'Shaming' her in-laws costs 19 year old her nose, ears
"When they cut off my nose and ears, I passed out," 19-year-old Bibi Aisha of Afghanistan says with chilling candor.
Her beauty is still stunning and her confidence inspiring. It takes a moment for the barbaric act committed against her to register in your mind and sight.
Wearing her patterned scarf and with roughly painted nails she shares her story.
"It felt like there was cold water in my nose, I opened my eyes and I couldn't even see because of all the blood," she remembers.
It was an act of Taliban justice for the crime of shaming her husband's family.
This story began when Aisha was just 8 years old.
Her father had promised her hand in marriage, along with that of her baby sister's, to another family in a practice called "baad."
"Baad" in Pashtunwali, the law of the Pashtuns, is a way to settle a dispute between rival families.
At 16, she was handed over to her husband's father and 10 brothers, who she claims were all members of the Taliban in Oruzgan province. Aisha didn't even meet her husband because he was off fighting in Pakistan.
"I spent two years with them and became a prisoner," she says. (Watch more of the interview with Aisha)
Tortured and abused, she couldn't take it any longer and decided to run away. Two female neighbors promising to help took her to Kandahar province.
But this was just another act of deception.
When they arrived to Kandahar her female companions tried to sell Aisha to another man.
All three women were stopped by the police and imprisoned. Aisha was locked up because she was a runaway. And although running away is not a crime, in places throughout Afghanistan it is treated as one if you are a woman.
A three-year sentence was reduced to five months when President Hamid Karzai pardoned Aisha. But eventually her father-in-law found her and took her back home.
That was the first time she met her husband. He came home from Pakistan to take her to Taliban court for dishonoring his family and bringing them shame.
The court ruled that her nose and ears must be cut off. An act carried out by her husband in the mountains of Oruzgan where they left her to die.
But she survived.
And with the help of an American Provincial Reconstruction Team in Oruzgan and the organization Women for Afghan Women (WAW), she is finally getting the help and protection she needs.
Offers have been pouring in to help Aisha, but there are many more women suffering in silence.
The United Nations estimates that nearly 90 percent of Afghanistan's women suffer from some sort of domestic abuse. This in a country where there are only about eight women's shelters to provide sanctuary from the cruelty they face. And all of the eight are privately run.
"Bibi Aisha is only one example of thousands of girls and women in Afghanistan and throughout the world who are treated this way - who suffer abuses like this, like this and worse," says board member for WAW, Esther Hyneman.
In 2001, the situation of Afghan women and Taliban brutality received plenty of attention. Now organizations like WAW say the international community is strangely silent on the issue.
Hyneman says not enough is being done to help the women in Afghanistan and that feeds into the hands of the insurgency.
"When you have ... 50 percent of a population on their knees, it's very easy for extremists, tyrants to take over a country," she adds. "They have a ready-made enslaved population."
Aisha is reminded of that enslavement every time she looks in the mirror.
But there still times she can laugh. And at that moment you see her teenage spirit escaping a body that has seen a lifetime of injustice.
- This story is part of CNN's Impact Your World project.
This is an act of inhumanity, totally bad. I think the world as a whole should respond and fight against this act
I can never understand how people can support this type of acts in the name of Islam. These are animals and not human beings let alone Muslim.
This is their culture. They have lived and accepted this way of life for centuries. Saudi Arabia publicly cuts off fingers and hands to punish thieves.
this is a tribal law they have and got nothing to do with Islam, even marrying your daugher to a stranger is not islamic !! unfortunatelly 'everything' done by the taliban or afghanis will be seen most people as an 'ISLAMIC' tradition while is not the case
This is terrible. When people treat people like this in the name of a god it is dispicable. This woman is still beautiful. All people need to learn to treat others with respect.
this isnt right they should be stopped from doing this they shouldnt be allowed to do this.
I wish this Tea Partier who blogged #11 would stop using my name to express his opinion,displaying what a dirty mind he has.I only wish he'd use either his own name or that of one of his fellow Tea Partiers.
horrible, I am sad for her
I am Muslim and I feel-sham How can they do this ! Believe me these people are worst then animal they don't deserve to leave with humans society.
This is shame to President Karzai where l this type of inhuman and horrific act still happens. So President must bring these people to trial for crime against humanity and justice must be given to Aisha.
Makura
this is babaric and demonic. is there no way to bring such pepetrators to book? can the rest of the world really sit back and watch such inhuman treatment unfold? terrorists and thieves now mask under culture and religion to unleash acts of terror on innocent people. the time to stop this madness is now.
