Women Take a Stand in Kabul

[tabatha]

I was nervous when I woke up on July 14, 2011. The signs were ready, the pamphlets and flyers printed, and my attire for the day picked. I had received calls from the police, confirming that they would send us 10 officers for security. Media was informed and women’s organizations contacted. Everything was ready, but I was nervous.

Women’s protests and walks are very rare in Afghanistan and this was the first time I had organized one. I wanted to raise awareness about sexual street harassment and identify it as a problem, in a country where most Afghans either deny the existence of it or blame it on the women.

Every woman I know, whether she wears a burqa or simply dresses conservatively, has told me stories of being harassed in Afghanistan. The harassment ranges from comments on appearance to groping and pushing. Even my mother, who is a 40-plus teacher always dressed in her school uniform, arrives home upset almost every day because of the disgusting comments she receives, sometimes from youth half her age and sometimes from white-bearded men who sit by the roads. Only three days before the walk, I was groped in front of the orphanage where I taught creative writing.



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[alphafemale]

1. You have to fight for the your own freedom your own damn self.

No one can do it for you. They are only about 100 or maybe 50 years behind women in the west. Not that long really on a human time-line.

[Marrah_G]

2. I hope they survive.

If it were up to me I would go door to door and offer refuge in America to every single woman in Afghanistan.