“Every day I was abused by my husband and his family. Mentally and physically; Then one day it became unbearable, so I ran away." In 2010 a young Afghan woman had her nose and ears cut off. Aesha Mohammadzai first appeared on the cover of time magazine in 2010 and shared her story on how her husband and in-laws cut off her nose and ears as punishment for trying to run away. Three years later Mohammadzai began her reconstructive surgery and life with her new foster family and is studying English in school. Aesha Mohammadzai tells women who are being abused to stay strong and never lose hope (Phillip Caulfield.2013). This is just one of the many common punishments Afghan women receive. Mohammadzai is proof that still in today’s society women in Afghanistan are still suffering with extreme punishments. Throughout the years, women have been forced to live in fear because of the way they have been treated. The consequences of punishments are not balanced with the actions that are performed, and women fight to hold their own. Afghan women have struggled with extreme, cruel and violent punishments. Women’s punishments are the result of the loss of their basic human rights.
Before Taliban rule, women’s punishments were under the control of Afghan men and were considered reasonable. Afghanistan is divided by a strong division of gender roles. Gender division can be clearly seen by the way Afghan women are treated versus Afghan men. Women in Afghanistan have been under minded since before the Taliban dictatorship (Campaign for Afghan Women and Children.2014). As the Taliban slowly rose to power, women’s roles in the home and work place quickly began to change. The more rules that were added to control the Afghan women, the worse their lif...
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...e not stopped completely, the extreme punishments that were used by the Taliban are used less, and more of the women’s basics rights have returned. The way Afghanistan treats women may not change overnight, but women can only hope they can find the courage and freedom to walk away from their destructive life style.
Works Cited
Ahmad Khan. (2012). Women and Gender in Afghanistan
Retrieved from: www.Cimicweb.org
Amnesty International. (2013). Violence against Women
Retrieved from: www.Amnestyusa.org
FMF. (2014). Campaign for Afghan Women and Children
Retrieved from www.feminist.org
Jamieson Lesko. (2014). Women’s Rights in Afghanistan
Retrieved from: www.worldnews.nbcnews.com
Trust in Education. (2013). Life as an Afghan Women
Retrieved from www.trustineducation.org
Wnet.org. (2014). Women’s rights in Taliban Era’s
Retrieved from www.pbs.org
Rumors spread to Najmah that “woman wearing henna on their fingertips had their fingers chopped off”(Staples 12). When Najmah heard the clink of bangles under a woman’s burqa and the click of her heels on the pavement, the sound created an unsettling sensation within her. Suddenly, Najmah recalled how the “Taliban would whip women whose shoes made a sound on paving stones (Staples 180).” She wanted to warn the woman, for her mother had told her that “women risk their lives by hiding their jewelry” (Staples 180). As for Nusrat, notwithstanding the fact that she just moved to Pakistan not long ago, she was extremely vigilant and prudent when the Taliban was around. One time, a servant of Nusrat’s disappeared. Nusrat sent someone to search for her and discovered that “she had been badly beaten and was held without charges” (Staples 99). From this incident, the unfair treatment towards women helped Nusrat to learn more about the Taliban’s rules in Pakistan. Given the facts above, it is very apparent that Taliban’s cruelty toward women is depicted precisely and vividly through the different stories of two
The Taliban regime was infamous for its treatment of women. Windows had to be painted black so men could not look into the windows of houses and see the women inside. Women were unable to work. Under Taliban rule, women were not allowed to be educated, unable to go to school or university. 9 out of 10 Afghan women are illiterate. Unfortunately, Meena was unwillingly cast into the role of teacher to young girls who wanted to learn how to read. Because she had been to university, girls flocked to...
Brown, A. Widney., and LaShawn R. Jefferson. "VI. ILLUSTRATIVE CASES." Afghanistan, Humanity Denied: Systematic Denial of Women's Rights in Afghanistan. New York, NY.: Human Rights Watch, 2001. 16+. Print
One of the main controversies in this book is the plight of women and men’s struggles. Although both experienced different kinds of inequalities, women were the target of the Taliban. In 1978, women in Kabul were demanding their rights during the Afghan Women’s Year. The president who was in charge then was president Daoud, and he decreed, “The Afghan woman has the same right as the Afghan man to exercise personal freedom, choose a career, and fins a partner in marriage” (53). This decree was absolutely invalid when the Taliban expelled a humanitarian organization that was run by women, and because of that, the Taliban took over Kabul. Women were not allowed to work outside of home. Because of that, Latifa mentions that women in Kabul usually just bake bread, do embroidery,
The society of the Taliban is almost a polar opposite of that in the United States. The group looks at women as having little to no rights and believes that their holy book, the Quran, gives reasoning to the roles of women as virtually sexual objects in their society. Their political leaders were not elected into their positions, but took them by force. It operates fifteen courts of law in Southern Afghanistan in the...
