Images of
domestic violence almost always wind
up putting women as victims. The man seems to have complete
control over the lives of a married woman, as reflected in a number of tragic
stories in Afghanistan. One and a half years ago, we were struck by the story
of Aisha who’s story
was appointed as the headline issue of Time Magazine
August 9, 2010. She was an Afghan
woman, 18 years old. She was made to give up
her nose and her ears were cut off by her own
husband, as a punishment
for having run away from home. This story is a portrait of the Taliban’s atrocities against the
people of Afghanistan, especially against
women.
A tragic story happened a
year earlier. At midnight, the Taliban suddenly
pounded on the door and ordered the execution and punishment of Aisha who dared to run away from home.The
husband immediately executed
commands that
her ears and nose should be cut
off with a knife. No one was concerned
with Aisha’s defense. No one cared that she fled because of
being treated like a slave by her husband.
A cruel husband’s treatment of a wife
was also the case for Sahar Gul.
Through a photo released by the
Afghan Women's Network, a woman aged 15 years showed traces
of blows bruises all over her
body. Her mouth could no longer speak. Just to urinate into the toilet was something she could
not do. Sahar was tormented because she refused to take to prostitution. That
torture was not only by her husband, but also by the in-laws. If Aisha and Sahar
still have a chance of survival, it
is not so for
Stori. A 22-year-old woman from Khanabad, she suffered under agony
after abuse from her husband and in-laws. Her life drifted because she was not able to bear children.
These
three stories are only one part of the long story of
violence against women
in Afghanistan. In the second quarter of 2011, Afghanistan's Independent
Commission on Human Rights noted 1026 cases of violence against women. While in
the previous year amounted to 2,700 cases.
By Bella Nabilla
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