Violation of human rights in Afghan

The face of Afghanistan changed to following of strict Sharia laws from being a country which gave rights to men and women equally. Rules for women changed drastically while for men, they remained almost unchanged. The Taliban believed that a woman was a source of corruption and hence imposed such rules on women that were inhuman and were against the rights of a human being. It was not only purdah system that the women had to follow, 80% of marriages in Afghan were forced.

Coming to health, the rules were such that women were not allowed to be treated by ,ale doctors unless they were accompanied by a male who was the elder member of the family, which led to illness remaining untreated most of the time. Family harmony was badly affected by mental stress, isolation and depression that often accompanied the forced confinement of women. Surveys by health care organisations showed that 97% of women showed signs of serious depression and 71% reported a decline in their physical well being. With fewer health professionals in the field, the distances women had to travel for treatment increased and the provision of ante-natal clinics declined. Even though some women established informal clinics in their homes to provide health care facilities to family and neighbours, the medical supplies were hard to obtain and the medicines were mostly ineffective.

The apartments were nothing less than a prison. The windows were to be covered by dark coloured sheets so that women could not be seen from the streets. To add on, women were not even allowed to walk on the streets without a male accompanying them. Taliban restricted the cultural presence of a woman in the society. Even the names of places including the word “women” were changed. Women were forbidden to laugh loudly as it was improper for a stranger to hear a woman’s voice.

Punishments were carried out publically and civilians lived in fear of harsh penalties. It was so harsh that a woman the tip of her thumb cut off for wearing nail varnish. The only thing that women are men have common in is the punishments. Men and women alike are beaten up brutally in the country. The punishments range from chopping of body parts to killing. Afghanistan’s National security agency, has been accused of running its own prisons, torturing suspects and harassing journalists. Child labour and human trafficking remains common in the country. Civilians frequently have been killed in battles between warlord forces. Poor conditions in the overcrowded prisons have contributed to illness and death amongst prisoners.

Afghanistan, under the rule of Taliban, faced immense torture and mainly women became its victims. The Taliban violated the most basic rights of a human being apart from education, which was completely denied at a point of time. The country failed to follow the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which are at its basic level. Hence the country was destroyed not only due to wars, but due to internal violence and regulations.