Millions of people living outside of Afghanistan are completely unaware of the events taking place against
humanity. Afghanistan has been ruled by fundamentalists known as the Taliban for
almost half of a decade. These groups of men, led by Mullah Mohammad Omar, have
taken away all rights from women and most rights from men and children. The
women of Afghanistan, who are treated practically like wildlife, are banned from
almost all interactions with the world, even inside their homes. With the
Taliban controlling what they wear, how they talk, how loud they laugh or speak,
and even the thickness of their socks, these Afghan women have absolutely no
power in their lives.
The Taliban have set restrictions that some people think are based on
Islamic beliefs for women, but this is extremely far from the truth. The Koran
practices peaceful actions, although it states women should cover up, it also
says that Allah is merciful. Women in Afghanistan are forced to dress in long veils that hide womanly curves
and the face. There is a screen placed over the eyes that takes away every
Afghan woman’s’ identity. These burqa’s should be dull colors, without
print, their shoes cannot be colored or have heels that make noise. The women
cannot laugh or talk too loud, for this supposedly lures men into corruption. If
these rules are broken, woman’s lives can end in execution.
The windows of each home are painted, to prevent women from seeing the
outer world and vice versa. If the women do ever decide to leave the house, they
must be accompanied by a male family member, or else they will be beaten and
maybe even killed. Also, they are not allowed to talk to or touch a man who is
not in their immediate family. The Taliban also had claimed that Afghanistan’s New Year is un-Islamic and has been completely forbidden
to be celebrated in the country. There are no female public bathrooms and Afghan
women are not permitted to celebrate Eid together.
Afghan females are deprived of the right to education or work, and have
been ordered to remain in their homes, with no right to travel. The Taliban have
declared that women are fit only for household slavery. To be a women in Afghanistan, at this time, is like being a Jewish person in Germany, during the Nazi regime; the only difference is that these
Afghan women are in their own country. A woman’s testimony is worth half a
man’s and word. This factor causes daily gang rape, lust murders, abductions
of young females, blackmail of families with eligible daughters, and such, which
the Taliban are all part of. Not only are women not allowed to work, but they are
also forbidden to go to male doctors, furthermore any man that treats them will
be taken punished severely. One male doctor was putting alcohol on his
patients’ knee, when the Taliban burst in and beat both the doctor and
patient.
Tragic stories have been told about women who feel they have nowhere to
turn, but to suicide. A young woman, five months pregnant was walking to her
doctors office, for a check-up, when suddenly feeling suffocated. She walked to
a deserted area and took her face out of the burqa, to take a few deep breaths,
when the Taliban interrupted. Their military beat her until she laid on the
street, covered in blood. A couple of men walked past her, not daring to help,
scared for their own lives. She slowly but surely dragged herself to the doctor,
hearing shortly after that she had experienced a miscarriage. The doctors
decided that she must go for surgery, only minutes before she breathed her last.
The world neither hears nor cares about what goes on in Afghanistan, due to this, the crimes and deaths are increasing by the
hour. More women are being beaten, raped, and killed than ever before, because
the world is too caught up in the stock markets and such to put a stop to the
inhumanity. The WorldTradeCenter and Pentagon bombings on September 11, 2001 were a wake up call to open up the eyes of our world to what
is really occurring internationally. With seven thousand people killed in America on one day, we begin to get an understanding of life in Afghanistan and other third world countries. Imagine going to sleep,
wondering who will be buried the next morning. For the past twenty-four years, Afghanistan has been living this nightmare. It is time to wake up and
remember the millions who have died and try to put a final stop to the ones who
are responsible. Remember that these women are mothers, daughters, wives, and
sisters, that have every right to lead peaceful lives without wondering who will
raise their children, when their time shortly comes.
