 | | Dr. Sima Simar |
Since the fall of the Taliban in late 2001, the political and cultural conditions for Afghan women have improved substantially. The recently adopted Afghan constitution states that "the citizens of Afghanistan - whether man or woman - have equal rights and duties before the law." Women have been allowed to return to work, they're no longer forced to wear the burka, and they've been appointed to prominent government posts, yet many challenges remain.
Women are particularly repressed in rural areas, where most families restrict them from participation in public life, force them to marry, and deny them a basic education. Girl's schools have been burned, and school girls have been poisoned, or had acid thrown in their faces for daring to attend school. Here's a snapshot of the plight of Afghan women:
- Every 30 minutes, an Afghan woman dies in childbirth
- 87 % of Afghan women are illiterate
- Only 30% of Afghan girls have access to education
- 1 in 3 Afghan women are abused physically, psychologically, or sexually
- The life expectancy for Afghan women is 44 year.
- 70 to 80 % of Afghan women face a forced marriage
Other traditional and widespread practices such as child and arranged marriages, giving girls as chattel to resolve disputes, forced isolation at home, and "honor" killings have brought additional humiliation and marginalization to millions of Afghan females. Unhappily, these practices are often grounded in, and enforced by both secular and religious leaders who use their discriminatory interpretations of the Quran to perpetuate these customs.
|
