Afghanistan: Debunking myths

Afghan President Karzai criticised the kidnapping of women (of the Korean hostage group) as un-Islamic and un-Afghan. Blogger Mohammad Fahim Khairy disagrees and says that during most of Afghanistan's recent history, women were treated badly and also got kidnapped.

5 comments

  • Roya Azizi

    To prove Mr. Fahim’s point here is another report of women kidnapping in Afghanistan……… Thousands of Women Kidnapped, Trafficked by Taliban

    Feminist Daily News Wire
    December 19, 2001
    Thousands of Women Kidnapped, Trafficked by Taliban
    General Mohammed Qasim, an official in the interim Afghan ministry of justice, has pledged to investigate the thousands of female abductions committed by the Taliban. Qasim, however, admitted that many of the women and girls kidnapped by the Taliban would be difficult to locate as many of them have been killed, forced to be concubines of Taliban officers who have fled, or trafficked into areas outside of Afghanistan. According to Qasim, the Taliban regularly sold women as sex slaves to fund its regime.

    The total number of women sold into sexual slavery, however, may never be known. Qasim estimates that the number is at least one thousand, but families, fearing reprisal from the Taliban, have been hesitant to report these crimes. Other families, according to Human Rights Watch researcher Farhat Bokhari, fear dishonor. Still many of the abducted are orphan girls without families. In a meeting with the U.S. State Department earlier this week, Dr. Sima Samar, Deputy Prime Minister for the Afghan interim government, announced that creating orphanages to protect young girls from sex trafficking would be one of her goals in her new post.

    Even with the end of the Taliban, women and girls might not be completely safe from sex trafficking. According to one official, kidnappings and trafficking were also common practices of mujaheddin leaders that ruled the country before the Taliban took power. Some mujaheddin leaders will have roles in the new Afghan government.
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    Reference
    http://feminist.org/news/newsbyte/uswirestory.asp?id=6034 (Comment this)

  • Maryam from Iran

    Well-done Mr. Khairy. For years, the Pashtuns have written our history and have written badly against all non-Pashtuns. It’s refreshing to see our own people stepping out and writing the truth. As I understood that Khairy is a victim of Afghan war. He became paralyzed while serving in United Nation World Food Program of Afghanistan. I do like to kindly request from Global-Voice Administration having him interviwed and helping him his voice to be heard
    Best wishes,
    Maryam

  • Watandost

    I agree with the writer, kidnapping and abduction of women is not something new with Pashtuns and Pashtunwali. Pashtun tribes always kidnapped and abducted females from other tribes and forced them into marriages with the members of their own tribes. Today they are not only kidnapping and abducting females from other Pashtun tribes, but they are in big cities of afghanistan and abducting and kidnapping females from other ethinc groups and also foreigners who are working in Afghanstan.

  • I too would like to see Mr. Khairy interviewed. I have enjoyed reading his blogsite and it has provided me with the information we should all have regarding the present situation in Afghanistan.
    http://the-rumi.blogspot.com/

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