WOMEN IN AFGHANISTAN By Sarah Moseley, Gabby D’Angelo, Ashley Rynar, Mayling Fossi, and Kalyn Winn.

Women’s Apparel  Burqa  Pants (tumbaan)  Overdress (parahaan)  Headcovering (chaadar)  Footwear (payzaar)

The Burqa  Originated as an Islamic custom.  The Qur’an states that women and men must dress modestly.  At first it was a personal choice to wear a burqa.  During the reign of the Taliban however, it was the law that women had to wear a burqa in public. (1996 – 2001)  Now women do not have to wear a burqa as part of the law, but some do as a form of safety or personal choice.  Creates a feeling of suffocation for women.

Women Before the Taliban  High maternal and child mortality.  Women helped to draft the 1964 Constitution.  In the 1970’s there were 3 women legislatures in Parliament.  During the 1980’s, the female adult literacy rate was only 8%.  Up to the early 1990’s, women were teachers, government workers, doctors, professors, lawyers, judges, journalists, and poets.

Women Under the Taliban  Forced out of their jobs.  Had to wear clothing from head to toe.  Couldn’t leave the house without a male escort.  Couldn’t seek medical attention from a male doctor.  54% of girls under 18 years of age were forced to marry (most to men in the Taliban).  Increased number of abductions, rape, and prostitution caused by Taliban fighters.

Women Today  Under the Constitution, men and women are now equal.  Only 5% of women can read and write.  Still forced into marriages and denied basic education.  Only about 15% of births are attended to by trained health workers.  An estimated 15,000 Afghan women die each year due to pregnancy related causes.  Women are starting to work their way back into Parliament, but there is talk of current negotiations between the Taliban and the current Afghan government.

Aisha  “Aisha, 18, was dragged from her home by the Taliban after running away from her husband. Despite her pleas that her in-laws had been abusive, that they had treated her like a slave, that she had no choice but to escape, a Taliban commander said she must be punished, lest other girls in the village try to do the same thing. Aisha's family members carried out the punishment: her brother- in-law held her down while her husband sliced off her ears and nose, then left her to die. She is now hidden in a secret women's shelter, where she was taken after receiving care from U.S. forces.” –Time Magazine (August 9, 2010)

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“The club can’t handle me…” –Flo Rida