The Invisible Daughters of Afghanistan

This is the life of Afghan women in patriarchal society.

   They're nameless , faceless. Their face should remain hidden , uncovered face is a disgrace. Men loathe the females , they hate their presence. But they have obliged to keep them as their wives so that they would bear them children. The birth of sons are celebrated with huge gusto while the birth of daughters strikes the heart of the fathers with grief.

  They are young and old , child , sister and mother whom has no glimpse of what lies beyond their houses. The colours and contours of the world had been grayed by the filter on their eyes and the sound of the earth muted forever by the heavy fabric on their head. It's like being inside hot oven on hot day , when the Sun is unforgiving. This is the kind of life faced by women in rural and impoverished areas of Afghanistan.

  In a poor family , a girl is seen as burden since she has no "economical" value as she is forbidden to work and earn a living. Therefore child marriage is rampant , the preteen girls are married off to much older men within their tribe for a meagre amount of dowry. This has endangered many girls for their bodies are not prepared for the consummation of the marriage and pregnancy , resulting in the rupture of vulva , maternal deaths , stillborn babies and miscarriages.

    They are locked and put away inside a household , buried alive within the confines of four walls. If they dare to venture out of the home unaccompanied by a male of their household , they would face certain death. They are the prisoner of the past , present and future. They are seen , not heard. Women who are accused of adultery are stoned to death without any solid evidence. School and books are unimaginable part of their lives , next to impossible! Independence from tight grip patriarchal society remains a dreams , never to materialize.

  The females toil in the kitchen day long to provide the best meal for their families. It seems to men that women are there to be their unpaid servants , managing all the household chores without any assistance. If they dare to question anything , the husbands would batter them until they learnt their lessons of obedience. After all , obedience to the husband is the obedience to God , so goes the religious blackmailing. The wives lives in constant fear and insecurity , unable to return to their families once they're married.The women whom had enough of domestic violence have no place to turn to , and therefore succumb self-immolation. 

  They should never expect to love and to be loved in return. Why would a daughter of Afghanistan risk her life dreaming of marrying the man she love when her family would be happy to slaughter her to preserve the family's honor? Why would she risk to step into the threshold of school and university when she would be given away in marriage and condemned to be a man's slave for the rest of her life? 

References :
https://www.opendemocracy.net/opensecurity/shabnam-nasimi/devastating-truth-of-women’s-rights-in-afghanistan

http://www.rawa.org/temp/runews/2016/08/26/more-than-5000-cases-of-violence-against-afghan-women-recorded-in-six-months.html

Reviews

[Dwayne J. Keeves]

The storyline speaks wide truth and vex my spirit. When will true change come. Will it be safe to say: There is much pain in that which you write? Step by step, I see the women trapped in a world they created not.

[Neelam]

I experience the pain of Afghan women although I have never met any one of them. I put myself in their circumstances. It is truly difficult to be the invisible women , much more painful to subjected to repression and humiliation.

[Dwayne J. Keeves]

Was not The USA responding to such woes in those fashions? Or was their being more selfish?

[Dwayne J. Keeves]

You can disregard that last question if you wish

[Neelam]

But the U.S. response is lukewarm and ineffective.

[Dwayne J. Keeves]

I would assume under UN resolutions and US trade agreements such matters would place in conditions and warrant aid and resolving of such unfair even calling it an act of violating human rights. Yes.

[Dwayne J. Keeves]

Sharia Law? Is it not Master over Islam?

[Neelam]

Yes. But it is not the Sharia but Pashtun conservative traditions. I have seen the works of RAWA (Revolutionary Afghan Women Association) amidst the Taliban persecution. They are group of Afghan female lawyers lobbying the government to end to domestic violence and honor killings.

[Dwayne J. Keeves]

Wow!! My first time hearing of RAWA but, I shall do my home work on it.