There is nothing in civilized culture that could possible justify treating a woman in thiis way. It is triable barbarianism of a very privative triable nature. Treating women like that has no place in the modern world.
Not enough Muslims are speaking out against this barbarism and that is why it continues. They fear that if they speak out, they are betraying the Prophet and Allah.
Even when they live in the Western world where they have more freedom, they put up and shut up. Religion is truly the opiate of the masses.
All religions (past and present) have their failings but none creating so much mayhem and none growing so fast like Islam. The world is becoming a dangerous place.
It is an act of Barbarics in the 21st Century, they are a bunch of idiots they will never get to know the real "LOVING" God. They will all be "cut-off" on Jugdement Day, and Aisha will be one of the many MEEK Ones that will ingerit the EARTH not the bullies or the rich and powerful not the wicked, not the ones mistreating the young and the old and the sick . But people like Aisha ... in the new system her face will be perfect ... she is a beautiful and strong survivor of what man can do. This doesn't count the damage done by manking on earth.
I say for the moment, lets put all politics aside, as well as religion, stop tossing blame around and appeal to organizations or individuals to help this young lady. I would like to see a fund setup just like the burn victim that was sent to the US and get her the treatment she deserves.
Some people claim that is not Islam but it is.
It's just that this is a separate sect of Islamic religion that branched off from the parent
stock. This particular sect has its own intrepreted beliefs.
Neverthelerss it's still a form of Islam that is practiced by a group of individuals, who believe they are following their god's commantments.
Take Christianity for instance. There are currently well over 33.000 different Christain sects and denominations world wide. Many of them have their own beliefs based on their own interpretation of scripture.
They all evolved and branched off from the parent sect that preceeded it.
Having one group call the other a false or non form of their own religion is completely pointless, because all religious belief is based on faith and a relative intepertation of religious writings.
That's why it's free to mutate into any form anyone wishes it to.
Anyone can re-interpret a religious text and start their own particular branch of that particular religion.
You can call then non Islamics, non Christians, ect, but it will do you no good, because all they have to do is turn around and call you a non Islamic, or Christian, from their relative perspective.
And therein lies the problem. Neither side can prove the other wrong, and nothing on the planet can convince eitherr side that they are wrong.
It is absolutely horrible what happened to this girl. The people who did this have no humanity. They need to be severely punished for their actions and may be their noses and ears need to be cut off the same way so they can feel the pain for the rest of their lives.
This is a criminal act by extremists and has nothing to do with Islam. Islam protects women and requires men to be kind to them and treat them well. In Islam, women have no obligations towards their in-laws and she shouldn't have been made to live with her brother-in-laws to begin with.
Belladonna
I take offense to your statement that "The only difference between the American Evangelical movement and the Taliban is about 8000 miles." Hate the evangelicals if you want, but I don't hear of them mutilating women to prove a point. What an ignorant statement.
Blessed Be Belladonna – Me too.
This story is appalling. Almost as appalling are the comments made by some readers that equate the religious extremism demonstrated by the Taliban to all expressions of a belief in God. There are many evil people in the world – past, present, and, unfortunately, future. Some will use religion as a cover for their activities. However, those who have a true relationship with God are not fooled. The rights, responsibilites and guidance provided by the faith of this country's founding fathers, documented in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, are the basis of what we consider to be right and just and are the reason we find stories like this appalling. Just because some have used religion to (wrongly) justify evil, doesn't give anyone the right to criticize all people of faith. Jesus summed it up by saying that we are only to love God first and love our neighbor as ourselves and gave the story of the Good Samaritan to let us know that we are all neighbors. Nothing evil there. Just good. Embrace the good. Fight evil. My prayers are with those in Afghanistan and Iraq fighting evil.
To Amigay...This is not part of Islam...These nuts are following something else.. Islam reallty is a peaceful religion and you cannot judge it by the DEVIANTS who are following their own made up practices!!
The comment that all cultures must be respected, no matter their brutality – a ridiculous claim. This is not a "culture".
The comment asking if people want to live in a country that legislated "religous morality" – also a limited and incorrect view on the world. Its not about legislating morality. The Taliban is about power, not about culture or religion. Its a group run by men who are 1)immoral by any standard – religious or agnostic, 2) are uneducated individuals that only get their status from the relative power advantage they have over physically weaker and ill-equipped individuals in society. Spreading fear through power only feeds the powerful even further. The use of religion is a guise to provide additional reason to something that is clearly unreasonable. I am saddened to read of such an ugly part of our world.
