Meet the Women Fighting Against Rampant Misogyny in Afghanistan

Women Arise (2009): There's a burgeoning women's rights movement in Afghanistan, but can it ever succeed when there are so many obstacles in its path?
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'The Sex Law' may have been watered down, but forced marriage, domestic violence and rape still define life for most Afghan women. Now a fledgling women's rights movement is determined to change that legacy.
It's more than 8 years since the Taliban ruled Herat, but for many women here life has barely changed. In this refuge called Voice of Women , Suraya tries to combat the abuse of women that has occurred under President Karzai's watch. "Forced and child marriage has not reduced since 2001. It 's still a common practice" says Suraya. For those not lucky enough to make it to her shelter, prison is the alternative. Young girls are charged with running away from home and adultery . "Here rape is considered adultery" reveals Suraya. 12 year old Nadia says she "doesn' t know how to live" any more after being raped and charged with adultery.
Earlier this year President Karzai passed a law stopping women from going out without men, restricted their power of divorce and enforced sex at least every four days. He reviewed the law after local and international pressure. But for those brave enough to fight for women's rights, the stakes are getting higher. "I would like to suffer today for women's rights" says Suraya. Will the women 's rights movement be able to turn the democratic process to their advantage?
SBS Australia - Ref. 4520
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[@HelenEk7]

I didn't know that selling people in Afghanistan were legal.. It seems to be a very dangerous place to live for a woman.. A country where they put rape victims in prison is a disgrace!

[@uniskhan7942]

The violent abuse of women in Afghanistan should be given international exposure

[@poppycalliope6793]

Just horrific and unacceptable!

[@kathys2357]

These women need to be armed and trained as soldiers starting at age 12.

[@saghirahmad9634]

education . need education

[@SylkaChan]

It's not all because of Afghanistan, it's the Taliban. The ones who have the Burka's are basically an exception, but otherwise it's just a point of view between Europe and the Middle East in terms of gender equality. I would choose most of the Middle East over most of Europe and the United States. The West has a very anti-misandrist dystopian vibe and there is nothing I hate more than that.

[@mylesanderson2861]

@@SylkaChan Everything ends in violence over there. Our problems are mostly racial political and financial. America is expensive af to live here.

[@straya4837]

@@SylkaChan So, your saying its ok for women to be hated, but not men. Whatever these feminazi do they do not rape men, terrorize them. Your point is ridiculous & shows you haven't thought properly about what others go through & just cae about yourself. A very useless mindset/ person to have around, wether youre around men or women.......you just care about you. YAWN ZZZZZZZZZZzZzzzz

[@straya4837]

@@SylkaChan should be sulky chan!

[@erestiesfey1801]

I think those women who are fighting for their rights in Afghanistan are extremely brave for what they are doing. It must be very dangerous to put themselves out like that, despite their religion's rules and cultural values. Suraya is an admirable lady for doing those things and be able to help those women with what she has. I feel so bad for the things that the girls at the hospital/recovery center are going through :( I hope they are better now. We people from other countries we can only catch a glimpse of Afghani women through documentaries like these and their situation, however I believe there are organizations that help people from Afghanistan. #Don'tforgetAfghanistan. Journeyman Pictures I love your channel and love watching your videos! :)

[@safiyahz5226]

Cultural values not religion rules

[@safiyahz5226]

Dont mix religion and culture together

[@lightyagami1731]

They are fighting the wrong monster.It's the religion(Islam)they should give up on.

[@nghtwtchmn129]

Also look up the Afghan custom of "bacha bazi" ("boy play").

[@KB-si5fx]

They're all courageous, beautiful women.

[@CynthiaRothschild]

DEAREST JOURNEYMAN PICTURES , HELLO , HOW DO YOU DO ? ACTUALLY , IF " ALL " AFGHAN GIRLS AND WOMEN , WOULD BE BRAVE ENOUGH TO PUT AN END OF ALL SORTS OF ABUSE FROM THESE " FRAGILE AND SENSITIVE MEN , " AND , POSSIBLY THESE MEN HAVE VERY FUNNY SHAPE AND VERY SHORT PENISES , " THAT BY HAVING THEIR WOMEN LEAVE THEM , THE ENTIRE NEIGHBORHOOD WOULD FIND OUT THE DETAILS OF THEIR PENISES , AND HOW THEY WOULD RATHER DIE BEFORE THAT HAPPENS , SO , THEY TAKE CONTROL THESE FEMALES FOR THAT MATTER . WITH THESE WOMEN'S CLOTHES THEY CAN CARRY AND HIDE ALL SORTS OF WEAPONS TO DEFEND THEMSELVES , AND FOR THAT , THAT'S A " BLESSING IN DISGUISE " ON THEIR PART , AND A MISFORTUNE ON THE MAN'S PART .

[@DoReMi123acb]

Love your channel. But I REALLY wish you guys would upload more recent work that wasn't made 7 years ago.

