The Women in Afghanistan’s Moral Prisons

“Oppression of Afghan women did not start with the Taliban nor has it ended with their defeat.” So wrote Anne E. Brodsky in her book, With All Our Strength: The Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan.

Violence against women in Afghanistan occurs due to structural inequalities between women and men, including women’s lack of access to economic, political and social resources. This gender gap is deeply rooted in androcentric and religious fundamentalist values. Afghan girls and women face many forms of violence: threats, torture, rape, child and forced marriages, Baadal (the exchange of daughters or sisters as brides), and Baad (arranged marriages to settle dispute).

Women also face imprisonment for up to five years for so-called moral crimes such as running away from home (even to flee violence) and zina (sex before marriage).A report by Human Rights Watch states that such incarcerations of girls and women for moral crimes are on the rise. The number increased from about 400 in the autumn of 2011 to about 600 in the spring of 2013. In spite of compelling evidence of the injustice faced by women in Afghanistan, and recommendations by the UN member countries, the Afghan government has categorically rejected abolishing the prosecution of women for moral crimes, which often occur when women are fleeing sexual and gender-based violence (GBV).