Following
closely at the heels of painful news to the effect that legislation outlawing
violence against women is a painful revelation by Human Rights Watch. The
number of women who are jailed in Afghanistan for “moral crimes” has increased
immensely, and this is particularly alarming as these “crimes” that women are
subjected to such harsh treatment for are actually not even crimes. According
to Human Rights Watch, the interior ministry statistics have revealed that “the
number of women and girls convicted of "moral crimes" in the war-torn
country increased by 50 per cent over 18 months from 400 to 600”.
The
Taliban regime in Afghanistan was the proverbial death-knell for progressive
lifestyles of women in the country. With the advent of the Taliban, Women were
denied some of their most basic human rights and fundamental freedoms. The
right to life, to work and study, to access health care, the freedoms of
expression, movement and religion were no longer allowed to be enjoyed by
women. There were instances of women asserting their rights under the Taliban
regime, only to be subjected to public lapidation, beatings and imprisonment.
Women were oppressed and left bereft of the rights that were inherent to their
very existence. Women were not allowed to leave their households unless they
had a burqa and had a male-member of their family to accompany them. These
policies rendered many women immobile
and confined to their houses, because they were either too poor to afford
a burqa, or, had no male relatives left after war. The women who remained at
home were made to paint their windows so that no one could look in, from
outside, and vice-versa.[1]The
few women who once held respectable positions prior to the five years under
Taliban rule, were forced to beg to survive, or to stay confined in their
houses.
The
consequences were manifold. Women teachers who functioned prior to the Taliban
regime were no longer allowed to teach at schools. This led to the redundancy
of many schools, and the imposition of a severe strain on the education system.
Women in the medical field, though were allowed to continue, because women
could only be treated by female physicians only. Despite that, there was a
steady decline in access to medical care and health care facilities, because it
was frowned upon for a woman to go to a hospital. The few that tried were
beaten brutally. After braving all of that, if a woman made it to the hospital,
there was no guarantee that she would be seen by a doctor.[2] On
the other hand, a parallel market of human-trafficking, prostitution and
slavery thrived as the covert industry flourished under the rubric of harsh
mistreatment of women.[3]
Women are still vulnerable to attack and harm,
despite international military presence. Security is lacking, and it is only
second to this basic survival question, that health and education play roles.
In a country that is still picking up pieces in the aftermath of years and
years of war, what can we say of the future of women in Afghanistan?
Kirthi Gita Jayakumar
[1]Rostami-Povey, Elaheh (2007-10-16). Afghan Women: Identity and
Invasion. Zed Books
[2]Skaine, Rosemarie (2008-09-23). Women of Afghanistan In The
Post-Taliban Era: How Lives Have Changed and Where They Stand Today. McFarland.
[3] “Lifting The Veil On Taliban Sex Slavery". Time Magazine.
2002-02-10.
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