True it is that the situation of women has improved in Afghanistan, but there remains the ever-present menace and presence of the Taliban as much as cultural norms and practices going back many years.
With the pullout of Western forces the fear is that the position of women in the war-torn country will deteriorate.
Spiegel OnLine International reports in "Mazar-e-Sharif Suicides: Poisonous Freedom for Afghan Women" on the situation of women in just one Afghan town.
"More than anywhere else in Afghanistan, women in Mazar-e-Sharif are torn between tradition and their newly won freedom, between family expectations and their own sense of self. They are trapped in a society that is at once deeply conservative but also offers just enough freedom for women to discover a modern, Westernized lifestyle. Girls can go to school, women can work, and both can surf the Web and watch cable TV. But forced marriages, domestic violence and many limitations continue to exist for many of them -- and are all-the-more difficult to bear. Under these circumstances, choosing how and when to die can become a form of self-determination."
Read the full piece here.
With the pullout of Western forces the fear is that the position of women in the war-torn country will deteriorate.
Spiegel OnLine International reports in "Mazar-e-Sharif Suicides: Poisonous Freedom for Afghan Women" on the situation of women in just one Afghan town.
"More than anywhere else in Afghanistan, women in Mazar-e-Sharif are torn between tradition and their newly won freedom, between family expectations and their own sense of self. They are trapped in a society that is at once deeply conservative but also offers just enough freedom for women to discover a modern, Westernized lifestyle. Girls can go to school, women can work, and both can surf the Web and watch cable TV. But forced marriages, domestic violence and many limitations continue to exist for many of them -- and are all-the-more difficult to bear. Under these circumstances, choosing how and when to die can become a form of self-determination."
Read the full piece here.
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