CNN, If there is anyway to help this child please send me an E-Mail telling me how. My wife and I have five wonderful kids at the house and can't even begain to consieve how somebody could do this to a child. We would gladly make it six if we could help. She should have a chance at an education. love, and life. Thats what all humans, men and women alike, should have. Please let me know if there is anything we can do.
Bob
This country was based on the Christian beliefs. You have been given rights from God. Life, Liberty & the Pusuit of Happiness are unalienable. Government cannot legislate this.
No..there is no respecting "cultures" when practices are inhumane and tourture members of the society.
There is a basic right and wrong, the lines are blurred on other things, but cutting of ears/nose is WRONG. There is no Soc 101 arguement to say it is right. We can understand how a culture has evolved, but that does not mean it should stay that way.
This has nothing to do with politics or the USA; it's the backward mentality o a group of people who wrongly think that this is justice according to their religion. There is no god in any universe that would approve this type of punishment, especially if is to escape the abuse from estrangers.
In a perfect world, there would be no religion, just look at the news and see who benefits from it. All we need is respect.
I guess this will never get old! Anytime something happens in place where someone claim they are ruling by Islam, it means Islam approve of it!
Did we change our freedom way of life when a man married his daughters? Dose anyone claim Christianity is a bad religion because a drunk Christian shot and kill someone in the street? When will people mature or get smart (which ever comes first) enough to figure the difference between Religion/Law/Common sense and stupid behaviors? This is a horrific behavior from one human to another!!! It has no bases in any Religion.
Do you think Jihad Jane understands what she is signing up for? With her background Ms. JJ would have been put to death long ago.
Bin Ladin made it clear. Women are soldier manufacturing devices. The fruits of their labor are to be destroyed in Allah's name. I only wish that Bin Ladin had volunteered to be killed by Al-Zarqawi (rather than holed up in some nice place on dialysis). In that final moment when Al-Zarqawi was sawing through his neck he would have undersood that they are both perverts using religion as an excuse for some really bad behavoir. They have no honor.
The world needs thinking mullas to live long enough to be able to speak up against this kind of bad behavior. But the same spoiled boys who would do this to a woman, would not hesitate to kill any man who did not think the way they wanted him to. We need to teach men how to control their rage when they learn that their way of thinking is not the only way.
As a woman I find myself in horror that another woman would be subjected to this type of mutilation, following a period of slavery or indeed at any time. I know that this woman is not alone in her country or that her country is alone in treating women as less than human. That these types of practices continue is a shame on the human race. In some areas of the world, young women are mutilated by having thier sexual nerve removed, WHY? because the belief is that if they cannot enjoy sex they will not cheat on whichever man is chosen to be thier husband. Can we Americans rest and say that doesn't happen here, just there, absolutely not. Somewhere this minute there is a woman, a daughter, a sister, a wife, a girl, a baby,that is being raped, mutilated, tortured, enslaved, and stripped of human dignity for the crime of having been born female. Does it happen to men as well, certainly, does it happen as often and with the assent of religious, cultural and political approval, I would think the answer is no. The only true answer is education. Complete eradication of cruelty towards other humans be they women or men is a goal to focus our intelligance and resources on.
What about the parents? What kind of parents would force there child to be married and handed over to another family, especially one that is your rival. Thats the ultimate betrayl. If you can't trust your parents, who can you trust? That practice should have been gotten rid of long time ago. I don't think barbaric is a strong enough word. Does Judas ring a bell?
It makes me angry to hear things like this are happening because of religion. United Nations should influence all countries to make it illegal to have religious laws. Politics and Religion should NEVER be together.
United Nations we are waiting for you to destroy ALL religions!!!
This is so sad what's happened to this poor girl and many others like her.
Just watched a movie called "The Stoning of Soraya M." recently and encourage all to see it, if you haven't already. It's certainly opened my eyes to the brutality these women suffer everyday.
Read some the reviews above and have to say that I don't care about the borders that separate us. We're all humans...and, though some humans choose to act like barbaric animals and so forth, I don't see where the line of compassion stops for these innocent victims simply because they're not 'ours' to worry about.
Either way, my breaks for them and I pray justice will be served for all.
i cant believe this continues to happen. After so many years, its so difficult to believe that some countries still follow this type of barbaric behaviours.
