Visiting Afghanistan: A Country at a Crossroads
After debating whether to board that flight to Kabul or not, I decided I had come this far and nothing was going to stop me from continuing my journey. Not even fear.
Sure, I could have spent my vacation being pampered at a luxurious spa or cruising the Caribbean islands. But curiosity and opportunity led me to Afghanistan, a country at a crossroads, to learn how women are progressing in a post-Taliban society.
The Taliban reigned Afghanistan with fear and terror between 1996 and 2001. During their rule, women could no longer work and girls were forbidden to attend school. Women were not to be seen and were mandated to wear a burqa when in public settings. A burqa is a one-piece, opaque garment that drapes a woman’s body from head to toe. It hides her entire face and body shape. She sees out of a six inch net-like area. Those women who did not comply were beaten and/or tortured.
The Taliban played heavily on the illiteracy of the country and interpreted the Koran to their advantage. Today, the women’s literacy rate is a mere 14% and the Ministry of Women’s Affairs estimates that 60% of the nation’s girls are not attending school.
“I told them [Taliban], show me where it says in the Koran I need to wear a burqa. I will wear seven burqas if you can show me,” provincial governor Dr. Roshanak Wardak told me while sitting on her cousin’s living room floor. We were dining on a lunch of rice, naan (Afghanistan’s flat bread) and grilled lamb in the village of Sheik Yassin, a two-hour drive southwest of Kabul.
While many wealthy people fled to Pakistan during the Taliban occupation, Wardak remained in Afghanistan. She is a gynecologist who, unlike most women during the Taliban control, was permitted to work.
“After all,” she said while sipping her cola, “I took care of their [Taliban’s] women.”
Wardak was one of many women and men I met during my 10-day journey to Kabul this past March. I traveled with 11 other people under the coordination of Global Exchange, a California-based human rights organization. I wanted to better understand this war-torn country and its people.
We stayed in a Kabul neighborhood at a comfortable guesthouse surrounded by a 10-foot wall, accented with barbed wire. I was told security guards watched over the house each evening.
Sleeping arrangements and bathroom facilities were shared. Electricity was not always available and it was a treat to have hot water. Breakfast and dinner were provided by the friendly staff. Lunch was enjoyed in the city.
Not all residents of the neighborhood had the luxuries we did. Commonly, multiple generations shared small living quarters. Some lived in homes that were partially bombed out. Living rooms, where some strung laundry, were exposed to the open air. Chickens ran in and out through door-less entry ways.
And they were curious. Each morning, children wearing sweatshirts, most likely donated by Americans (one child wore a Florida State University sweatshirt), some in bare feet, gathered around the guesthouse. They stood in the mud looking for the opportunity to speak with us and practice English. They repeated the limited English they knew, such as, “Hello. How are you?”
They smiled and begged to have their photos taken. During the Taliban’s rule, photography was prohibited. Having their snapshot taken now was an honor.
Adults were also curious, but shy. After seeing and hearing the children laughing, adult men slowly made their way over to us and they too, posed for photos. Women were elusive and rarely joined the group.
The guesthouse is managed by Afghans4Tomorrow (A4T), a non-profit, non-political, humanitarian organization dedicated to the reconstruction and development of Afghanistan. We visited several schools they support and operate.
“Education opens the minds of the people. Without it, her mind is completely closed,” Wardak told me while we walked through a scorched hallway of an A4T school in Sheik Yassin. A month prior to our visit, someone who believed girls should not attend school attempted to burn it down. “If they try to burn my school down 100 times, I will rebuild it 101 times,” Wardak said.
Grades first through seventh are taught in the A4T schools and most students are girls between the ages of 7 and 20-years-old. Since many girls were not educated during the Taliban years, many young women need to catch up on their education. Two grades are taught in a school year and it is common for an 18-year-old to be in a second grade class.
The Ministry of Education provides textbooks and oversees the curriculum of Dari, Pashto, Koran, English, math, history and geography. Vocational skills such as tailoring, embroidery and computers are taught so the girls have a way of supporting themselves. Teachers are primarily part-time and funding is generated by private donations, not the government. Students attend the schools free of charge.
My visit to Kabul coincided with the 5th International Women’s Day Celebration on March 8, 2006. We heard Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai and Dr. Massouda Jalal, Minister for Women’s Affairs, speak to the Afghan community. Karzai announced the National Action Plan for the Women of Afghanistan. Recognizing that many abuses and discrimination against women still occurs, the Ministry of Women’s Affairs constructed a strategy to advance the status of women. In order for the plan to be effective, women need to be educated and made aware of their rights, which is why the A4T schools are key in the education process.
