It is often explained that women in Afghanistan under Taliban control were relatively safe when accompanied by a man (be it brother, husband, or father) when outside home. What is not usually known, though, is that women were tortured by the religious police even with their family protection was by their side. Even the showing of an ankle by the force of the wind against their burqas could mean a police beating in front of the family. The men could only watch, as retaliation meant even more torture and possibly worse.
How much of this mentality is still present in today's Afghanistan? What kind of social resistance could the Afghan society make against such ruthless immorality? We need to ask these questions and enact on our answers in order to bring back the roots of peace to Afghanistan.
For further information, this article in the Telegraph gives an in-depth look into women's torture and incarceration in Afghanistan: http://tgr.ph/3HevgC
It is the worse atrocity to be tortured in front of family. Those kind of things cannot be truly comprehended.
ReplyDeleteWhen I think of social resistance, I always think of Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. Non-violent resistance could be a game-changer for Afghanistan. For so long, it has been the idea of violence that has been act of change in Afghanistan. A switch from that would certainly be in order.
You are right - Afghans could benefit from Gandhi's and Martin Luther King Jr.s' teachings. It may take some political and religious persuasion to do so though.
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