Subject: NEWS: Trafficking of Afghan Women from Kabul
From: Jyothi Kanics (jkanics@igc.org)
Date: Thu Jun 03 1999 - 09:58:08 EDT
FRom the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) Web
site (www.rawa.org)
Trafficking of Afghan Women from Kabul
By Willi Germund
Frankfurter Rundschau
Jan.7,1999
"What we decide about the fundamentals of Islam is our internal
religious affair. No one may interfere, and no one can dictate to
us how
we treat our women," Mullah Hassan warned.
Within the terrirory it controls the Taleban forces all women to
wear a
burqa, which begins as a veil and covers the entire body in
heavy, bulky
material; the woman wearing one can only see the outside world
through
a narrow gap surrounding the eyes, which is covered with a thin
lace-like
material. They are not allowed to accept paid employment. Girls may
not attend school, let alone university.
But the mullahs like commerce - so even if women are not free, the
trade in them is to some considerable extent.
Miaz Mohammad is a merchant dealing in everything from radios to
refrigerators in Chaman, a city on the Pakistani border. When the
other
customers had left the shop, he was prepared to speak in
confidence.
"There are too many women in Kabul," he explained. "Pakistanis
come here to pay 90,000 rupees (about 1,800 dollars) for women
from Kabul. The women think they are getting a husband, but the
Pakistanis only want them for a few months' worth of fun."
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