This not Bush fault as one person indicates, come on, this is something that have been happening for decades.
What we can do to change this, is support all those victims, supporting the organizations.
What would be the best solution? is to change those violent views and behaviors on those that commit the crimes. However, its very difficult to change the religious views if they have followed them for over hundred years.
And as hard as this will sound, i guess their destruction is brought to them by their own believe, by their own actions. If they dont threat their people properly, where will that take them? that is my humble opinion.
we should support the victims and try our best to make their life better after they have gone through such pains.
TL
Okay, this makes me pretty mad. What is the best way I can support or effect change in their country? If I could push a button and drop these guys dead I would but I guess I'll have to resort to donations to some anti-taliban cause. Any realistic ideas on how to take action?
I am disgusted with what happened to this teen age women. Clearly, some extremist forms of Islam are backwards and extremely repressive and barbaric like some forms of Christianity were evil hundreds of years ago.
Civilized society cannot condone this. Selling anyone to settle disputes or for any other purpose should be outlawed. The US and other nations obviously have the sins from slavery but there is no reason somewhat similar stuff should go on in 2010.
Horrifying. Disgusting. Appalling. Makes me sick. I believe only an act of God can change this cultural atrosity using young girls as payment of debt and disfigurement as punishment. Life for girls and women in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Iran, Iraq, India, Africa, and other countries around the world is a miserable existence. What is happening is like a silent "Holocaust" where the world turns a deaf ear and pretends it is not happening. My stomach feels sick!
This is why I'm Pagan: no Mother would condone this, but the patriarchy would have you believe that the Father does. BTW, He doesn't. The only difference between the American Evangelical movement and the Taliban is about 8000 miles.
I'm sorry but no amount of historical comparison to behavior of other religions that happened hundreds of years ago is relevant - this is 2010, and the ONLY thing that matters is what is going on today and the standards to today.
There is a clear and simple solution to this. ANY religion that acts as a court and offers sentences is NOT a religion, but a political movement. As such they are no longer afforded any of the benefits of being a religion - including freedom to practice their religion. And as would be expected of any political organization that maims and mutilates, they run the risk of being eradicated.
Until moderate "Islam" completely disavows the Taliban and vocally disavows all acts of violence, they continue to be a large part of the problem as well. Shame on them for turning their heads while such backward nonsense and hatred it taught by their "brothers".
There are not enough words to say how much this and many other episodes of brutalitiy to women and men are disgusting and uncalled for. I certainly will pray for these persons affected by such horror, but in the meantime, all persons, no matter what faith (not religon) or lack of religon you are, should consider these acts of brutatliy a call to action. You dont have to cure the world, but start somewhere, do something to stand up for the rights of all mankind, that all people deserve love and forgiveness, despite culture and history.
american christian and proud of both
This is what happens when religion rules the state. Take notice Texas!
I am absouletly sick to my stomach. Why would any culture think it is ok to take and do something so cruel to any individual? Why? and do not give me any bull abou it being their culture, their way of life, etc.... We all have something inside of us that tells us right from wrong. REGARDLESS of how we have been taught. This story along with some of the ignore comments on this post makes me want to puke!!
This is totally barbaric. But to those who think that it is only the Taliban of Muslims that are barbaric , lest we forget the lynchings that took place on African Americans not very long ago at all. These acts of violence against people of colour took place for similar reasons; race, religion, colour etc. We are all barbarians, in North America we are barbarians with cell phones, TVs and Drones fighting wars we don't think about. We all need to WAKE UP and love one another.
This is NOT Islam. There is NOTHING Islamic about her family selling her to "even out" a rivalry. There is NOTHING Islamic about her marriage against her will, and there CERTAINLY is NOTHING Islamic about her punishment because of this supposed "shame" that is NOT Islamic either. This is extreme warfare on women. This is brutality hiding behind the facade of "culture". This is an example of cowards using their distorted idea of "culture and 'religion'" to have complete control over women, whom they, in their warped minds, believe are the weaker sex.
It really a pity what women pass through in some countries.
Women are to fight for their Liberation.Women Organization's should come together and create a networking system and awarance for such Organizations when established.
We are to look out for each other..
I'm a Christian, and very proud to be one; but I am ashamed at the number of ignorant posters who blame this on Islam. It does NOT condone brutality. It is, in fact, a peaceful loving religion. But ignorance abounds among Christians who just find it easier to lump an entire group of people into one bucket. The people that did this are using Islam as an excuse, but it's not the reason.
