It has now become common to hear pieces of news about violence against women in Afghanistan. Since people in this country have been through more than thirty years of conflict and have seen and continue to see most gruesome cases of violence, a news item about self-immolation may not be shocking for them. Unfortunately, Afghanistan is still a country at war, where the worst forms of violence happen.

For instance, beheading of human beings is not alien news to Afghan people. Over the last ten years of struggle against terrorists and Taliban insurgents, Afghan people have heard the news of people being decapitated by Taliban insurgents in different parts of the country.

The Taliban militants linked with other terrorist networks and elements in the region have been truculent enough to explode, terrify, kill and injure with the aim to annihilate anyone who comes across them with a dissent view and thought. In fact, people in this land have unfortunately witnessed the grisliest suicide attacks where women and children have been killed.

What can be deduced from these cases is the bitter fact that Afghanistan is a violence-stricken society, where any form of violence could occur. One form of violence that has a wide repercussion in the society is violence against women that happens at family level, which is the basic and most sacred unit of the society.

For instance, a newly-wed 15 year old girl committed self-immolation on Friday, February 17 to get herself rid of domestic violence. Sadat, the victim, has said that in a forced marriage she faced violence and abuses from her in-law family and in order to relieve herself of those violent behaviors she had to have recourse to self-immolation.

Earlier, a woman was killed by her husband in Kunduz for delivering a female child. It was said that she gave birth to the third daughter and it upset her in-laws who expected her to give birth to a son. Such a cultural attitude and action is the most atrocious and inhuman one.

It is no different from the pre-Islam ignorance era in the peninsula of Arab when a female child would be buried alive due to the inhuman cultural elements that were ruling the communities. There appears to be cultural aspects associated with this phenomenon that need to be considered and refined.

There is a great need to cultivate a culture of peace and non-violence in the society. Afghan government must launch an effective campaign to raise public awareness on these issues that cause a human tragedy. Afghan government must conduct more programs across the country to change this violent culture at the society and family level.

It is high time to convince women to believe that they do not need to put an end to their lives by committing self-immolation. This end can be achieved only by changing the violent culture prevailing in the society.