Universe sustains on the firm foundation of justice and parity. The creator certainly, has created all human beings on universal righteous principals of fairness, irrespective of the gender he/she belongs to. The difference lying in physical make up and strength endowed to each gender is meant fixing their specified natural undertakings in the universe. It can never be used as an excuse, deeming women inferior, worthy of being subjected to socio-political discrimination and inequity. It is equivalent to establishment of sound grounds for denial to their fundamental rights; given some irrational endorsements serve the basis. The social isolation of females in such societies seems predestined.
Every day, we learn a heart wrecking story where a woman is found the object of rampant harassment, physical abuses, mental torture and societal discrimination. We turn deaf ears to the hapless cries, blind eyes negligent to see the magnitude of mental sufferings she endures while getting out to earn a livelihood, numb to realize the numerous pain of gender based victimization she bears frequently, because of fallacious socio-religious structure based on irrational biases. It reflects women are coerced being receptive to repression after being found ill-fated and voiceless.
The Human Rights Watch’s (HRW) former report depicts the state of haplessness of Women in Afghanistan. It reads about 600 Afghan women and girls are behind bars for so-called moral crimes. Perhaps the highest number since Taliban were toppled almost twelve years ago.
Running away from home, usually from abuse and forced marriage, and alleged adultery, which often involves rape, have landed most of the 600 women in prison. That figure is an increase of 50 percent over the last 18 months.
"That increase reflects a shameful lack and failure of political will by both the government of Afghanistan and its foreign donors and allies," Phelim Kine, HRW's deputy director of Asia, told.
Women have won back rights of education and work since Taliban were toppled by U.S.-backed Afghan forces in late 2001, but there are fears these freedoms could be curtailed after most NATO-led forces leave by the end of next year. The United Nations' mission in Afghanistan has been repeatedly urging the government to do more to enforce the women's rights decree, saying it is only sporadically applied when women report abuse.
The Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s former decree issued on women's rights three years ago as part of a raft of commitments to international donors, formerly the lawmakers and civil society activists wanted to pass it in parliament to prevent any future president from reversing it. In that pursuit a joint commission of parliament was hailed. Some of the Members of Parliament harshly criticized either the law as whole or certain clauses.
Some MPs said clauses like establishing woman shelter houses, fixing the age 18 years for girl marriage and making men bound to seek permission from wives for second, third or fourth marriage were against the teachings of Islam and ran counter to the country's constitution. The vehement opposition offered to the approval of the law hindered its ratification. The efforts went in vain; given the previous brief parliamentary debate ended by the speaker after fierce opposition from conservative lawmakers who said several provisions —including the ban on child marriage and jail time for domestic abuse —violated Islamic law. The decree remains in force; however could not reach its ultimate fate –a unanimous parliamentary approval.
In Afghanistan violence against women is much widespread and deeply rooted in different parts of the country. Violence against women is a dramatic problem in Afghanistan that has caused lots of damages to the life of women itself as well as to the society. Women in Afghanistan have no or little voice to be heard and they have always been victims of violence either from their own family or from the society. They have never given equal rights specially the right to freedom and never been treated equally like men because the traditions, customs and practices have always kept men to be superior. Violence against women in Afghanistan have kept women very far away from education which is one of the reasons that usually subjected them to extensive discriminations because they are kept ignorant of their fundamental rights.
The choices for Afghan women are extraordinarily restricted; the family decides the fate of their lives. There is little chance for education, little choice about which a woman marries no choice at all about her role in her own house. Her primary job is to serve her husband's family.
Violence against women in Afghanistan such as domestic violence, honor killing, and sexual violence against women and young girls are some examples of violence that has caused lots of destructions to afghan women in particular and to the society in general.
The flawed cultural practices supported by high degree of illiteracy support intense violence against women, legitimate and justified. The culture deeming women as subordinate citizen multiplies their receptiveness to greater tendency of being subjected to ill-treatment. Apart from formal education, community based adult education and awareness campaigns on momentous right’s issues complementary to Islamic teachings might assuage the stringency of substandard customary law named an Islamic law. The wretchedness does not end here as the incidents of violence against women remain largely under-reported because of cultural restraints, social norms and religious beliefs. Widespread discrimination and women's fears of social disgrace or threats to their lives discourage them prosecuting their offenders.
Many historic inventions like, combustion, cultivation and herding are unearthed by pre-historic women. Women and man should be deemed as an operational wheels of a vehicle i.e. society, progressing towards a set destiny. In contrary, the non-acceptance of women’s due position, contribution and participation in structuring a developed and advanced society may deepen our miseries.
Throughout the length of history the despotic, feudal and theocratic regimes strived hard marginalizing women from socio-political circle of human endeavors. The contemporary society of Afghanistan does not lag behind in this regard the hindrance to former ratification of law safeguarding the women’s right is the manifestation to underlying fact. It should not stereotype women’s isolation and dependence, as an emblem of decency and modesty; -it is meant to plague the half of resourceful human resource.