Study: 400 Afghan women jailed for

[Parsip]

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57405658/study-400-afghan-women-jailed-for-moral-crimes/?tag=stack

(AP) KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghanistan's criminal justice system has made little progress in the way it treats women accused of running away or adultery, despite public commitments from the Afghan president to protect women's rights, Human Rights Watch said Wednesday.

The New York-based group's report on women jailed for so-called "moral crimes" comes as many women's rights activists say they're worried that President Hamid Karzai will abandon promises to protect those rights as he tries to court the Taliban for peace talks. Under the Taliban regime, women were forced to wear body-and-face covering burqas and were not allowed out of the house without a male family member as an escort.

There is no entry in the Afghan penal code for the crime of "running away" and yet hundreds of women have been jailed for fleeing their families or husbands.

Women interviewed by Human Rights Watch often said they were trying to escape abusive husbands or forced marriages. In some cases, those who had left were assumed to have cheated on their husbands, and therefore were jailed for adultery, which is a criminal offense in Afghanistan.

The report said police, prosecutors and judges routinely ignore women's accusations of abuse, arguing even in the face of physical evidence that women are either lying about the abuse or making it seem more severe than it was.

Only a few decades ago, when America or Britain occupied a country, they forced them to adopt Western culture (or at least laws) and didn't put up with any dissent. Nowadays they replace one oppressive theocracy with another, apologize for offending Islam, and call the war a success. What happened? Is it bad PR for one country to force its culture on another? What would Japan and Germany be like today if the US declared that their ideologies and cultures were perfectly sensible and acceptable and they didn't need to change at all?

Edited March 29, 2012 by Parsip

[Taun]

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57405658/study-400-afghan-women-jailed-for-moral-crimes/?tag=stack

Only a few decades ago, when America or Britain occupied a country, they forced them to adopt Western culture (or at least laws) and didn't put up with any dissent. Nowadays they replace one oppressive theocracy with another, apologize for offending Islam, and call the war a success. What happened? Is it bad PR for one country to force its culture on another? What would Japan and Germany be like today if the US declared that their ideologies and cultures were perfectly sensible and acceptable and they didn't need to change at all?

That is why - when people ask me if I am a Republican or a Democrat - I answer "Neither". I am an Imperialist!"

We get accused of it anyway - so lets embrace it... the next time we have to invade some backwards, oppressive country - we keep it!

[+and-then]

That is why - when people ask me if I am a Republican or a Democrat - I answer "Neither". I am an Imperialist!"

We get accused of it anyway - so lets embrace it... the next time we have to invade some backwards, oppressive country - we keep it!

The Romans, brutal as they were, had this figured out. Invade, subdue and make them an offer they couldn't refuse. The Pax Romana. We,ll give you infrastructure, commerce and a degree of prosperity or we'll leave a scorched earth where you used to be. Convenient and effective as long as you had no moral or ethical sense. Oh, and as long as you remained strong enough to subdue

[+and-then]

I feel badly for those who will be steamrolled back into oppression when we inevitably leave there. Many will probably die for cooperating. But the situation is just impossible and we cannot stay there forever, hoping that such a culture can be changed by external actors.

[ZaraKitty]

What is this? I don't even.

[d e v i c e]

I don't think the U.S or even the Afgahn security forces can defeat the Taliban. There's just an endless stream of men from all over the region, happy to join their cause. They just hide out in the mountains. At best, I think, the Taliban will be prevented from occupying whole cities, and that, military elements will make life difficult for them.

But I don't think they're going away any time soon.

[libstaK]

The true tragedy is that it is not about changing the Afghani culture - it is about restoring it to pre-Taliban rule. Afghanistan used to have a decent record on the education and treatment of it's women folk and head/body coverings were not mandatory or frowned up if someone did not choose to abide by them. They traded well and their cricket team, for instance, was a truly international competitor.

The buddhists statues that were destroyed in the 90's had stood there in amongst the traditions of the Afghani people for hundreds of years for instance - prior to the rise of the Taliban, and attracted thriving tourism industries to boot.

[meryt-tetisheri]

those who had left were assumed to have cheated on their husbands, and therefore were jailed for adultery, which is a criminal offense in Afghanistan.

I am starting to develop a deep dislike to the word "assume", a court of law "assuming" guilt and pronouncing sentence accordingly is a travesty of justice and shames not only the judges, but their whole judiciary system. Treating women like chattels or mindless pawns and stripping them of their most basic human rights is criminal. Today is definitely not my PC day, I'd better stop commenting!

