The Battle for Gender Equality in Afghanistan

Kabul, Afghanistan - “I was put into chains for a whole month by my father. I ran away twice but was returned home by the police. Everybody says I am the guilty one, that my father has the right to beat me,” said 17-year-old Fahima. Fahima along with many other women in Afghanistan have long hoped for lives free of violence. However, women’s rights have yet to be properly addressed in patriarchal Afghanistan and have since taken the backburner owing to other exigent issues, such as corruption, a growing insurgency, and mass opium production.

In 2006, more than 1,650 cases of violence against women were registered with the Afghanistan’s Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC). More than 550 women reported severe beatings. 120 were documented as having committed suicide in brutal ways such as burning themselves to death or overdosing on painkillers. Oppression in Afghanistan runs rampant not only through men, but occasionally through women as well. Women sometimes act as the oppressors themselves by willingly accepting oppression due to an attitude of subordination that has for long been deeply rooted within the patriarchal Afghan culture or by condemning those who deviate from this norm. There are many who believe in the right of their husbands to use violence in order to keep their wives in submission.

Local and international actions have also failed to reach women. Although some policy frameworks have been adjusted over the past decades, they have failed to implement community level gender equality. NGOs within Afghanistan are also moving further away from gender projects and addressing gender issues due to other pressing concerns within the nation. A recent report on women’s rights, gender equality and transition by the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit states “a lack of political will, limited funding and weak capacity among key national and international stakeholders has meant that mainstreaming has had little effect on standard operations.”

In addition to gender inequality, corruption has allowed gender related crimes to expand unchecked – gang rape against women being one. Jahangir and his wife Zeba are among those, who are victims of Afghanistan’s underlying issues. Jahangir’s wife was allegedly raped 8 years ago in the Badakhshan province. Jahangir claims that he has been unable to get justice due to the alleged rapists being politically powerful figures. Zeba’s claims to have been harshly abused and raped despite the large age difference between the perpetrators and her. Jahangir was promised justice, but the case died down soon after. Although eight men were arrested after the incident, six have now been freed because of their political connections. Notwithstanding, Jahangir and his wife have continued to seek for justice. However, the couple has faced many obstacles as the stand they have taken breaks a taboo in Afghanistan, where most victims of sexual assault remain in silence and submission.

Jahangir claims to have received several death threats from the perpetrators after he reported the case to the authorities. He says he and his family had to flee to the capital, Kabul, fearing for their lives. He has threatened to commit suicide unless if the men are put on trial in order to escape the threats and tensions he and his family have been suffering from. Jahangir went public with the threat on Afghan television and caught the attention of the international media.

“I want president Ghani to preserve justice and if they don’t pay attention to me, I will burn myself, my children and wife on the road,” Jahangir threatened. The victim herself also told BBC: "I want justice to save other women from such a fate." Zeba was married to Jahangir at age 15 and now has two sons and three daughters.

President Ashraf Ghani ,recently sworn in as the Afghan president in September, had promised to address corruption as a priority. The president also had a phone conversation with Jahangir assuring him that the men accused of raping his wife will be brought to justice.

The Afghan government is now under the pressure of the international media to fully investigate the case. Despite the sorrow and violence embedded within, the case may potentially push Afghanistan towards changes for gender equality with more men and women speaking up against physical and sexual violence.