Even after consistent insistence, the level of violence against women in Afghan society does not seem to be lowering. Every day, there are incidents which show clear discrimination, and brutal violence against Afghan women. These are only the incidents that become public and the people come to know about them. Surely, there are many other incidents that are never reported and that never make to the media and the people never come to know about them. They are the stories born in dark alleys of ignorance and injustice and they die at in the same darkness.
It was not long ago when stoning of a young woman in one of Afghan districts was revealed through media. The shrieks of the woman, victimized in the act, could still be heard that another story has started making the headlines. A woman’s nose was chopped off by her husband in Faryab province, a couple of days ago. The woman, Reza Gul, who is only 20 years old, was subjected to the barbarian treatment after six years of marriage. Reza Gul has disclosed to the reporters that her husband looked for flimsy excuses for beating and insulting her. He had even tried to shoot her with a pistol but the weapon misfired; so he opted for cutting off her nose with a knife.
This incident shows the height of brutality. Unfortunately, this is not the first of its kind. There have been many such incidents wherein men have cut the noses of women because of different reasons. This, they do, in order to punish them for some deeds which they consider as mistake or sin.
Most of the men, in any social position, whether a brother, father, or husband, have discriminated women in some way or the other. They have used their unjustly heightened position in patriarchal Afghan society to show their dominance and strength. They have even used their physical strength so as to subjugate women and tyrannize them in any possible way.
The family is structured in such a way that men possess most of the authority and they make most of the decisions. Women are not allowed to make decisions of their own. Even the imperative decisions like marriages are made by the men. And, unfortunately, while grooms are searched for women, many important aspects are neglected. Though the choice of women is made very thorough, the same is ignored in the choice for men and this gives rise to many problems after marriage. Mostly, the men are not capable of running their families properly but they are having wives and many children. This gives birth to a situation where the men have no other option to face the problems in the family except to opt for violence and women become the victim of their violence.
It can be easily observed in Afghan society that women become the victim of domestic violence and whenever their husbands are unemployed and drug addicts the situation gets worse. The drug addicted men do not only spoil their own lives but also make the lives of their wives and children miserable, if they are married. Men can be husbands as soon as they are young; youth is the only requirement for them. And, after marriage they are not required to be responsible enough.
Women are required to be docile and obedient. They are required to be able to work hard along with having beauty and chastity. Moreover, after marriage women are asked to compromise with men in every situation and condition. They are required to sacrifice their entire lives for the betterment of their husbands’ houses and lives. They do not have any other way of living except for fulfilling the demands of their in-laws and particularly their husbands.
This situation has given rise to every sort of discrimination and violence against women. The unjust and ill-treatment of women in our society has given rise to every sort of trouble the women face. The whole social structure and behavior are designed in such a way that supports discrimination against them and they are expected to tolerate all these without even raising their voice.
It is necessary that Afghan government should take serious notice of the discrimination and violence against women. It should now be understood that unless law enforcement agencies carry out concrete measures to enact the law so as to control violence against women, it would be very difficult to control the situation within a society where women are not considered even human beings. However, at the same time it is necessary to address the root causes of the problem. It is important to bring about changes in the way the women are perceived within our society. Unless, they are considered human beings and important part of the society it is very difficult to control discrimination and violence against them.