[Coffey]

http://www.cbsnews.c...imes/?tag=stack

Only a few decades ago, when America or Britain occupied a country, they forced them to adopt Western culture (or at least laws) and didn't put up with any dissent. Nowadays they replace one oppressive theocracy with another, apologize for offending Islam, and call the war a success. What happened? Is it bad PR for one country to force its culture on another? What would Japan and Germany be like today if the US declared that their ideologies and cultures were perfectly sensible and acceptable and they didn't need to change at all?

Are we actually occupying Afghanistan though? Our armies are working with Afghanistans military etc to fight the Taliban, which is different to say Iraq here we actually fought the Iraq military. So technically it's different to Japan and Germany. This is more like Vietnam where the US was fighting with South Vietnamese forces againt rebals. I was goignt o mention korea but that's different as it's mroe complicated with North and South being like different countries.

[psyche101]

I think the real question is why do these women not only abide by such indignity, but condone it. How do you help someone that does not want your help?

[Ashotep]

The Taliban and their extreme views towards women have hurt Afghanistan tremendously. I think the reason women don't speak out against it more and seem like they are happy with it is because they like being alive. I feel sure once we, U.S., have left the Taliban will once again control that country with fear and murder.

[+and-then]

I'm both angry and sick at heart over the blood we spilled there from year two onward. I don't devalue the sacrifice; in fact those who were killed or maimed after it became a political exercise are to be applauded even more for their willingness to stand and be counted in those circumstances, IMO. But we are no able to "build nations" nor should we even try any longer. When another country or group threatens our people we have a duty to protect and defend. Kill the enemy until he no longer has a will to fight, then let him stay busy for a few decades rebuilding from the mess he caused. It's the only way our experiment in freedom will live to see 300 years.

[Coffey]

The Taliban and their extreme views towards women have hurt Afghanistan tremendously. I think the reason women don't speak out against it more and seem like they are happy with it is because they like being alive. I feel sure once we, U.S., have left the Taliban will once again control that country with fear and murder.

The Taliban wouldn't have weapons or the training for this war wihtout the US in the first palce. lol

[odas]

I'm both angry and sick at heart over the blood we spilled there from year two onward. I don't devalue the sacrifice; in fact those who were killed or maimed after it became a political exercise are to be applauded even more for their willingness to stand and be counted in those circumstances, IMO. But we are no able to "build nations" nor should we even try any longer. When another country or group threatens our people we have a duty to protect and defend. Kill the enemy until he no longer has a will to fight, then let him stay busy for a few decades rebuilding from the mess he caused. It's the only way our experiment in freedom will live to see 300 years.

Of course the sacrifice of the Amrican, Canadian..youth was for nothing.

Afghanistan and the taliban did not attack the US.

But, as for all we know, they did harbour al quaida.

Nothing will change in Afghanistan. A soon as Nato leaves the taliban will regain power. Unfortunately.

[+and-then]

Of course the sacrifice of the Amrican, Canadian..youth was for nothing.

Afghanistan and the taliban did not attack the US.

But, as for all we know, they did harbour al quaida.

Nothing will change in Afghanistan. A soon as Nato leaves the taliban will regain power. Unfortunately.

Oh no, not nothing. The Taliban were killed in large numbers and had their little honey hole p***ed all over. You can hardly say the effort was totally useless. In fact I daresay that in future these types will think twice before kicking a tiger in the ass without first having made some plan for what to do with his teeth. But all that was accomplished in the first year. And they make these things called satellites now. The taliban will never be as free to build training bases or just export terror openly without getting killed in the process. You can't kill all the cockroaches but you can darned sure kill the right ones!

[Lion6969]

Human rights wasting it's time.....can't blame the Taliban now!!! So who's to blame?

Clearly the coalition led installed puppets and war crimnals, as well as the coalition which has managed diddly squat!!!

They and all NGOs and human rights watch should go to Burma and do they jobs properly rather than handing out nobel prizes whilst genocides takes place under the nose of the recipients!!!!

[hetrodoxly]

Human rights wasting it's time.....can't blame the Taliban now!!! So who's to blame?

Clearly the coalition led installed puppets and war crimnals, as well as the coalition which has managed diddly squat!!!

They and all NGOs and human rights watch should go to Burma and do they jobs properly rather than handing out nobel prizes whilst genocides takes place under the nose of the recipients!!!!

If the coalition hadn't "gone in" these women wouldn't be in prison they'd be dead, there's now female soldiers, female police officers and even pilots, in the 1950s before the Muslim nuts Afghan women wore skirts and heels, the big problem now isn't the coalition it's Pakistan.

[Lion6969]

If the coalition hadn't "gone in" these women wouldn't be in prison they'd be dead, there's now female soldiers, female police officers and even pilots, in the 1950s before the Muslim nuts Afghan women wore skirts and heels, the big problem now isn't the coalition it's Pakistan.

