Imagine being thrown in prison because you had the courage to leave a man who beats you. Imagine being jailed because you refuse to marry a man who raped you...


If you live in Afghanistan, these scenarios are not imaginary at all...


Today, the US State Department confirms 920 women, 760 girls between the age of 12 and 17, and 291 children are currently behind bars in Afghanistan. 95% are convicted of moral crimes. 


I have come across a few articles on the topic of ‘honour killing’ and have somewhat been aware of this ‘issue’, but it has always been something I could not quite understand. 

‘Honour killing’ is the killing of a member of a family or social group by other members, due to the belief of the perpetrators (and potentially the wider community) that the victim has brought dishonour upon the family or community. Honour killings are directed mostly against women and girls.

The perceived dishonour is normally the result of one of the following behaviours, or the suspicion of such behaviours:

(a) Dressing in a manner unacceptable to the family or community

(b) Wanting to terminate or prevent an arranged marriage or desiring to marry by own choice

(c) Engaging in heterosexual sexual acts outside marriage, or even due to a non-sexual relationship perceived as inappropriate

(d) Engaging in homosexual acts.

Women and girls are killed at a much higher rate than men.

In Afghanistan, an ancient code of Islamic honour called Shuria, proclaims any two men can accuse a woman of a crime. Case closed. No burden of proof or defence. A group of male elders, the local jirga, serves as jury and judge. The accused and her children are unquestionably shamed by the entire community and sentenced to prison—or death.

The fall of the Taliban initiated new political, legal and educational freedoms for women in Afghanistan, but centuries of patrilineal tradition cannot be eradicated by bombs or in one decade.

Billions of dollars have been spent on military efforts and infrastructure building, yet Afghan women lack the most basic equal rights. Last year, President Karzai signed the "Shia Personal Status Law", requiring women to ask permission before leaving their homes. 

Women are considered the property of fathers, husbands and brothers—often abused, traded and enslaved to repay family debt and even forced to commit self-immolation – or setting themselves on fire.

One of the most notorious "honour" killings of recent years occurred in April 1999, when Samia Imran, a young married woman, "was shot in the office of a lawyer helping her to seek a divorce which her family could never countenance." According to Suzanne Goldenberg,

Samia, 28, arrived at the Lahore law offices of Hina Jilani and Asma Jahangir, who are sisters, on April 6. She had engaged Jilani a few days earlier, because she wanted a divorce from her violent husband. Samia settled on a chair across the desk from the lawyer. Sultana, Samia's mother, entered five minutes later with a male companion. Samia half-rose in greeting. The man, Habib-ur-Rhemna, grabbed Samia and put a pistol to her head. The first bullet entered near Samia's eye and she fell. "There was no scream. There was dead silence. I don't even think she knew what was happening," Jilani said. The killer stood over Samia's body, and fired again. Jilani reached for the alarm button as the gunman and Sultana left. "She never even bothered to look whether the girl was dead."

The aftermath of the murder was equally revealing: "Members of Pakistan's upper house demanded punishment for the two women [lawyers] and none of Pakistan's political leaders condemned the attack. ... The clergy in Peshawar want the lawyers to be put to death" for trying to help Imran. (Suzanne Goldenberg, "A Question of Honor," The Guardian (UK), May 27, 1999.)

Lately, we've all seen the breaking news about the gorgeous young Harry Potter star Afshan Azad, whose father and brother are accused of an attempted honour killing. All because the young girl's family is Muslim, but she is in love with a Hindu boy. The men accused beat her with closed fists, dragged around her home, and tossed her about like a rag doll. It is reported that as Afshan was struggling to breathe, they threatened her with death.

All for what - loving a boy of a different religion?? I have always found such attitudes within families preposterous and to this day I still have discussions about these types of situations with my parents and still question how any family could put their darling daughters through any of it, let alone such extremes. 

I quote Sophia Bush here because I agree with her 100% and she has literally expressed everything I believe in and what my parents have taught me:

“Love is love. No matter your faith, race, sexual orientation, size, shape, or socioeconomic background. Maybe I feel that so strongly because I grew up on classic fairy tales. But I also grew up in karate classes, riding horses, and on the general notion that women kick ass; we can be our own knights in our own shining armor; we can ride our own damn horse. If the man of your dreams wants to ride along side you, fabulous! If he wants to stay home with the babies while you bring home the bacon, fabulous! And if you want to stay home with the babies and let him "Hi Ho!" off to work every day ... you guessed it ... fabulous! We are independent, strong, and capable of living with or without a man. Or a woman for that matter. If you yearn to get married then do it. If you want to be single forever, do it. If you and your girlfriend choose to get married (hopefully in any state soon) and have babies, do it! Ladies, we have options. We get to be whomever we choose, and we have the right to make new versions of those choices whenever we so desire.” (Sophia Bush, www.sophiabush.com).


Here are a few more articles worth reading on the subject:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-l-esposito/violence-against-women-a_b_705797.html

http://www.gendercide.org/case_honour.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marcia-g-yerman/quest-for-honor-stop-the_b_696207.html


Imagine being thrown in prison because you had the courage to leave a man who beats you. Imagine being jailed because you refuse to marry a man who raped you...


Ladies, just think for one minute about how you are lucky enough to be empowered, yet these women go to jail for merely standing up for themselves. It is just appalling that such practices still exist in the world.

WOMEN ARE NOT THE PROBLEM. THEY ARE THE SOLUTION...ALONG WITH MEN!

The best way to fight poverty and extremism is to educate and empower women and girls.
http://www.halftheskymovement.org/