Women are carriers of peace and prosperity. The places where women rights are respected and where they can live in freedom are more socially and economically developed than those where it doesn't happen. Everyone who oppress women should understand that. But maybe they really don't want that own country can be free and developed, they are primitive beings.
On the other hand often women are still discriminated, used and suffer physical and psychological violence also within their families even in "developed" countries where the institutions and laws protect them and their rights. I think it's cancer of patriarchy, a worldwide cancer.
Thank you for this article, Nasim...
Meri
Nasim,
You have great job, man. I like you posts so much and i'll be thinking for coming back again.
Anyway, just let you know that i found you in MyBlogLog.
Keep shoot and write, man...
God bless you!
Most of these girls are treated as commodities just as boys are treated as commodities. Boys are brought up to be close to home, help the dad, help the farm or the work, bring in an income, feed the family, care for parents when they're older, then he cycles the lifestyle again with a wife.
Women on the other hand, they're commodities as bargaining chips, or as payment for some other commidity (usually goats and land) that'll go towards that same father, brother, male in her life...
If she had the opportunity to express herself, to learn and to grow, to have a job, to bring in her own income, and even on a farm if she had the social status of a boy she could work and help and be respected.
Most of these girls can't do any of that, and out of historical spite they've been the lesser of the two sexes...especially in Afghanistan I always hear about the women being the brunt of all forces...that's because they're culturally and economically destabilized. They need revenue, and they need rights...both come in handy together, but there are so many people who just don't understand the concept. They might not get it "what? give HER a job and not my son?" it's something deep in the psyche that the girl is something less...
You have to change that...show that the girl is worth it, show her humanity. Most of these families don't even consider the emotional ties with the daughter, or they turn a blind eye to her future because they want to live and she's easily traded.
How do you counter that? Especially with people who think women are inferior, or that they lack the same existence as a man; they are just property. How do you say "no, look, she's worth it. she can work. she can care for the family, she can make a better wife, etc..." without saying to their decrepit mentality "but you have to let her grow up, you can't trade her for land or goats, you can't beat her when she doesn't listen to you"...
This is difficult to even comprehend!
Please, write in Persian or improve your writing skill in English, I have no intention to insult you, just because of improvement.
Take care
"...treated as commodities", that is kinda optimistic. Civilized people take better care of commodities than women are taken care of in Afghanistan. It is a disaster of one of a kind. Treated as animals, slaves specialized in cooking, washing and forced breeding, kept illiterate, under veil and indoors - some rarely catch a glimpse of the sunlight. It is worse than the dark ages. Statistics indicate reported cases and only few incidents are ever reported.
Has there been ANY improvement in the overall dire situation of women in Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban?
NO!
An easy question:
Is it better to write sensible words in a language a little imperfect but very intelligible or to write useless words in a perfect language?
Well, I do think that the term "commodity" is not all encompassing of the complex relationship that the Women of Afghanistan face within social settings.
But, you want to look at the solutions as well. The statistics for domestic abuse and unemployment among the women of Afghanistan show us that we need solutions that will integrate (somehow) the landscape that Afghanistan struggles in (Islam, Medieval reasoning, etc...)
Just take a glimpse at the schools and educational opportunities some people have brought for the girls and boys in Pakistan: i.e. a well known man by the name of Greg Mortenson. It's not exactly perfect, but WHO and WHAT entity is? Again, pointing to my own country we are the leading economic and military power in the world yet we have drop-out rates among the lowest 20% of family income...that's a sad realization but when you look at Afghanistan, you can imagine that there's so much opportunity there.
Families and villages can work together, among other villages, to form economic and social bonds (i.e. trade, agricultural ties, family ties). Since most Afghan villages are below the poverty line, they can acquire shelter, food, sex, and stability (although the basest forms of each withstanding sex). With a little help (organizations and funding) from the Western nations or cross-cultural members of the developed countries, they'll grow and mature through education.
There's no other way to show the majority of people how to set up a closed-sewage system in their small town without first teaching them the skills (reading, writing, math) they'll need to do so.
---
It's going to take so much time, and sadness...that's how humans work. Afghanistan can truly turn into a model society...we're at the turn of great events in our lives, where melding of knowledge and consciousness open doors to societies that are both conscientious members of humanity but forward-thinking, inventive, and scientifically advanced...
Afghanistan has a chance with education.
But regarding those people who resist change, or who have no clue what "they" mean when they say "women have rights to divorce, work, and liberty" then they don't understand the fundamental base that humans take root from: the ability to sustain their life with joy; not fear of death, lack of tools to support kids, etc...
