Ending the Cycle of Shaming Afghan Women’s Bodies
The stigmatization of female sexuality in Afghan culture has lifelong consequences for girls and women who lack understanding of menstrual health hygiene.
A university student purchases sanitary napkins in Kabul, where sanitary pads are tucked away in some supermarkets. (Courtesy of Sahar Fetrat)
By Sahar Fetrat / Sahar Speaks
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The phony concern for their rights in the wake of a potential U.S. military withdrawal is a canard.
A female photojournalist whose photo of a farmer became famous in 2004 provides workshops for teenage girls in the hopes that they, too, will find success.
Although officially banned, this Islamic practice has gained popularity as the environment worsens for Afghan women.
Afghan civil law does not give women the right to divorce. "Here, a woman's voice is not heard," says a law student who spent four years in court ending her abusive marriage.
"Music is for boys and not girls," 22-year-old Fazila Zamir was told. Now she is proving her instructors wrong by performing on television and leading an all-male band.
Despite high maternal and child mortality rates, Afghanistan maintains its custom of child marriage, subjecting victims to lives of poverty and misery.
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