I dont believe that the world is seeing is a comum practice for muslim, I guess that is a isolated act practiced for peoples that dont follow the religion fundations.
I dont think it matters what a girl does nobody should be treated like that.
These guys are animals- unbelievable.
Don't care what religion you follow, but no God would be happy to see this.
This is ridiculous. I come from a Muslim family and this sort of thing is unheard of. I hope everyone understands that because this is so rare CNN is forced to publish this on their home page. Mind you, I'm not hating on CNN. Just understand that those who were put in power to take her ears and nose away from her are clearly extremists. I hate it when irrational things are out in the media about Muslims. Please, do not make generalizations about us or any other religion or race. Thanks for hearing me out.
I say we fly all the women out of that region and leave all the men to themselves. they wont be able to reproduce and they could just do each other in the meantime.
I am a Muslim and actions like these are totally unacceptable in most Muslim countries. I agree its a barbaric act and I know there are much more barbaric acts being committed in the Muslim world every day. But please you need to understand that this is not the teaching of Islam. These actions should be fought by Muslims. I don't think there is any point of making piece with these people. They need to be fought. Why the rest of the Muslim countries are not responding? because they have learned helplessness and it is really a very complex issue to analyze of discuss.
Were is N.O.W. ?
Stories like this are enough justification for war, for me.
Like an earlier comment read, their "allah" will give them what they deserve. Not really sure how these acts are deemed as religious, but in all religions God is deemed as vengeful. What goes around comes around. Just too bad she had to lose her nose and ear in order for this process to begin...
What horrors!!
I am a liberal Democrat, and I have no love for Bush, Cheney et al, but come on people. How can anyone of any political stripe try to make political points about this? It's not about "political correctness", "diversity" or politics, it's about a horrific act of brutality against a human being. Does it matter that she's young and pretty? Would it be any less heinous if it was done to an old woman or an ugly man? It was done to a human being. It was brutal, sick, twisted and disgusting. You want to blame Islam? What about Christian Scientists who let their children die horrible preventable deaths because they don't believe in medicine? What about Catholic priests who rape innocent children and scar them for life? There are evil people in every religion,of every political stripe and in every country. Make this about what it is. And yes, I would like to see NOW get involved. I'd like to see a lot of people get involved until this is stopped from ever happening again. But for God's sake, stop sniping at the opposite political party when there is palpable human suffering right in front of your face. Be a human being for God's sake!
this is brutality in it's raw form
toni, perfectly said: Mohammad Salman: You are correct. From what I do know about Islam, it is worlds away from the brutality and beliefs of the Taliban. The prophet Mohammed would be shocked at this infliction of brutality upon a woman.
This brutality is NOT Islam
I was almost killed when I was forced to marry a stranger in Pakistan. I went there for a vacation when my relatives made me marry someone I did not know anything about. I was tortured, raped, starved and barely made it back to the United States. I filed for divorce and the court in Pakistan wants me to go over there. I can only imagine the punishment they would have inflicted on me for standing up for myself. The rapist now wants my daughter who is an american citizen so he can come to the United States.
It has been 3 years and I am still dealing with this issue. I know what this poor girl has gone through. Regardless if you are in Pakistan or Afganistan its the same when it comes to the justice system and the psycho crazed men a poor unsuspecting woman ends up with because of so called family honor.
I hope this young woman recovers. I still haven't. It's a long process and it doesn't help when I get death threats and threats that they will have acid thrown on my face.
This is the advice I have for young woman who are forced to go abroad to get married...
if your parents say they will kill themselves or die because you don't want to marry a stranger tell them they will be dying for a stupid reason. Don't ruin your lives.
Your story sounds like you pulled it word-for-word from a Pakistani movie made about 3 years ago.
Nadia: your figures are way off – in the US alone, 1 out of 3 women have suffered or will suffer some form of sexual abuse (from molestation to rape), and that figure includes women aged from newborn to 90.
What type of judgment is this ... will it be same to afghan men ....?
People! Rory was being sarcastic, did you really not see that? This is truly barbaric action by a sect with extremist views on how to treat another human, anybody can see that. We're all going to differ on how to handle them, wipe them off the planet or sit down and talk to them...seriously? They would jump over the table and cut your face off too. She was given to a family of 10 brothers? Start dumping birth control in the well outside their barbaric little hut.
