed. Under the rule of the Taliban, women were better off staying in the safety of their own homes.
The Constitution that was created in Afghanistan during the 1920’s, stated equal rights for women and men. In fact, during the year of 1959, new policies created educational and career opportunities and voluntary removal of having to wear the burka. Women’s roles become similarly equivalent to male roles; they had the opportunity to acquire knowledge from universities, and were provided jobs in industrial, business, and entertainment settings. The atrocities that came about during the Mujaheddin and Taliban control were unheard of years prior, when women lived in peace and prosperity
In 2010 a young Afghan women had her nose and ears cut off. Aesha Mohammadzai, first appeared on the cover of time magazine in 2010, shared her story on how her husband and in-laws cut off her nose and ears as punishment for trying to run away. Mohammadzai said: “Every day I was abused by my husband and his family. Mentally and physically; Then one day it became unbearable so I ran away." Three years later Mohammadzai began her reconstructive surgery. Aesha Mohammadzai now lives with a foster family, and is studying English in school. A true inspiration to Afghan women, Aesha Mohammadzai tells women who are being abused to stay strong and never lose hope (Phillip Caulfield.2013). This is just one of the many common punishments Afghan women receive. Mohammadzai is proof that still in today’s society women in Afghanistan are still suffering with extreme punishments. The life expectancy for a woman in Afghanistan is 44, one of the lowest in the world (Life as an Afghan Women.2013). Throughout the years, women have been forced to live in fear because of the way they have been treated. The consequences of punishments are not balanced with the actions that are performed, and women fight to hold their own. Afghan women have struggled with extreme, cruel and violent punishments. Women’s punishments are the result of the loss of their basic human rights.
The Taliban implemented laws restricting the movements and actions of women in Afghanistan in public places. While attempting to visit her child in a home for young girls, Laila is beaten within an inch of her life as a consequence of walking outside without a male escort (Hosseini). The extreme course of action, beating a woman for walking alone, demonstrates the illogical and unjustifiable actions the Taliban promotes the practice of in Afghanistan. The women and men have dramatically unequal rights.
In conclusion, women in Muslim culture, especially in Afghanistan, have been violated of their right to a safe and free life. Hopefully the way men treat women in these societies changes for the better. As humans, people all know what is morally right and are capable of treating each other fairly, and if everyone were to act this way, the oppression towards women may be
On April 28, 1992, Mujahadeen factions stormed Kabul and declared themselves rulers of Afghanistan. What followed is considered the darkest period in Afghan history, especially for Afghan women. However, the Taliban rapidly showed their true colors by declaring Sharia laws that included a complete removal of women from society, strict Islamic dress code for men, and other ridiculous laws such as a ban on books, television, cameras, and radios. Faced with no way to earn a living, Afghan women silently wasted away inside their homes, depressed and suicidal. Many women turned to beggary and prostitution to survive. Under the Taliban, one half of the population virtually disappeared from society, appearing in public only under the shroud of the
Khaled is quoted saying “It is undeniable that the treatment of women in some Muslim countries -including my own- has been dismal. The evidence is simply overwhelming. In Afghanistan under the Taliban, women were denied education, the right to work, the right to move freely, access to adequate healthcare, etc.” Yet these restrictions that Hosseini states are only a few of the restrictions that the Taliban placed upon women. Some of the following restrictions that he states are quoted in the book as, “you will cover with burqa when outside, If you do not you, will be severely beaten.” He also goes on to list more restrictions such as cosmetics and jewellery are forbidden. “as a woman you will not speak unless spoken to”, “you will not make eye contact with men”, “you will not laugh in public if you do, you will be beaten.” “You will not paint your nails, if you do, you will lose a finger.” “Girls are forbidden from attending school.” “All schools for girls will be closed immediately.” “Women are forbidden from working.” All of these rules or laws in some cases that hosseini states the Taliban enforced make it very obvious that freedom in Afghanistan is not a choice for women.
Claim: Afghan women 's innovative and persistent demonstrations throughout history highlight that they are not merely victims of war, but rather that their contributions to society are a crucial aspect of maintaining peace in Afghanistan.
Violence and torture against women is an accepted form of submission that is institutionalized and encourages the assault of the body, mind and sexuality. During the time of civil war and the Taliban regime, the extremist took the role of enforcing repercussions resulting from disobedience in the form of rape, gang rape, public beatings, mutilation, and torture (Sharif, 2015). The society promotes men – husband, father or brother, to decide how the women in their family will look, dress, marry, the activities she will engage in, and if she is allowed to pursue education. This absence of choice is reflective of the patriarchal society which still exists within Afghanistan. For any disobedience of a women towards the men in her life brings
The woman right has been violated, since the Taliban took over Afghanistan in 2001..Many young ladies are forced into marriage due to tradition and poverty. Which put their education and health at risk. It is said that over 30 percent of young girls are married before the age of 18. They do not have the ability to enjoy life in an urban way, for example; going to school, work and etc. They are seen and used as typical housewives. Although, some of them desire to attend school and build a bright
Afghanistan can be a vicious and cruel country to live in, especially for women and young girls. Most Afghan girls are still not attending school, and of those who do, only about a handful of them will attend long enough to graduate. It is common for most girls to be browbeaten out of attending school, many girls have been attacked and some have even been doused with acid. According to a New York Times article titled, “The Women of Afghanistan,” “It is not uncommon, especially in rural areas, for families to trade daughters into marriage or prostitution to settle debts” (The Women of Afghanistan). Many women who are beaten by their husbands and families attempt to flee but are put in jail and punished because of disobeying their family. Husbands
Afghanistan is a landlocked country located within South and Central Asia. It is an Islamic Republic with the nation currently being led by President Ashraf Ghani. Afghanistan is a multiethnic society with a population of approximately thirty-one million people. In September 1996 to December 2001, the Taliban, a political movement, formed a government and spread throughout Afghanistan. They misinterpreted Islamic law and inflicted strict and unjust order amongst the Afghans, specifically women. Even after the Taliban’s fall from power, women are still being discriminated. Women’s rights in Afghanistan are violated, specifically in Article two of the Universal Declaration of the Human Rights, through rape, forced marriage, and self-immolation.
Women for Afghan Women (WAW) are a grassroots, civil society organization. The mission is dedicated to securing and protecting the rights of disenfranchised Afghan women and girls in Afghanistan and New York, particularly their rights to develop their individual potential, to self-determination, and to be represented in all areas of life: political, social, cultural and economic. We advocate for women’s rights and challenge the norms that underpin gender-based violence wherever opportunities arise to influence attitude and bring about change.
According to (Amiri et al, 2004), to create sustainable progress, support for women’s rights and roles must be entrenched within Afghan culture, history, and religion. With women again involved in government, pushing women’s issues such as health, education and employment, it is hoped that women in Afghanistan or any other country will never be subjected to such oppression every again. Women will play a pivotal role in the rebuilding the social
The first view point in women’s human rights is one from Afghanistan, which is the looking at the international law vs. the Muslim law that has been in effect for far too long. The Muslim law does nothing in the way of human rights for women. The international law takes a Western style of imperialism to combat the rights issue of women. “At the conference on Afghan women in Turin, the three women from Afghan women’s organizations were center stage. All three women, though coming from different political locations, stressed the importance of literacy, economic empowerment and security for women as the most important criteria to negotiate rights for themselves, and secular democracy for the country” (Ahmed-Ghosh. 2006, 114). These