The Sunday’s suicide bombing in central Kabul led to the injury of a female member of parliament, Shokria Barikzai, and at least 21 civilians and killed three others, including a 21-year-old university student Qudsia. Her body was left on the road with the burnt pages of Holy Qur’an around her – showing that she intended to protect the Sacred Book from the explosion. Qudsia’s death came as a complete shock to her family and friends. Her old mother was mourning painfully over Qudsia’s funeral.
Since terrorists victimize all Afghan citizens irrespective of their gender, it cannot be called violence against women. However, to scrutinize the incident deeply, women are more vulnerable than men in our society. On Sunday’s incident, a female MP was the main target. Recently, girls and women suffer more than ever before. As a result, two females, aged 12 and 3 fell prey to gang rape in Takhar province just days ago – which aroused people’s concern.
Domestic violence, terror, rape and abuse of women remain disgraceful blots on the reputation of our country. The suffering of children invariably impacts more greatly on women than on men. Too many women continue to bear the brunt of social and economic deprivation, in the rural as well as urban areas.
Nelson Mandela believes that as long as we take the view that these are problems for women alone to solve, we cannot expect to reverse the high incidence of rape and child abuse. Domestic violence will not be eradicated. We will not defeat this scourge that affects each and every one of us, until we succeed in mobilizing the whole of our society to fight it. He raises his concern regarding women’s sufferings and says, “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.”
On Wednesday, UN reporter on violence against women, Rashida Manjoo, has called on the Government of Afghanistan and the international community to adopt sustainable measures to address the causes and consequences of gender-based violence in the country.
Ms. Manjoo warned in a statement that violence against women in Afghanistan continues to be a source of deep concern, despite positive legislative and institutional developments brought forward amid a situation of insecurity throughout the country.
“Accountability for all crimes committed against women and girls, the empowerment of women, and the transformation of society, need to remain a focus for the Government of Afghanistan, independent State institutions, civil society organizations and also the international community,” the expert stressed.
When reporting crimes committed against them, Ms. Manjoo said that many women and girls do not register complaints due to their lack of knowledge of the law and its protective remedial provisions; fear of reprisal from the perpetrators and family members; financial and other constraints, including the lack of freedom of movement; and fear of being treated as criminals instead of victims.
Child marriage still looms large in our society. One of the reasons which prompts many families to force their young daughters into marriage is the lack of security stemming from three decades of war, including the risk of kidnapping and rape. Some girls are bartered into marriage to repay debt or resolve a dispute. And widespread poverty still compels many parents to have their daughters married to avoid the cost of caring for them.
The implications of child marriage cannot be overestimated as many girls do not continue their education and remain illiterate. They have babies while still young teenagers, increasing health problems and risking death for themselves and their children.
The Afghan government and law-enforcement agencies need to take the discrimination and violence against women seriously. But at the same time the root causes of the problem have to be addressed. Until and unless women are considered an integral part of society nothing fundamental will change.
Education is the best strategy to liberate women from male domination. Only 40% of Afghan girls attend elementary school, and only one in 20 girls attend school beyond the sixth grade. Many Afghan families will only permit their daughters to attend all-girls schools close to home and few such schools exist. Other families believe it is unnecessary for girls to be educated. Schools for girls have been burned down, hundreds of teachers educating girls have been threatened or killed and girls have been harassed while attending or walking to or from school.
A vicious circle of lack of education, poverty, illiteracy and violence fuel the highly patriarchal society, even fundamentalism and militancy, which still characterize Afghanistan today. Breaking the cycle will take great resolve and courage, as many Afghan women and men have demonstrated – sometimes paying with their lives. Although progress is slow, hope is found in places least expected.
I would like to conclude with the nice poems of Zieba Shorish-Shamley which rightly reflects the state of Afghan women, “They made me invisible, shrouded and non-being. A shadow, no existence, made silent and unseeing. Denied of freedom, confined to my cage! Tell me how to handle my anger and my rage?”