Tomorrow, the world including Afghanistan will mark March 8th as international women’s day. This day is marked in Afghanistan as it is an opportunity for Afghan women to highlight their sufferings and create more awareness among women of the country about their rights. This day must be of great importance for Afghanistan – a country considered the worst place for a woman.
Afghanistan needs to allow its women more rights and freedom. They form 50% percent of the population. Without their active participation in social, political and economic spheres, it is almost impossible that this country would become prosperous one day.
If we see women in the context of Afghan history, we will come to know that they have always been deprived of their due rights. Even if we do not talk of history, for a major portion of women population in Afghanistan, this is not the 21st century as they continue to suffer violence in a barbaric environment and are vulnerable to all sorts of crimes.
According to article 22 of the Constitutional Law of Afghanistan, “the citizens of Afghanistan, man and woman, have equal rights and duties before the law.” But in practice, such things are not observable, as man is considered superior than woman and women have to follow the rules defined by men not by the government.
Life for Afghan women cannot change until the government truly realizes their dignity and importance of the role they can play in building the country.
If life, for some women, is different than Taliban times we should not be overly optimistic, as for majority serious obstacles to live a better life exist. Although more than a decade has passed after the defeat of Taliban and women participation in all fields of life has somehow increased, life for majority of women population has not altered much. Taliban still continue to practice violence and their rules apply to all areas under their control and influence. In addition, a big portion of Afghan population has resembling mentality as that of Taliban which has resulted in the sufferings of Afghan women to become manifold.
Afghanistan falls in the list of the countries where women are not only denied their rights but also are subjected to extreme forms of violence. The annoying point is that anguish of the Afghan women has gone increasing. Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) talks of escalation of violence against women in the current Solar Year. In the first seven month of 1391 the commission has registered 4,500 cases of violence against women which is more than the total number of cases (4,000) registered last year. AIHRC has expressed its deep concerns over the growing acts of brutality against women. Poor economic and security condition, lack of awareness, evasion from laws and other social problems are deemed major reasons behind the worst situation Afghan women have to face.
Life for Afghan women cannot change until the government truly realizes their dignity and importance of the role they can play in building the country. Such a condition will never triumph in Afghanistan, unless democracy is strong and law and justice govern it.