[@v.r.2834]

How can this happen today in the world?! Little girls raped and for that reason imprisoned ? How horrible injustice!! That is all to blame on Islam, religion made by men , for men

[@aidajoe7423]

pity for these women & their childrens,because no peace and no freedom in their own country.

[@margiemontgomery285]

May God bless,and help the women and children in Jesus Christ name amen

[@vickyrafael1]

Pure horror !

[@lovesanimalshatesrats6339]

This is an amazing channel I could solely watch it alone.

[@anuragpoddar8631]

god bless you Saraya,you are a hero.

[@alixmordant489]

I am a "leftist" from the cradle and know e.g. Noam Chomsky`s point of view. And I agree to 99%. But I also studied enough "ethnology" (cultural anthropology) to be at least a little aware that things are not that easy . "Afghan" is not like "French" or or "German" is now (and even those national identities were birthed by eradicating smaller identities in form of little "tribes" with different dialects or even languages). Afghanistan is a tribal country. It is not a monolith. Groups are seeking dominance over others. And this is not a new thing. Afghan society was always "belligerent" in historic times, the idea of being a warrior was always held in the highest esteem. The "West" fighting a war against Afghan people was not the thing that upsets the minds of local leaders. War was in the "old world" (which includes Europe) a "normal" occurrence. (I am not saying that it was a good thing or that people did not suffer from it or that everyone "liked" it) It happened often; inside what we see now as a "country" (intertribal warfare or struggle for power) or coming from the outside (neighbours like Persia or "great conquerors" like the Arabs (bringing Islam, changing the culture completely) or Genghis Khan. Only in modern times (after two world wars and the debacle in Vietnam) we (leftists in the "West") finally see war as a thing that should be eradicated. What DID UPSET THE MINDS of Afghan men was "modernisation". Some Afghan leaders tried to modernise the country. Modernisation was and is widely accepted (from infrastructure to high tech weapons), not only in Afghanistan but lots of tribal countries (e.g. in the Middle East and Africa) - EXCEPT if it means to give WOMEN RIGHTS. What people in the West do not understand is that the "women`s question" is not a tangent to the real issues in the Middle East and other predominantly Muslim countries. It is a question of CRUCIAL importance in the eyes of the fighters themselves! Traditional tribal societies in those areas are patriarchal in structure (this is not an ominous invisible system as feminists would describe it - it is actual patriarchy, where a father/head of the family CAN ORDER a death, e.g. of a daughter, and other members of the family will follow that order without much quibbling). Islam reenforces and enshrines that patriarchal structure. It "sanctifies" this oppressive mechanism, makes it impervious to criticism or change. The horrible treatment of Afghan women is the result of a patriarchal (religiously sanctified) system asserting its dominance. In fact, in their eyes it is the "morally correct" thing to do to! Keeping women in an inferior position, deciding about their life and their death means to follow the morally correct path! The conundrum remains: How to change Afghan society so that women are not victimized? How to make women true equals? I do not know. A stronger and "better" UN would surely be part of the answer. As are the many NGOs that try to better the lives of women in the developing world. I just know one thing: Ignoring the harsh fact of Afghan women`s suffering will NOT bring about change for the better. "Cultural Relativism" is a dangerous cop out. It brings only pain and suffering. It is leaving vulnerable people (mostly women) all around the world in a inhumane situation. HUMAN RIGHTS ARE UNIVERSAL. We have to act accordingly. The situation in Afghanistan illustrates perfectly that most ongoing conflicts have no "good" sides. Both (or more) parties are "bad" in different ways. There is no happy end, even if the US would "leave all those countries alone". Women are living in isolation and silence. We just hear the men from those areas, shouting loudly and angrily, blowing things up, shooting people down. Women are mute in the shadows. Their plight gets easily overlooked by us in the "West" who are supposed to care for the victims and for injustice. If we continue this WE ARE COMPLICIT.

[@v.r.2834]

Alix Mordant If Afghanistan were not Islamic, it would be easier to modernize the society

[@sahil98031]

Hard agree. My people need to open their fucking eyes and be open minded, that islam is not the absolute ideology. That there are many religions and many teachings that teach us how to work with one a other. Islam is a disease upon the world. I hope one day my country finds peace. My parents tell me stories of how it used to be im the 60s and 70s. Thankfully my family was wealthy and educated in Russia and in Germany, owned businesses. They were able to migrate to the US. Now I want to get into politics and get a masters in history so that I can do something for them.

[@poppycalliope6793]

We are so lucky to be born in the western society.

[@vidhyashreesubramaniam6214]

extreme awareness programmes need to be created in the society to eradicate the long-standing ignorance... but only if the government and religious people agree to welcome the change.

[@karinnevelsteen8604]

Shame on the government of Afghanistan,maybe they should read the Quran over and over again.

[@samuelvimes7686]

Or maybe not? Maybe it's because of their interepretation of the Quran to begin with. When the taliban gained power it was not the Ikea catalogue they used as the basis for their criminal sharia regime

[@omyadav417]

Islamic Dekho line tarraki Kar Raha hai, yeh chutia log Indian Jo sikhete hai.

