The article that I read is a little old, but none the less prevalent. This specific case study happened in early 2010 in Afghanistan. There were two young girls (and I say girls because they were in their early teens) who managed to run away, dressed as boys, from their husbands. These girls had been married away to two much older men, and after refusing to consummate their marriages and being beat repeatedly, the two escaped. They were found during a checkpoint, and the cops actually sent them back to their families/husbands. The two girls told their story, and instead of the cops sending them to a nearby Women's Shelter, they sent the two back to the reason they were running.
There are a few things in this article that disturbs me. First off, according to a Unicef study from 2000-2008, the brides in 43% of Afghan marriages were under 18. Funny thing is, the Afghan Constitution states no girl under 16 is to be married - but tradition says that once a girl reaches puberty she is able to be married away. So, just so you understand what I am saying, almost half of all marriages in Afghanistan involve a bride under 18. It is against the LAW for a girl under 16 to be married. And yet, here is a case where two girls, 13 and 14, are flogged because they ran from their beating husbands. THEY SHOULDN'T EVEN BE MARRIED, LET ALONE BEING PUNISHED FOR LEAVING! Oh but wait, hey, flogging is illegal too. These two girls were publicly flogged, each receiving about 40 lashings.
Why is this important? Because innocent young girls are being publicly beat for a crime that they didn't commit - it should be, if anyone, their parents out their being beat, or their "husband". There is no excuse for this kind of behavior, none whatsoever. One of the investigators on this case was just as shocked saying that this act was inhuman, and anti-Islam. But if that is true, there is no religious backing, and it is against the law - why are these people who performed the acts not being charged or penalized. Oh I will tell you why, "the district was too insecure to send police there." Lovely. I am sure the women of this district feel real safe.
This isn't the only case where a young girl has been married to a much older man. This isn't the only case where she has suffered extreme abuse, and tried to run. This isn't the only case where SHE was publicly humiliated for being strong and trying to leave. There are many times this has happened. You could say young women being married off, beaten, trying to run, and being publicly humiliated/tortured, is tradition. But should this tradition continue - even now when it is against the law, written in the country's Constitution. Who will stand up and protect these women when their families are the one's selling them and it is even too insecure for the police? Some women can get to the Women Shelters, like Women for Afghan Women Shelter, but some cannot get past the police who will send them back to their family/husband. It is beyond a vicious cycle for young women in the communities where this is normal practice. No child, boy or girl, should ever have to face this kind of abuse, especially when there are laws supposed to be protecting them.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/31/world/asia/31flogging.html?pagewanted=2&_r=3
There are a few things in this article that disturbs me. First off, according to a Unicef study from 2000-2008, the brides in 43% of Afghan marriages were under 18. Funny thing is, the Afghan Constitution states no girl under 16 is to be married - but tradition says that once a girl reaches puberty she is able to be married away. So, just so you understand what I am saying, almost half of all marriages in Afghanistan involve a bride under 18. It is against the LAW for a girl under 16 to be married. And yet, here is a case where two girls, 13 and 14, are flogged because they ran from their beating husbands. THEY SHOULDN'T EVEN BE MARRIED, LET ALONE BEING PUNISHED FOR LEAVING! Oh but wait, hey, flogging is illegal too. These two girls were publicly flogged, each receiving about 40 lashings.
Why is this important? Because innocent young girls are being publicly beat for a crime that they didn't commit - it should be, if anyone, their parents out their being beat, or their "husband". There is no excuse for this kind of behavior, none whatsoever. One of the investigators on this case was just as shocked saying that this act was inhuman, and anti-Islam. But if that is true, there is no religious backing, and it is against the law - why are these people who performed the acts not being charged or penalized. Oh I will tell you why, "the district was too insecure to send police there." Lovely. I am sure the women of this district feel real safe.
This isn't the only case where a young girl has been married to a much older man. This isn't the only case where she has suffered extreme abuse, and tried to run. This isn't the only case where SHE was publicly humiliated for being strong and trying to leave. There are many times this has happened. You could say young women being married off, beaten, trying to run, and being publicly humiliated/tortured, is tradition. But should this tradition continue - even now when it is against the law, written in the country's Constitution. Who will stand up and protect these women when their families are the one's selling them and it is even too insecure for the police? Some women can get to the Women Shelters, like Women for Afghan Women Shelter, but some cannot get past the police who will send them back to their family/husband. It is beyond a vicious cycle for young women in the communities where this is normal practice. No child, boy or girl, should ever have to face this kind of abuse, especially when there are laws supposed to be protecting them.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/31/world/asia/31flogging.html?pagewanted=2&_r=3
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