Talibans are absolutely disgusting and a disgrace to Islam and and muslims everywhere. They are viscous, uneducated and extremely tribal. People need to realize that the taliban courts resemble none of the teaching of Islam. Disfiguring a human being is one of the worst crimes anyone can commit. Cant wait for the last member of Taliban to be captured and hung. Pull our troops from Iraq and send them all to afghanistan.
I think that it is increbily sad that this young girl's married into family didn't question why she decided to "runaway" in the first place... I don't believe in marrying "children" off at a young age, but that is their culture, at least the family could have treated this woman with some respect. The women in these countries get treated like a piece of meat, and not the human beings that they were put on this earth to be. I agree that it is totally barbaric how they decided to handle this matter, and I honestly believe they are beyond help. We've had our soldiers over in the Middle East for almost a decade now, and although we've made some adjustments to how people treat others over there, we are still bringing our men and women home in body bags for a cause I don't believe can be fixed. There has been brutality over in that region of the world for centuries, and I don't think that the US is going to fix it 100 percent. My heart goes out to this young woman. I don't think that had she been in the living situation she was in that this would have happened, and I can only pray for the young women and girls this is happening on a regular basis.
ALL THE WOMEN of the world should stand up and stand together, specially in the area of war. MEN gathers has army to fight. Let's create an army of women
You guys who are getting down on Rory ought to read his post again.
It's dripping with sarcasm while parroting the usual PC cultural relativism bull spit that our elites are constantly spewing. Islam is as retrograde as belief systems come.
Winston Churchill wrote volumns on it before he was a high public figure.
And you folks who want to blah, blah, blah about all of the bad things Christians do, remember, they were done centuries ago. The modern world that we enjoy today was spawned by the enlightenment, which was spawned by Judeo-Christian society.
Keep your eyes open, Islam is alive and well in the western world and they're not here to conform or assimilate.
BB
Terrible !!!
It it very sad to that women are treated in such a barbaric way. You are saying that Taliban s resposabil for this. Believe me it it everywhere in Afghanistan. It runs deep in the culture, no matter who rules there.
Having deployed to Baghdad – I witnessed, firsthand, the inhumane cruelty forced upon men and women alike by their fellow countrymen and "insurgents" - call them what they are "terrorists." It makes me sick to come back to this country and listen to a bunch of armchair quarterbacks making comments like some of what I see above – 'it's their problem.' Good plan – just sit back and continue to spout your politically correct BS from a relatively safe vantage point and see what happens. Plenty of youth in this country already have no respect for the value of life – sit back and wait until MORE of them are recruited into this kind of 'gang' as we already see happening. so far they are leaving to fight on foreign soil - wait until they decide this is the playground. Then we'll see whose problem it is and YOU can experience it firsthand or watch your sisters/daughters/wives/mothers etc., experience it. If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.
More evil in the name of religion. It never ends.
"When blacks or Jews are victims en masse the West condemns the brutality and sometimes even goes to war (World War II being the most dramatic example). When women are the victims somehow it's all explained away as a problem of "culture". The Taliban are as evil as the Nazis and should be treated as such..."
Cathy Kayser, you are 100% RIGHT. There's always an excuse for violence against women by the powers that be. If this sort of thing WERE happening directly to blacks and/or Jews, it'd have been STOPPED a long time ago (and rightfully so).
But such atrocious and systemic violence against women is somehow not quite as important. >:-(
THIS is what's wrong with this world – THIS kind of injustice played out against women all over the world. Forced into an abusive marriage and then mutilated for trying to get away. How many women in the Muslim world suffer this daily? The report says 90% in Afghanastan alone suffer domestic violence.
But this is exactly what gets swept under the proverbial and collective worldwide rug – we gafaw and exclaim our indifferences to this kind of brutality when it is reported, but we do NOTHING to stop it. No one stops this, because its just women (and children). Now, if it were happening to men, we'd be all over it, dropping bombs, getting support from our allies, etc. (i.e. Kosovo – do you honestly believe we'd have reacted if it had only been women and children suffering that genocide?). Women in the Congo suffer this abuse and worse – they are begging for help – and everyone turns their backs.
I agree that Islam does not condone this kind of behavior; Christianity doesn't either. Or Judaism. However Christian men are just as likely as Muslim men to abuse their spouses when those religious leaders they turn to condone this sort of behavior. The clerics of Afghanastan are evil. The men of the Taliban are evil. But don't forget that this kind of thing takes place all over the world, in every country, including our beloved America.
allah says in the koran to men ' women are my valued creation given to you treat them with utmost care and gentleness'.
prophet muhammed also preached the same .
it is a shame that muslims in afghanistan treat women in this shameful barbaric way. unfortunately everything a muslim does is interpreted as a teaching of islam which is not the case.
please let me know how i can help this lady.