[@ma-bq5jn]

Uncle Ruckus lmao it rlly isn’t

[@julianalaveraz]

Taliban says it preaches quran

[@eunesanzano9040]

Religious??It's better no God than to follow their Gods

[@emanuelao.1014]

😡😡😡😡 what kind of men are these!!

[@saghirahmad9634]

God bless you and protect you sister you are brave and faithfull women

[@omyadav417]

Islam ki taalim.

[@miekadegerness67]

May GOD Bless and Protect this Woman and Others like this Woman , And May GOD bring Down his Wrath on these mens Heads , Who Raped ;Beat and Kill young Girls

[@samuelvimes7686]

The irony being that Afghan women are oppressed on God's/Allah's name

[@bobetization]

allah cannot help them because he dont exist

[@antap]

It's a damaged society

[@verakravchenko5254]

I shall research how they are doing now (

[@mapitsorangaka1030]

I really love to work voluntarily with girls, women education and learning anywhere in the world.

[@nayashams6845]

Lhorrible story. May God save these innocents girls. They don't have a voice except for a few institutions, who are not equipped with proper legal lawyers and help.

[@sylviepilon3415]

Is Surya alive today? What happened to her after tslibans take over

[@catherinepower4163]

Omg it's shocking young marriages to young girls so young it's not right good for these women to help them best she can

[@yolandalemus1373]

God help those women and there helper

[@sylviepilon3415]

Si… that was 5 years ago! Where are thèses organisations that had them a struggle to actualisation of humans rights

[@leelanunez4334]

🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🌻❣️🌻

[@straya4837]

And here we gp again. The Taliban are like alien entity.

[@sheilatuano9633]

Maybe because their society does not allow women to work to contribute financial support to the family. Fathers may see their daughters as a burden and therefore marrying her off would be a relief. He can choose a man that can offer more economic gains and does not take into account the character of the man because the daughter is reduced to a commodity in this case. These cases are so rampant in Muslim countries that maybe it is not only confined to culture and tradition of a tribe alone but may be encouraged by certain teachings in Islam. It appears that in Islam, they do not have a central head or assembly that acts as the only authority to make sure that their Qur’an is not erroneously misinterpreted. The Sunna and the Hadiths, unfortunately, are used as a way to create Sharia Law, where imams and clerics make their own personal interpretations. The Sharia Law stemming as a fiqh perception is an example of how things can go wrong especially when dealing with women and female children who are relegated as second class citizens and not equal under such law.

[@stephenjoke7965]

SO SO SAD.. I do believe GOD BUT I DON'T BELIEVE GOD HELP..WHEN I LOOK SOMETHING LIKE THIS..YOU NEED TO FIGHT TO LIVE A BETTER WAY OF LIFE..LOOK ALL THIS NONSENSE AND GOD IS ON THE SKY LOOK AND THIS WOMEN ARE SUFFERING ON THE WORLD LIKE THIS HANDS OF WICKED AND POVERTY MAKE THIS MENS ACTING LIKE ANIMALS.. CREATOR is already done is work.. AND TO ME ISLAM IS THE MOST DANGEROUS RELIGION IN HISTORY OF THIS WORLD AND ITS EVIL ..

[@tiranganews1084]

ओ गॉड।

[@MarcG7424]

This is just a small part of Islam it gets worse if you can imagine that

[@Bob-mp9uj]

CIA Report: Use feminism to reduce Western opposition to military occupation of #Afghanistan -- Wikileaks [2010]

[@Sokol10]

As always, CIA plans fail. :))

[@stephenjoke7965]

IF THAT SO, THAT MEANS WOMEN IS A PETS FOR AFGHANISTAN 🇦🇫 MENS . WOW.. THE WORLD HAVE LONG WAY TO GO..

[@Sokol10]

Exactly, in Afghan tradition, woman like cattle, property of her husband's. I see a ex-Marine say in an interview that when a "collateral effect" happens, USA pays compensation to the victim's family of 1,000. But village elders complain that this was unfair and was set: Male victim (what include terrorist) - 1,000 Boy victim - 600 Goat or donkey - 400 Woman - 200

[@cars8459]

Why is the feminist leader wearing the Hijab in private. Nobody is going to hurt her there. What parts of the Quran does she believe in? Curious

[@derrickrikihana633]

Da west should thank God the true n only God who IS Love, personified in JESUS THE MESSIAH the lamb of God slained for you,He who takes away the sins of the world, praise Him n worship Him,,for He is good forever more

[@tinamcguinn6283]

They should be made to stsy at home and be keeper of the household. If not when they go out sinful things begain to happen. Im a Christian

[@radrad7999]

Most stupid comment I’ve read😂😂😂 go to hell asshole🤣🤣🤣

[@StitchingTime]

Your a disgusting excuse for a human being

[@luciddreams6210]

Is someone keeping you at home?

[@DonnellOkafor-pd7yn]

Fool