Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Thursday, March 28th, 2024

Afghan Woman – Like a Bird with Broken Wings

Violence and violation of rights weighs heavily on women. As long as women are deemed inferior and looked down upon, human rights will lack substance. As long as outmoded ways of thinking prevent women from making a meaningful contribution to society, progress will be slow. As long as the nation refuses to acknowledge the equal role of more than half of itself, it is doomed to failure. Violence against women is one of the crucial social mechanisms by which women are forced into a subordinate position compared with men.

Moreover, it is the manifestation of an unequal power between men and women. Feminists have often protested that standard lists of human rights do not sufficiently take into account the different risks faced by women and men. For example, issues like domestic violence, reproductive choice, and trafficking of women and girls for sex work did not have a prominent place in early human rights documents and treaties.

Lists of human rights have had to be expanded “to include the degradation and violation of women”. Violations of women’s human rights often occur in the home at the hands of other family members, not in the street at the hands of the police. Most violence against women occurs in the “private” sphere. This has meant that governments cannot be seen as the only addressees of human rights and that the right to privacy of home and family needs qualifications to allow police to protect women within the home.

Honor killings are a common form of violence against women across our country. Women are killed for reasons such as refusing to enter an arranged marriage, being in a relationship that is disapproved by their relatives, attempting to leave a marriage, becoming the victim of rape, dressing in ways which are deemed inappropriate, etc. It is aptly said, “For every woman and girl violently attacked, we reduce our humanity.

For every woman forced into unprotected sex because men demand this, we destroy dignity and pride. Every woman who has to sell her life for sex we condemn to a lifetime in prison. For every moment we remain silent, we conspire against our women. For every woman infected by HIV, we destroy a generation.”

The violence against women can occur in both public and private spheres of life and at any time of their life span. Many women are terrified by these threats of violence and this essentially has an impact on their lives that they are impeded to exercise their human rights, for instance, the fear for contribution to the development of their communities socially, economically and politically. The gang rape occurred in the Paghman district of Kabul was one of the worst cases of violence against our women.

As it is still debated on the national media, armed men stopped a convoy of cars that was driving back to the city from a wedding in the district of Paghman in the morning of August 23. The men dragged four women to the side of the road, where they robbed them and beat them up, the screams of the victims in earshot of male relatives they were traveling with. Three of the women were raped, including one who was pregnant.

Violence against women is common in Afghanistan, but most of it happens within the home. “What’s unusual about this case is that it came to light. [Rape] is far more common that we would know because people don’t talk about it,” said Patricia Gossman, a senior researcher with Human Rights Watch. “There is an enormous social stigma. ”For many Afghans, this case also rekindled memories of the civil war of the mid-1990s, when law and order collapsed as rival mujahedeen groups battled for control of Kabul. At that time, women were frequently abducted and gang raped. “This incident reminds us of violence against women during the civil war – that’s why people are very sensitive about it, and want to push the government to take serious action,” says Najma Zala, a Kabul-based women’s rights activist. “We don’t want to return to that same era again.”

According to reports, Most women do not seek legal assistance for domestic or sexual abuse for fear of prosecution or being returned to their family or the perpetrator or because they don’t know their rights. A research found many risk factors that increase the chance of Afghan women experiencing domestic violence. Some of these include being in a forced, underage, or polygamous marriage, living in rural communities or communities with greater Taliban control, and the presence of strict gender role perceptions. Factors that decrease the chance of domestic violence include employment of both spouses, consensual marriage, literacy of both women and men, living in urban communities, enjoying economic stability, and perceived satisfactory gender relations.

According to women’s rights advocates, a deteriorating economy and growing insecurity have contributed to the rise in reported incidents. They also point to evidence that laws aimed at protecting women have proven notoriously hard to implement. Women’s rights advocates say a deteriorating economy and growing insecurity have contributed to the rise in reported incidents. They also point to evidence that laws aimed at protecting women have proven notoriously hard to implement.

We must end violence committed against women and girls in private and public spheres. The government is highly responsible to implement the law which supports the women rights. In short, only complaints cannot end the issue rather a serious and effective mechanism is needed to be taken as soon as possible.