This is a prime example of why the US, Canada, and the rest of the coalition forces must stay in Afghanistan until the Taliban are defeated. There is a valid reason to be there.
Speaking generally, Where are the feminists?
American feminists spend so much time debating social issues but do not go where the abuse is and work on stopping it.
This story makes me feel lucky to live in a country where I am encouraged to pursue an education, a career, and independence. Remember this story always, and those like it. As women living in the United States, with all of our privileged, we have an obligation to promote human rights and kindness in our everyday lives to stop terrible acts like this one.
Domestic violence is an international and cross-cultural phenomenon. We have more womens' shelters here in the U.S., we just don't have courts that sentence maiming for women trying to escape the abuse. But their husbands and boyfriends do murder them violently. It is a serious problem without it's origin in Islam. Human rights are important for women and also for men. The laws allowing the torture of this woman must change as well as laws and cutural values that use the lives of mostly men but women too to maintain the profit margins of the Military-Industrial-Complex.
Islam is a peaceful, gentle religion. Unfortunately nut cases can skew any religion... that doesn't mean the religion is inherently evil. Like my muslim father-in-law in India says "crazy Pakis. There's something in the water" There must be...
This should show us why we absolutely can't move toward a theocracy. You can't point at Islam as a religion anymore than you can point to Christianity. Christianity in this country is spreading a horrific call to theocracy through the move to patriarchy, federal headship, quiverfull, repealing of birth control etc. One only has to look to popular groups like Vision Forum with Doug Phillips or Matt Chancey to see the road they want us all to take. A move towards women as property without voting rights, driving rights or rights to children. For homeschoolers following Bill Gothard and other cultlike groups that preach the supression of women.
This story should be a lesson to us all.
For GODS sake, I call on Oprah Windfrey or anyone to help, she looks like a train wreck, in America or Australia, we can fix her up back again, it is a horrible and disgusting way to go through life, I know from my own experiences and we can help.
The Monster who did this is going to pay very dearly, I garantee
Disgusting.The people that did this need to be brought to justice.I don't give a damn about there religion or ways.....this is wrong and it should be stopped by any means possible.The second century called....they want their stupid laws back.
the prophet Mohammed wanted peace yet the taliban decided to go and do this crap they believe that they are doing gods will but this is nothing what was said the country i have come from has gone to the dogs but it can still redeem itself now i encourage every muslim and American who reads this rise up against the taliban they may be strong but the combined will of every one will not be stood up to now i say we stop the injustice given to the people my country my religion has become corrupt and wrong we must tell them the truth
We need to send more money to this country-also let's send more troops to support their government- People wake up,we send aid to this country,we are sending our kids over there to fight. And for what! To support this
That is just plain criminal!!!
I think it is a right of the individual to choose on who he or she want to marry. I know in certain countries the parents choose. I also believe the individual has a right to be happy. This arranged marriage certainly did not bring happiness to Bibi Aisha. It was unfortunate what happened to her. I really hate to see other women going through the same thing as she did. I hope the United Nations and Human Rights Groups are aware of this. They can do something to help reduce or stop this inhumane act.
I wish I had a ton of money. I appeal to those that do: Bring Aisha and others like her to your country and pay for her reconstructive surgery. This will give them the message that we will not tolerate this kind of barbarism. There is no way they would do this type of thing to an animal, women deserve no less.
I'm actually ready for a REAL world court so we can prosecute these animals.
WE ARE NOT CHATTEL to do with as you please. There are no true religious writings that suport your "laws". Grow-up!
And if your Allah is who you say he is, he will accept Aisha into his heaven and cast you out to burn for all of eternity for the SIN you have commited against her!
I can't understand how someone can do this. As a Catholic, I know that my religion is not perfect, you just have to look at the current scandals. Islam is, for the majority, a peaceful religion. I have many Muslim friends who I would trust with my life, and hopefully they would trust me. This is not Islam. This is a group of power hungry maniacs, who want the world to go back to the stone age.
I have nothing but pity and support for this girl in my heart. If this had happened in the US, what would the reaction would have been like? There would have been a worldwide outcry. But because it's Afghanistan, people ignore it. It makes me sick.