The women of Afghanistan have been enduring unfathomable suffering since the Taliban, a religious faction, seized control of the country in 1996. (NOTE TO STUDENT: my teacher gave me a B+ and said I would have had an A if I had had more detail on the Taliban's reasons for these laws) Since 1996 Afghan women have been living fear for their safety and lives. A myriad of discriminating laws has been placed on Afghan women. The punishments for violating these laws are unimaginably inhuman.
Since the tragedies of September 11th 2001, Americans have really opened their eyes to the political state of Afghanistan. The poor treatment of women in Afghanistan is an issue that, for many Americans, just seems to be coming to light as a serious concern that requires outside attention. Extreme Islamic leaders in the country persist in limiting the freedom that Afghan women have. Women in the Taliban-controlled country suffer unusually hideous acts of torment and are forced to abide by outrageous regulations because of stringent enforcement methods. Afghan women daily live lives restricted by Taliban law and risk having to endure cruel punishment and torture, yet Afghan political leaders continue to justify the their treatment of Afghan women.
The decree passed by president in year 2009 related to women's right were opposed by some of the conservative members of Parliament. Afghanistan has a cultural society where from the past and still up to this time majority of people abuse women and are opposed to the liberty of women in country. Still there are families who are ashamed of having a girl still there are families where a wife is considered to be as a slave, and still there are families who behave with a Mother as an enemy since she was not able to born a boy rather than a girl. The decree passed by President Hamid Karzai was due to the high percentage of violation against women in the country, where more than 3000 violence cases were record against women. This decree was based on the article 22 of Afghanistan constitution, which states that “The citizens of Afghanistan, men and women, have equal rights and duties before the law" (Afghanistan, 2004). Based on this article of constitution we can find out that men and women are equal before law and this law insures all the liberty given to a man will be same for a woman. Unfortunately, according to biannual report given by Human right commission "violence against women" there are four different type of violence practiced against women in different parts of country. The main reason behind the violence taking place against women are related to Economical condition of a family, literacy level of a family, cultural background of the family as well as usage of drug has caused several violation act by husband and their family members against a woman. In addition, the result of violence is almost same in every place of country (beating, Sexual abuse, forced marriages, denial access to education, Emotional and Psychological Abuse and murder). In this paper I will focus on the policies taken place by the government of Afghanistan and their failure; as well, I will focus on establishing some policies in order to limit or to band all the abuses happening against women in the country.
Women in America do not have to worry about a terrorist group coming and taking their rights away. They have a government that protects them from these groups and makes sure they have the same rights as others. In the Middle East, especially Afghanistan and Pakistan, women are scared to speak too loudly. These women live in fear each day of their lives because if they make one small mistake it could mean their life. Yet, there are some people who are fighting for women’s rights, especially women’s education. Malala Yousafzai is a girl who fought for women’s education. At the age of eleven, Malala began writing a blog for BBC Urdu. The blog described how she was upset that women’s education under the Taliban would be forced to stop. Malala also appeared on national television talking about women’s education. She has become a symbol of resistance against the Taliban. Even after Malala was put on the Taliban’s hit list, she continues to speak out about what she felt needed to be said. Malala would give her life for this cause, and she almost did. On October 9, 2012, Malala was on her way home from her morning classes when a man walked on to her bus and asked, “Who is Malala”. When she said it was her he shot her. The bullets hit her head and her leg. The Taliban ordered for her to be shot because she was promoting western culture in Pashtun areas. In another case Mukhtar Mai stood up for women’s rights and was sexually assaulted by multiple men with orders from the tribal council. The tradition in Mukhtar’s tribe was that a woman who is sexually assaulted by multiple men should kill herself, but instead of committing suicide she fought for her cause (Samira 28-30). Although the Taliban restricts women’s education for religious reaso...
What if you risked being assaulted every time you left your home? How would you feel if your husband was in control of every aspect of your life? Afghanistan women encounter both of these circumstances on a day-to-day basis. Many are faced with physical and emotional abuse by their husbands and families. Women’s rights in Afghanistan were majorly affected by the rule of the Taliban, a government group who stripped women of their human rights, established discriminating laws, and whose legacy still affects Afghan women today.
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In 1996, John F. Burns wrote the article “Walled In, Shrouded and Angry in Afghanistan. As he was speaking to all the first world countries and people who can help this change. He wrote this article to inform readers about what's going on with the Muslim Women in Kabul who are suffering because the Taliban is in control. During the article John Burns uses a desperate tone when he said “When i look around me now, I can see nothing but a new calamity, a life of further Misery on top of everything else we have suffered”.
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In Morris Glietzmans heart breaking but remarkable book Boy Overboard, he shows how the corrupt government in Afghanistan has forced out many of its inhabitants making them try to leave the country by avoiding the government and staying in refugee camps until they can leave is in the country. Morris Glietzman shows the pressure put on the families in Afghanistan through similes, metaphors, and humour. The Afghanistan government or the Taliban as they are called, are very harsh and unfair with the laws that are in place in Afghanistan and are not nice to the families in the country. Woman are treated very unfairly in Afghanistan for minor crimes, and are whipped or killed for a crime such as showing there ankles in public or not being with a male person of there family while outside.
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