A few days later, our group sat in the Kabul office of the Minister of Women’s Affairs. While we waited for Dr. Jalal, Gulsoma, a slender, 12-year-old young woman walked in. She confidently walked the room, greeting everyone with a “salaam” (“hello”) and firm handshake. Her smile was radiant and her big, dark eyes glimmered. I thought she was the Minister’s daughter, until I heard the translation.
Sitting at the head of the room with her arms crossed across her belly and legs swinging, she began chattering in Farsi. Through translation, we learned her father died when she was 4-years-old and her father’s brother inherited her mother.
Her uncle/step-father did not want her. He decided to marry her off to a 3-year-old. She recounted the first year living with her new family being peaceful and happy. However, when she turned 5, conditions turned bad.
“I was responsible for cooking, cleaning and household activities,” she told us. “When I wasn’t able to complete the duties, I was beaten.”
All family members beat her, except for one brother-in-law. When he was instructed to abuse her, he would find an excuse not to, such as telling his father he couldn’t find the stick to beat her. The torture she endured included beatings with a bat, scalding water poured over her body and being thrown off the roof of the house. She has suffered a broken hand, broken arm and she pushed away her black headscarf to reveal bald spots from the scalding. The hot water also left scars on her back and arms.
When her father-in-law became angry with her, he tied her outside with the farm animals and withheld food. Neighbors learned what was going on through a hole in the fence and threw food in a plastic bag over to her at night. The father-in-law became suspicious as to why she was still alive. “He said, ‘you should be dead by now. We are starving you’,” she told us.
He then accused her of stealing a watch and giving it to the neighbors in exchange for food. He severely beat her that day and threatened to kill her if she didn’t return the watch.
Blood caked on her face, she escaped that night and hid in a rickshaw. The driver found her in the morning and asked why she was there. He drove her to a military outpost, who returned her to her neighborhood. The driver told the military that if she is returned to the family, she will be killed. The neighbors reconfirmed the situation and told how they supplied food to her.
The father-in-law was confronted, yet did not see anything wrong with his actions by saying, “I have bought her. She was sold to me.” The father-in-law and mother-in-law are now in jail.
Just weeks following her escape, Gulsoma now sat in the Ministry of Women’s Affairs’ office, sharing her story with me and my group. She lives in a Kabul orphanage under full custody of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs.
After everything she went through, she still believes in the goodness of humanity. “The driver and neighbors were very kind to me,” she justified.
“I never want to marry again,” she told us. “I want to work for the Ministry of Women’s Affairs someday.”
According to Dr. Jalal, 68% of marriages are forced and the average age a girl marries is 14. In these forced marriages, the father and uncles decide who she will marry while the mother and girl have no say in the matter.
While the country is relatively secure, many abuses are still made against women, especially within the home. Gulsoma’s story is just one of many. Islamic custom dictates women to cover their heads but many women still wear full burqas. Either because they are comfortable with it or their husband dictates them to.
Many women we met with told us that daughters and sisters are commonly killed by fathers and brothers in what’s called an “honor killing.” Dishonor can be brought to family if a girl is raped or if she is believed to be involved in an inappropriate relationship. Murdering her restores the family’s honor.
Poverty is prevalent. Many women in blue burqas beg on the Kabul street corners, sitting with their hands extended. Children beg, too. And unfortunately, parents see them as a better asset to the family begging on the street than sitting in a classroom.
The journey to Kabul put a human face on the Afghanistan I had previously knew only through media reports and newspaper articles. I discovered there was more to this war-torn nation than terror.
I realized that September 11, 2001 was a turning point in the lives of the Afghan people. While this was a horrific, tragic day in American history, the events of September 11th eventually led to Afghanistan’s freedom. By the end of 2001, the U.S. and allies had evicted the Taliban from control.
Despite the many negatives in Afghanistan, there are many bright spots. From teachers to military generals and shopkeepers to mothers, every effort these individuals make is step towards progress. By American standards, these are tiny steps. To Afghans, these are leaps towards progress.
A message I continued hearing from the Afghan people was, “we do not want to be forgotten.” When asked to elaborate, it was explained that the Afghans feel forgotten by the U.S. government. That we have not followed up on our promise for reconstruction and ensuring full security, due to the war in Iraq. While I cannot control what my government does, I assured my new friends I will never forget them or their country.