For all of you that think this is okay because it is another country.....remember that we support them monetarily and with weapons and politcally. We posture and deny but that is the truth and we have done it with every other tyrant in the world when it was to our politcal benefit. Face it folks, the big boys don't give a flip! Oh they'll shake their heads and say its terrible and, as usual, do nothing. I believe it is in the realm of the remark made by another 'leader' "let them eat cake.' It is terrible and should not be allowed to happen. If they were stupid enough to put me in a burqua and attempt to treat me in this manner I would give new meaning to the words 'suicide bomber'!! I may only take out the males of one family but a) they would be dead and wiped from this earth and b) they wouldn't be able to hurt another woman. If a few women that did that I think the Burqua would be a thing of the past. Women must become fighters even if they die doing it. Very few men will stand up for them and the male gender of the Taliban don't even deserve to be called "men".
This brought tears to my eyes. How can they do this to this poor girl. These people deserve to get their **** cut off. This is not the Islam I practice. The people who did this are probably followers of Satan. Lets please not bash ISLAM over a bunch of retards who are living in the mountains. There are plenty of idiots in the west who torture and abuse, is it fair to blame Christianity for their barbaric acts? May Allah send his blessings upon the good and righteous people whether their Muslims, Christians, Jews....
I think it's hilarious how everyone with anti-Islam views in this forum claim to know so much about Islam. It seems that they and the Taliban share one thing in common - complete ignorance of the Islamic faith and the contents of the Qu'ran. Read up before you pass sweeping judgments on 1 billion Muslims and scapegoat their religion for every single problem in society.
America participated in the butchery of Bibi Aisha by sending troops and money to country of gutless cowards. It takes a real man to abuse a woman. We should send boxcutters to Afghan women to even the playing field.
WAKE UP AMERICA!!!!! Our soldiers are over there for VERY GOOD REASONS! Start asking these questions of them personally and you will get very different honest answers then what you are seeing, hearing on the news, media, papers... This is minor and I mean minor to what else is going on over there! We need to keep fighting to keep our Freedom! Start writing your Senators and start speaking up, we have that right USE IT!
Obvilously a sad story but the USA can't be responsible for 90% of the world's problems. We're broke and an economic has-been. Other countries, primarily the rich producers and savers need to start contributing troops and money to keep the world safe.
Really want to get back at them? Bring her over here, fix her face, give her a job on the network news where they can all see her, then wait for the fallout. Women there will strt to leave the country, there soon won't be many women over there to support childbirth, and before long, there won't be any of them either. Maybe then they will know what that system cost them, at any rate, when they die out, there won't be antmore of them...
Any plastic surgeons out there who could reconstruct her face should speak up.That would be an invaluable gift.
this is a profound injustice of the worst kind, it is an abomination, it is barbarism, cruel, violent, abusive behavior. it is one of the biggest sins to harm an innocent life. i am muslim, i know what true islam teaches, it does not teach anything like this horrific behavior..it teaches the opposite: kindness, peace, compassion, fairness, justice, equality, freedom, human rights. we are obligated to speak out against injustice..and i am speaking out loudly. this is very very WRONG, indeed this is cultural or tradition, it is NOT islamic behavior and there is a huge difference. islam does not permit forced marriages or forced religious beliefs for anyone...not at all!
To those of you who are making sarcastic comments about Islam as a "peaceful religion" etc.: the behavior recounted in this article has NOTHING to do with Islam. It is a local Pashtun custom. There is NOTHING in sharia that authorizes cutting off a person's nose, ears, or other body parts, unless to punish someone for doing that exact same thing to someone else. There are no punishments in Islam for "shaming one's family"–there is no honor killing, etc.–those are LOCAL customs. I realize this will be diappointing to the rabid Islam-haters who try to twist every single news article about this part of the world, into more "proof" that our religion is allegedly evil to the core. Please acquaint yourself with the FACTS before spouting off ridiculous, uninformed opinions.
This isn't Islam. This is cruel for this girl and for the people who actually follow Islam correctly. I wish people would stop doing sinful acts and say that they are Muslim. ISLAM does NOT condone these types of actions and it is a shame and NOT FAIR to abuse the name of our peaceful faith and twiist it into something it is not.
...Then again, this is no different than all the rapes and sick murderous acts that thousands of people do right here in the US, be they Christian, etc.
It's all wrong.
What the effing eff... The Taliban are no better than Nazis were and should be regarded as such.