Women of Afghanistan: Not even a glimmer of hope

Another public execution of an Afghan woman shows how little the "civilized" West has achieved during10 years of the occupation of Afghanistan. The country lives under Sharia laws, in which a woman is like living goods without voting rights. President Hamid Karzai pledged to find the criminals, but it was only a publicity stunt to beg for money from Tokyo for doubtful reforms.

The video of the execution, which appeared on the Web, is shocking. It raises fear of the countries that make announcements about their transition from a secular to an Islamic state - the state that lives under Sharia laws. The video shot on a mobile phone, shows the kneeling woman, covered with a punjab, in the center of attention of the crowd, perched on rooftops and on the ground.

"This woman is a daughter of Sara Gul, Mustafa's sister and the wife of Juma Khan - she ran away with Zemarai. People have not seen her in the village for a month," - a bearded man, who acts as a judge, said, according to the translation made by Agence France Presse. - "Fortunately, Mujahideens have caught her. We can not forgive her. Allah tells us to put an end to it. Juma Khan, her husband, has a right to kill her." Afterwards, someone gives an assault rifle to a white-clothed man, and he shoots the woman from a distance of several meters. The participants of the execution chant: "Allah is great!"

The exact location of the atrocity is unknown, it is only clear that it is a village in the Parwan province, about 100 kilometers from Kabul. It is Afghan women - the most powerless creatures in the country - who pay their price for poverty, ignorance, and violent power struggle in today's Afghanistan. Even animals have more rights in this system of values: devout Muslims are obliged to help animals in difficult situations.

A spokesman for the government of the province acknowledged that the shooting took place indeed. The official accused the Taliban of the brutal crime. However, the Taliban movement that struggles against Karzai, rejected the accusations and explained the "incident" with tribal customs.

The indignation of the online community caught President Karzai in Tokyo, where he arrived for the international conference on Afghanistan. He found it necessary to release a special statement in which he called the crime hideous and unforgivable in the sacred religion of Islam and in the laws of the country. "The murder of the woman who has no opportunity to protect herself against weapons, and the brutality of criminals are a symbol of cowardice and lawlessness," Karzai said.

The head of state ordered to immediately find and arrest the perpetrators. However, it is highly likely that his words were nothing but a nice gesture to the international community and the specific audience, whose investments he counts for. After all, Karzai himself lives under Sharia laws. He has recently approved the law that allowed a man to punish his wife by starving her. Moreover, a man can legally do it if he is not pleased with his wife in bed. Courts act simpler. In Sharia, there is no such notion as rape. If it happens then it is only a woman to blame. Therefore, they let rapists go for a small bribe.

This is just a little of what concerns crimes. One does not have to say much about the lamentable situation with women's rights in education, family, and work. Sharia forbids women to study and do anything but housework. That is why about 95 percent of women are illiterate in Afghanistan. A wife has no right to divorce her husband - she is obliged to accept any decision of her husband. Strangely enough, Afghan women perceive burqas as their "shelter" from male tyranny.

Extremely rare exceptions only prove the rules. 34-year-old Malalai Joya - a former deputy of the Afghan Parliament (the Loya Jirga) - was expelled from the parliament for making true statements about her high-ranking co-citizens. "Most of our politicians and parliamentarians are drug traffickers and war criminals. They should be arrested and brought before the International Court of Justice in The Hague," she said.

Meanwhile, Karzai on Sunday in Tokyo, was promised the financial assistance worth $16 billion through 2015 to finance Afghanistan after the withdrawal of the Western coalition in 2014. The Afghan government promised to strive to improve the transparency of elections and governance, equality, human rights guarantees and to struggle against drug trafficking.

Most likely, this will be the last money of the West for Afghanistan. It is unlikely that Afghan women will get at least a portion of the amount. After all, the power of the sitting president and those who will take the office after him, is based on tribes and warlords. Talibs or not - they humiliate and disrespect women equally.

Lyuba Lulko

Pravda.Ru

Read the original in Russian