Women's Rights in Afghanistan

One of the countries in the Middle East which we will be looking at is Afghanistan. 

Afghanistan is a country scorned by many Americans. Afghanistan is the birthplace/breeding grounds of Islamic terrorists groups like the Taliban and Al- Qaeda. Afghanistan is also where the U.S. just withdrew its troops. But something Afghanistan is less know for is the negligence cast upon women and girls. 

In Afghanistan, women are considered to be insignificant parts of society. They are treated as second-class citizens, sometimes even worse. Women receive no respect in such places. In fact, their government rules and society rules were tailored in way that completely ignores women or makes them stay out of the way.

These laws and rules make it seem as if women are just obstructions in society have no purpose other than staying at home and doing work inside. 

One simple example is the rule that women are not allowed to get out of the house unless they accompanied with a male member of their family. This is one of the most common restrictions amongst Middle Eastern nations who do not respect women's rights.

Women are also forced to wear "burqa" which completely covers the body. Though the original reason for the establishment of the rule was for a reasonable purpose (to keep women safe and ensure they are dresse modestly), these rule makers are taking it to many steps further and giving women no options to make their own decisions. 

You may be wondering who would create such rules and enforce it. It is the same group of people who attacked the US, and the people the we were after. None other than the Taliban. The Taliban is the largest Islamic militia group in Afghanistan. The Taliban governed Afghanistan which gave them the ability to establish rules. These Islamic fundamentalists claim that these rules are strictly following the rules of the Qur'an and following Islam, but really they are finding the "loopholes". 

In the words of some Taliban members:

"It's like having a flower, or a rose. You water it and keep it at home for yourself, to look at it and smell it. It [a woman] is not supposed to be taken out of the house to be smelled." 
-- Syed Ghaisuddin, Taliban Minister of Education

"If a woman wants to work away from her home and with men, then that is not allowed by our religion and our culture. If we force them to do this they may want to commit suicide." 
-- Mullah Nooruddin Turabi, Taliban Minister of Justice

Looking through the eyes of some women in Afghanistan:

"Because of the Taliban, Afghanistan has become a jail for women. We haven't got any human rights. We haven't the right to go outside, to go to work, to look after our children."                       -- Faranos Nazir, 34-year-old woman in Kabul 

"When we are together, everyone here is talking about how the Taliban has destroyed our lives.  They won't let us go to school because they want us to be illiterate like them."
-- Nasima, 35-year-old Kabul resident

(Courtesy of U.S. Departement of State- Diplomacy in Action)