Despite of the ‘war against terror’ being the moot cause for invading Afghanistan in 2002 by the United States of America and its NATO allies, amongst the litany of criticisms against the Taliban was the social injustice carried out on the women of Afghanistan. Now after six years of occupation of Afghanistan by the allied forces and a democratic Afghan government in control over the greater part of the domain, the plight of the Afghan women has not improved. According to the revelations made in the study titled ‘Womankind, Afghan Women and Girls Seven Years On’, 87% Afghan women complained of violent attacks, largely domestic, half of which were sexual abuse. More than 60% of the women in Afghanistan are forced into marriages. Despite of a 2007 law banning marriages under 16, there is rise in child marriages with girls as young as 6 years of age forced into a life of sexual slavery.

An economy ravaged by war, rising corruption in the Afghan administration with the aids from international aids agencies being diverted away from developmental projects there has been no improvement in the financial condition of the common Afghans. Grinding poverty is the primary cause of the brutal practice of forced child marriages and denying women right to education and health care.

The violation of human rights is not only concentrated on Afghan women belonging to the impoverished class of the society but the minority educated upper class Afghan women are not free from political and social threats. A number of women MPs in Afghanistan have been receiving letters from the government warning them of possible security threats to their lives for speaking against the country’s warlords, the Taliban and other insurgent groups.

Despite of the country having a constitution and courts of law, Jirgas or the tribal councils are still deciding the fate of the women in rural areas. With the rise in atrocities, more and more women are committing suicides by either setting themselves on fire or by consuming poison. With the Taliban, country being the hotbed of poppy cultivation a large number of women in the countryside is becoming addicted to drugs as a means of relieving themselves of the regular pain and agony. The paradox of the Afghan women is that in spite of the constitution of the country guaranteeing them rights equivalent to most civilized societies of the world but a male-dominated Afghan society is not allowing them enjoyment of these rights.

Via: Independent