There is now female officers and police etc only in Kabul that's all that is under coalition control, and a little more.....yet the description above you supplied is still the same today.....question is now is the coalition and the current puppet rulers better than the Taliban? Clearly both are the same just different extreme ends of the spectrum, one group is full religious zealots the other secular materialists looking to make a profit and force their own values on another people, one does it name of god the other in name of man (humanists etc)!!!

[Marks_Thoughts]

I, too, believe thoroughly in subjugation where it is necessary - and any islamic nation is desperately in need of change. Consider this: the American Revolution sparked changes to nations all over Europe and the Americas. Peoples in all of the literate nations of the world suddenly realized that the imperial chains they had worn for centuries could be thrown off and that real liberty could be found for them and their posterity. However, it was not always the kind of change as in the American Revolution. France, for instance took an especially brutal path that lead right back to another dictator, but none of that changes the ideals expressed in our Declaration of Independence. It should be noted that such ideals are not ethnic or racial, but apply to all of Humanity. What this means is that we are failing in our faith and our devinely inspired providence of world leadership if we do not subjugate and transform nations like Afghanistan or Iraq. The crime of all of this is not following through with the tasks laid out. Simply stated, islamic extremists are diametrically opposed to our ideals and should be hunted down and removed to a place where they can never continue the evils they do every single day in the name of their religion.

[Lion6969]

But they dint find real freedom to be able to choose who leads them and how.....my point is our interference has done nothing to help them....coz we are the for the wrong reasons!

[Coffey]

But they dint find real freedom to be able to choose who leads them and how.....my point is our interference has done nothing to help them....coz we are the for the wrong reasons!

Exactly.

If we where ther eto help and if we really fought these wars to save innocent lives... Then why are we not stopping these Buddhists from slaughtering Muslims right now. Why are we not in Africa saving lives?

I find it hilarious that anyone would think any of the wars we are in in the Middle East are to help people. LOL

[hetrodoxly]

But they dint find real freedom to be able to choose who leads them and how.....my point is our interference has done nothing to help them....coz we are the for the wrong reasons!

You'd prefer it as it was with women been beaten in the street with sticks, there are schools for girls even though Pakistan holds up text books at the boarder destined for these schools.

[Super-Fly]

I like what the Beatles said, Let it be.

Thanks,

[Eluveit]

I, too, believe thoroughly in subjugation where it is necessary - and any islamic nation is desperately in need of change. Consider this: the American Revolution sparked changes to nations all over Europe and the Americas. Peoples in all of the literate nations of the world suddenly realized that the imperial chains they had worn for centuries could be thrown off and that real liberty could be found for them and their posterity. However, it was not always the kind of change as in the American Revolution. France, for instance took an especially brutal path that lead right back to another dictator, but none of that changes the ideals expressed in our Declaration of Independence. It should be noted that such ideals are not ethnic or racial, but apply to all of Humanity. What this means is that we are failing in our faith and our devinely inspired providence of world leadership if we do not subjugate and transform nations like Afghanistan or Iraq. The crime of all of this is not following through with the tasks laid out. Simply stated, islamic extremists are diametrically opposed to our ideals and should be hunted down and removed to a place where they can never continue the evils they do every single day in the name of their religion.

Just wanted to notice that revolutions happened throughout Europe long before American Revolution. And it is actually America who was riding the winds of revolution that some other countries made possible and inevitable. Namely Dutch Revolution form 1566. So to say something like "American Revolution sparked changes to nations all over Europe and the Americas" is either ignorant or utterly stupid (not trying to offend just stating the obvious). "islamic extremists are diametrically opposed to our ideals and should be hunted down and removed to a place where they can never continue the evils they do every single day in the name of their religion.", and this quote really indicate the level of your own blindness and ignorance when it comes to deciding what is right and what isn't. Who gets to tell what is right for some other person and what is not? That is my question to you. And let me just tell you that it sure as Hell ain't United States of bloody America!

[Lion6969]

You'd prefer it as it was with women been beaten in the street with sticks, there are schools for girls even though Pakistan holds up text books at the boarder destined for these schools.

Oh yeah that really came across on my posts dint it? Grow up mate!!!

You see how deluded you are and how the media has manipulated you. Imagine the USA was a war torn country ravaged by war for so many decades! No infrastructure nothing left!!!

Hmmm "people although we are war torn, there is no security, bandits, terrorists, rapists roam free.....all these problems are not priority to solve.....our ultimate priority right now in this desperate climate with no roads infrastructure, buildings, and foremost no security, is to get books and girls schools open!" said Obama!

Lmao!!! That's what you expect of Afghanistan......you sad person!

Edited August 4, 2012 by Lion6969