Page 269 - Mass Media, Mass Propoganda Examining American News in the War on Terror

Afghanistan and 9/11

would not touch them now but that he would make sure he would kill them. We
left that same night and walked through the mountains to Kabul. This man and
his brother have raped many women in this district. He has been commander of
this area for four years and many families have left because of his violence,
looting and killing. I don't want our story to remain a secret. We want everyone
to know. For many years we have complained but no one listens to us. We have
complained to the authorities and many others. The authorities cannot do any-
thing in our area as the commander is the one who is the authority."

Nooria also wants the world to know of her experiences; she wants the injustices
committed against women to come to an end. Nooria was twenty years old as
well when she was assaulted and battered by her estranged husband. At sixteen
years old, Nooria was told that she was to be wed, although her consent was
never secured by her family or by her husband-to-be. Forced into an arranged
marriage, her husband began to abuse her immediately. On the day of her wed-
ding, he physically assaulted her, claiming that the neckline of her dress was too
"revealing." This first attack was to be only one of many, as Nooria was effec-
tively put on house arrest, beaten whenever she would leave the house without
permission. After enduring a miscarriage due to her husband's beatings, and
carrying another child to term despite continued physical abuse, Nooria decided
that she had suffered enough. Unconcerned with the shame that it would bring
upon her family, Nooria fled her abusive husband, although her family was ini-
tially hesitant to accept her. By mid-2005 though, Nooria had returned to her
husband, after being pressured by her family not to seek a legal separation, since
the disgrace that comes along with divorce likely meant that her two younger
sisters would be unable to marry. In a traditional society where family honor
necessitates permanent marriage regardless of abuse, Nooria and countless oth-
ers are forced to live under increasingly repressive conditions. Amnesty Interna-
tional generalizes Nooria's experiences to the rest of Afghanistan:

Nooria's story is by no means unusual. Countless Afghan women suffer vio-
lence from a husband or male family member. Like Nooria, they have no
means of support and protection from the state or their families. Very few
women will go to court. Most are unaware of their rights and the stigma at-
tached endangers not only the victim but also the reputation of her family.
Some fear reprisals from angry husbands and even from their own families-
some have even been killed.32

The low status of Afghan women is often overlooked in media coverage
that attempts to convey a general image of a newly democratic state that respects
the human rights of Afghan citizens. The pattern whereby Afghan democracy is
loudly proclaimed in headlines, and the desperation of the Afghan people quietly
conceded within articles and on the back pages of newspapers, continued un-
abated during the 2004 and 2005 elections and after. It became popular to talk of
"women's liberation" in political discourse, despite an increase in Islamist at-
tacks on girls' schools, and the reinstatement of Taliban-esque rules mandating
the covering of women in Those who were interested in learning more
about the increasing sexual repression in Afghanistan typically looked toward