Blog 9: Imprisoned for Moral Crimes

In the headline story of this article, a 21 year old Afghan woman stated that she fled her abusive husband only to be raped at gunpoint by a stranger who was supposed to help her.  The woman shot the man in the head after he had placed the gun on a table by his side, and after shooting him, she turned the gun on herself.  The woman woke up three days later in the hospital, and from the hospital she was sent to a police station, and then to Afghanistan's main women's prison, Badam Bagh.  She is just 1 of the 200 women that is serving time for so called "moral" crimes  Many of the women imprisoned had sought for justice for domestic violence or to flee abusive situations.

Stated in the article more than two thirds of the inmates are serving sentences for up to seven years for leaving their husbands, refusing to accept an arranged marriage, or for leaving their parent's home with a man of their choice.  What stood out the most to me in this article was that some of these women have their children living in the prison with them.  This is absolutely no place that a small child should be allowed to live in under any circumstances.  The courts of Kabul, Afghanistan convict women that flee abusive homes with "the intent to commit adultery", however it is not against the law to escape or run away from a forced marriage.  This is what is referred to as a "moral" crime.

Another part of the article stood out to me as well: "In the overwhelmingly male-dominated legal system, Akbar said even when a female inmate gets in front of the judge, "He says 'it is her husband, she should go back and make it work. It is her fault and not her place to leave him — not in our society".

 It is very clear to see how the women's rights of other countries is in deep contrast with that of America.  In the United States, it would not make sense to society if a women was sentenced for trying to leave her husband or to leave an abusive situation, with the physical evidence to prove, or any amount of sufficient evidence.  The courts are denying the women in Kabul their rights, which is illegal.  These women have done nothing wrong.  Knowing that all cultures have a different traditions marriages seem to be a controversial one.  In some places, it is a process to go through to get a divorce from your spouse, and if domestic violence occurs on either half, there is punishment for it.  In other places, marriages are arranged, meaning that most women do not necessarily want to marry than man chosen for them, and trying to escape that marriage for any reason seems impossible by reading this article.  Zubeida, the women's activist said "We have the appearance of everything, but when you dig deep down below the surface nothing fundamentally has changed".  That being said, there needs to be a revision of the rights of women in foreign countries, especially those that are known for its male domination.

http://news.yahoo.com/most-women-kabul-prison-accused-moral-crimes-064953446.html;_ylt=Asq2QB_g73XGM1fhPM4YpVBvaA8F;_ylu=X3oDMTNkZGxvOXM2BG1pdAMEcGtnAzI1MzI5MjdkLTFhNjktM2Y3Mi05YzNmLTA1Yjk3MTA2MjI0NQRwb3MDMTAEc2VjA2xuX0FzaWFfZ2FsBHZlcgM4MTU0MzYwMy1hMWQyLTExZTItYmZmYy1kMWNhYzg0ZTI0NGE-;_ylg=X3oDMTBvaWppbXYzBGxhbmcDZW4tVVMEdGVzdANUZXN0X0FGQw--;_ylv=3

Tiara Paylor
4/11/13 10:49 pm