Atrocities In Afghanistan

WivesWire — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 12:00:00 -0500

We are always amazed how different ethics are from person to person, state to state and country to country. There are things happening in other countries that would completely blow your mind, and yet in those countries they are considered somewhat normal.

In Afghanistan, Mahbakhat is suffering. She is 11 years old. Her parents are dead. And she is getting divorced.

At the age of 9, Mahbakhat was a depressed orphan living with her brother and his wife. She was so depressed that she tried a common method of suicide among Afghan girls and women — she doused herself in oil and lit herself on fire with matches. Her suicide attempt left her badly burned on her arms, face, and chest.

Mahbakhat's sad story does not end here. Her brother — who thinks her suicide attempt was an accident — believed no one else would marry her with her burn scars, and he forced her to marry a 45-year-old man.

In that part of the world, women's rights are pretty much a fairy tale. Single women cannot rent accommodations on their own in Afghanistan, and up until recently, most women were confined to their homes when not accompanied by their guardian or husband. So in Mahbakhat's brother's mind, he was doing the best thing for her by marrying her off, even though the legal age to marry in Afghanistan is 16.

Though her new husband promised he would not have sex with her until she was a few years older, he instead sexually assaulted her several times daily. Here in America, we would lock up this pedophile, throw away the key and hope the notorious prison justice system worked its magic. But in Afghanistan, he has all the rights. His wife is expected to take any abuse, be obedient and not disgrace the family name.

Mahbakhat understandably ran to one of the only women's shelters in the country. She is currently living at the shelter and going through the process of divorce. After the divorce is finalized, she will return to her brother's home.

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Atrocities In Afghanistan