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

Women’s Vulnerability to Social and Domestic Harms

|

Women’s Vulnerability to Social and Domestic Harms

A woman usually bears the brunt of social and domestic challenges in our community. Her role is underestimated, her achievements are turned blind eye and her rights and dignity are trampled upon. She is treated as an inferior creature and a second-class citizen. Similarly, she is doomed to live under men’s subjugation and do the household chores in dark and dusty kitchens twenty-four/seven.

Cultural restrictions hold strong sway in our patriarchal society – mainly in villages. Women are preferred to live within the four walls engage in domestic chores. The traditional parents are not much willing to let their daughters attend school. I presume that only one out of ten female students will be able to continue her education. A relatively large number of girls are made marry at an early age – mostly not to the men of their choice – to abandon school. Illiteracy keeps them in the dark about their rights and deprives them of playing social role in the society. Hence, cultural barriers, which stem from closed mind, diminish women’s public role.

Women’s dignity is violated without an iota of humanity. They frequently fall victim to rape and honor killing. The whole fabric of society discriminates against them in some ways. Being traumatized by tarnished reputation, the judicial systems hardly side with female victims – the public believe. Once the feeling of a rape victim was seriously hurt for being called “prostitute” by a policeman – this truly reflects the attitude of people in positions of authority towards women.

A woman’s life is likely to be at a higher risk in Afghanistan. Her life is threatened not only by the militants in public places but also by her male partner at home. Her head is banged on the wall, her nose is lopped off and her throat is slit for no particular reason.

Based on traditional custom, a woman has to tolerate her partner’s abusive attitude without raising her eyebrows. Her dignity lies in being patient in the face of all humiliating treatment. In villages, lucky is a girl who marries of her own free will and luckier is she who finds the man of her choice. Forced and early marriages are practiced widely in remote areas of the community. In case of eloping with the man of her choice, a girl will be killed on the spot – this is rampant among the tribal belts.

Poverty plays a detrimental role in the life of Afghan women. A day hardly passes without violence for the impoverished families. In other words, the bulk of violence stems from poverty and neediness. In poor families, children are deprived of education and labor on the street, in factories, etc., from dawn to dusk to alleviate their parents’ economic challenges. After all, the girls are forced to marry on an early age on the ground of financial supports to their parents – it does not matter if their own life turns to hell.

The cycle of violence against women never stops, as if they are born to suffer their whole life. Traditional mindsets, misogynistic views, social barriers, patriarchal system and so on embitter the life of Afghan women from early childhood to her death. Many Afghan women take their ambitions to the grave with them. Just imagine the life of an innocent girl who is forced to get married at an early age. Destined to this untoward fate, she is supposed to live her whole life with a hated man under the same roof. Besides slaving in a kitchen for long hours, her share of life is no more than mental and physical tortures imposed by her husband. Her reaction to her husband’s cruel action will be followed by physical punishment. She has no choice other than bearing and grin it.

In cases of domestic violence, women are forced to reconcile with the perpetrators of violence, often the husband. Even if the matter reaches the court, the general attitude is that there should always be reconciled, leaving the victims without legal protection and at the mercy of their violent relatives and abusive partners.

Moreover, the Taliban militants pose serious threat to Afghan women. Their freedom is curtailed to a high extent and they fear to take active part in social and political arenas, especially in insecure parts of the country. The deadly attacks on female politicians and killing of policewomen, that frequently occurred last year, reflect the same fact. As a result, Parveena, a policewoman who used only one name, was shot dead by two militants in her area. A report said that Parveena was on her way home from a visit to her parents in a remote corner of eastern Afghanistan with her children by her side and a small group of women. Two men, their faces covered by kaffiyehs, pulled up on a motor scooter. “Who is Parveena, daughter of Sardar?” said one, looking at the group of women, their faces hidden behind blue burqas. No one answered. One of the men took his Kalashnikov and used the muzzle to lift the burqa of the nearest woman — in conservative Afghan society, a gesture akin to undressing her in public. It was Parveena. She grabbed the muzzle and said, “Who is asking?” But the gunmen had seen her face, and they fired 11 bullets into her. Many Afghan females fear the same fate and avoid engaging in military, political and social activities.

Hujjattullah Zia is the permanent writer of the Daily Outlook Afghanistan. He can be reached at zia_hujjat@yahoo.com

Go Top