Human Rights Violations to Afghan Women

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United States’ humanitarian relief efforts have recently focused much of their efforts on involving the livelihood of Afghanistan women. For decades, these women have been frequent victims of abuse, despite some success by authorities in prosecuting rape cases, forced marriages and domestic violence. Child marriage, selling and buying women to settle disputes, assault and more than a dozen other acts of violence and abuse against women are a common norm in Afghan society. About 87% of women experience physical, psychological or sexual violence. Incidents of violence against women remain largely under-reported because of cultural restraints, social norms and religious beliefs. Because of widespread discrimination, fears of social stigma and threats to their lives, victimized women do not follow up on persecuting their offenders. In addition, women’s literacy rates are at about 12%, while men literacy rate is 43%. This low literacy rate is a direct result of the poor public education system in Afghanistan. Along with this low education rate, female teachers are limited as well. Ultimately, families are worried about the safety of sending their daughters to school and are given threats from the Taliban and resistance from some local elders. This gap in education, for young girls, directly impacts the women labor force. The women are unequipped to manage simple jobs because they lack basic education and live in a society that is unwilling to educate them. Furthermore, the patriarchal nature of gender and social relations, deeply embedded in traditional communities, and the existence of a weak central state, constrains women’s ability to act as full citizens of a democratic nation. In order to equip the Afghan women to be seen a... ... middle of paper ... ... 2014. . Caprino, Kathy. "Why Women's Oppression Is The Moral Dilemma Of Our Time - Sheryl WuDunn Speaks Out." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 29 Aug. 2013. Web. 06 May 2014. . Kabeer, Naila. "Women’s Economic Empowerment and Inclusive Growth: Labour Markets and Enterprise Development." UK‟s Department for International Development, n.d. Web. 6 May 2014. . Nordland, Rod. "Despite Education Advances, a Host of Afghan School Woes." The New York Times. The New York Times, 20 July 2013. Web. 06 May 2014. .

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