I will be talking about how are women and girls treated in Afghanistan. Women’s rights in Afghanistan were actually much better in the past. During the 1920, the ruler at the time , King Amanullah, promoted freedom for women. He advocted for female education and created laws that abolished child marriage and forced marriage and even encouraged women to dress in more western style clothing. During the 1950s women were working as teachers, doctors and scientist. In 1964 the constitution of afghanistan allowed women equal rights and universal suffrage. But this all changed during the 1990’s. During this time, the Taliban took control of Kabul, Afghanistan. Before the Taliban, women made up 50% of government workers, 70% of teachers and 40% of doctors( Ray of Hope) . After the Taliban took control, they forbade women to go to work, would not let women leave the house without a male family member escorting them and were forced to wear the burqa, an outer garment that completely covers the face and body (BBC). They denied women a formal education and forced women to stay home. Women during the taliban rule were under house arrest.
Currently, many girls in Afghanistan face child marriage, about 50% of girls are forced to marry by the of age 12. Families think that marriage might be a protecting factor againist rape and kidnapping. Additionally, some families use their daughters to repay debt or resolve a dispute. Poverty is extremely high in Afghanistan. Almost 54.4% of the population lives below the poverty rate. Due to this some families marry their daughters at a young age to avoid the cost of taking care of them. The impact of child marriage is extremely negative on the girls lives. One of the most detrimental impacts it has is on maternal and infant mortality.The maternal mortality rate is around 396 deaths per 1000 live births and the infant mortality rate is about 108.5 deaths per 1,000 live births. Giving birth at an extremely young age increases death for both the mother and child. In addition, these girls face high rate of domestic violence from their husbands and in laws which causes them to commit suicide. Nearly 80% of women faced domestic violence and 80% of all suicides in Afghanistan are committed by women (Times).
Opposite of what King Amanullah did for women a 100 years ago, President Karzia signed a law which left Afghan Shi’a women with few rights. This law only allows women to leave their home for “legitimate” purposes and basically puts women in house arrest. It forbids women from working or receiving an education without the consent of their husband. Additional it permits marital rape and gives women almost no rights over thier children . In Afghanistan today, almost 85% of women are illiterate and have no formal education. Since women were forced to stay home, there is a severe lack of female teachers. This is a big reason why female education is so low because in most families it is seen as unacceptable for girls to be taught by a male teacher.
Only 2.7 million or 8% of girls in afghanistan are enrolled in school ( This could be because families value their sons education over their daughters (Human Rights Watch )Child marriages are now more difficult to take place legally but girls are still married unofficially. Women can work but only if a male relative permits it. According to many world reports, Afghanistan is ranked among the top of the worst places for women to live. The lists look at education, health care, justice, economics and politics.
“Afghanistan: Girls Struggle for an Education.” Human Rights Watch, 19 Oct. 2017, www.hrw.org/news/2017/10/17/afghanistan-girls-struggle-education.
“Attacks on Schools in Afghanistan Have Tripled in One Year – CBBC Newsround.” BBC News, BBC, www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/48436503.
Bohn, Lauren. “Why Afghanistan Is Still the Worst Place to Be a Woman.” Time, Time, 8 Dec. 2018, time.com/5472411/afghanistan-women-justice-war/.
Kissane, Carolyn “ The Way Forward for Girls Education in Afghanistan” Journal of International Women’s Studies Vol 13 #4 Sept. 12
“Women and Girls in Afghanistan.” Razia’s Ray of Hope, raziasrayofhope.org/women-and-girls-in-afghanistan.html.
Afghanistan is really an unfortunate case, and it’s really scary to think of how quickly women lost their rights and freedoms in the state. I was hoping after the overthrow of the Taliban things would dramatically improve for women, but it seems like the violence of the Taliban has become institutionalized. One of the reasons girls might not be enrolled in schools is due to a fear of violence. Families might not be enrolling their girls because they are afraid of what will happen if their daughters leave the house.