Hey there, I found your log through the article about you on msn. I think you are an amazing human being. Please keep doing what you are doing for as long as you can! As for women in afghanistan... it breaks my heart in a million peices, I can't even imagine what I must be like. As a 20 year old girl who grew up in Canada... I didn't even know racism before the age of 8 let alone sexism. I think I first learned about patriarchy when I was much older in school as I had never trully experienced it. Every women in the world should be able to say the same. I believe every living form, man, woman, tree, dog and everything in between is all a manifestation of love and life and is a godsent gift which not only deserves but REQUIRES respect. I dream of the day where my fellow humans believe in this too!
in a way this is also what is happening in sudan, parts of africa, and other parts of the world--there's an imbalance in missing generations or genders-- due to famine, war, etc.
Nasim,
I have to admit I have been very ignorant about Afghanistan for most of my life, until I read "The Kite Runner" - and even though it was a story of fiction, it stirred up something in my soul.
When I saw the story on MSN about you, it was like I couldn't get to it fast enough. I was fascinated, and impressed by your accomplishements and even just the magnificent human being that you are. Most of all I feel tremendously humbled after reading all that I have...but am truly grateful to you for sharing this with me - and the rest of the world.
I have posted a link to your blog on my blog - in the hopes that my friends and family will also spend some time reading what you have written and hopefully begin to open some more eyes and hearts to all of the terrible things that have been and are still happening in Afghanistan.
I am 30 years old, and a mother of 3 boys ages 5,3 and 8 months. After seeing all of the pictures of mothers sitting in the streets with their babies, I was weeping. Why have I been so blessed to live in a safe country where I can take care of my children in peace, and those sweet mothers weren't? Ahh, it's a question that only God can answer. But I need to live my life in a way that will honor His will - and I believe that is to help my fellow brothers and sisters here on this earth.
Thank you, thank you, thank you. I will be back often to read and learn more...
You are loved! 
The WHY? of Violence and repression of women in Islam
My name is Dane Dahl. I am an American living in Asia. I am not Moslem, but I am a writer and historian. I would like to share some information with you: information concerning Moslem violence. It may help you understand what is going on in the Middle East, as well as significant parts of Africa, Asia, Europe, and even the United States. Moslem violence in the form of terrorism has already struck the United States; I am certain it will do so again; next time considerably more than 3000 victims could be caught up in a man-made catastrophe.
Disregarding the social and economic factors that serve as underpinnings for Islamic violence, terrorism, and intolerance, I will address the more fundamental issue: the religious teachings that sanction hatred and cruelty against non-Moslems… And against women! Here are seven verses from the Koran. These scriptures have been translated into modern English.
…murder, crucify, or cut off the hands and feet of non-Moslems…Chapter 5 Verse 33 - The Koran
…create terror in the hearts of non-Moslems …cut off their heads…Chapter 8 Verse 12 - The Koran
…and fight non-Moslems until Allah’s religion is the only one…Chapter 8 Verse 39 - The Koran
…of all the loot you plunder from non-Moslems, 20% belongs to Allah and to Mohammed. Chapter 8 Verse 41- The Koran (Author’s note: Loot included kidnapped female sex-slaves.) …Take as many as four wives from the women you are sexually attracted to … Chapter 4 Verse 3 - The Koran
…God has made men superior to women… Virtuous women are obedient. If a woman becomes disobedient, beat her. Chapter 4 Verse 34 - The Koran
…When it comes to marriage, Allah makes it legal for you to take as wives, women whom your right hand possesses. Chapter 33 Verse 50 - The Koran (Author’s note: This verse talks about the “loot” non-Moslems call… kidnapped female sex-slaves.)
Most people in the western world have never heard of these astonishing scriptures, but they are in the Koran … along with a relatively short list of others, just like them. This is important because not all Moslems are the same; there are two very different types. Militant Moslems view these verses as commandments from God. They think they apply to life in the Twenty-first Century and they try to use them, regardless of the suffering and mayhem they create, whereas moderate Moslems ignore such verses because they were uttered a long time ago: when the Arabian peninsula, from whence Islam came, was a very primitive place.
Historians tell us these terrorist teachings are part of a cluster of ferocious beliefs that were deliberately added to one specific part of the formerly peaceful and tolerant Koran. These changes were done years after the faith was first organized. In fact, historians also tell us Islam didn’t simply fall from the sky as a full-blown religion, but rather evolved from a persecuted
The suffering of women in Afghanistan, as well as other muslim communities, is a horrific thing indeed!! I cannot imagine living in those conditions.. My heart goes out to all these women and girls...
Boys want to love, honor and cherish their mommies. When they are forced to view all females as lower than the dirt under their feet, it tears a hole in their soul so they become vicious animals who want to rape, abuse and hate females. As they grow to manhood, they hate everyone and become soulless terrorists forcing their pain on the world. The key to preventing terrorism is to let all children adore their mothers and let their mothers embrace the world. Misogyny is the source of terrorism.
Commenting by HaloScan
