ABOUT WORLD BLOG

NBC News World Blog aims to provide a dynamic look at world events and trends -- both big and small -- from NBC News correspondents, producers, and bureaus around the world. Online entries -- from text to video -- will explore news events and how they are shaping our world.

Regular contributors include NBC News correspondents, producers and staff based in bureaus across the world and on assignment.

Click here to read more about the journalists behind NBC News World Blog.



A safe sanctuary for Afghan women

Posted: Wednesday, April 15, 2009 7:00 PM
Filed Under:

KABUL For centuries, the women of Afghanistan have had to walk behind men, their faces hidden, their dreams denied. They have often been forced to live a harsh life in a place where most women are illiterate, forced into marriages, and beaten by their husbands.

In a rare protest, nearly 300 women gathered Wednesday to demand equality and the repeal of a new law imposing even more restrictions on their rights.

NBC’s Chief Foreign Correspondent Richard Engel reports on a women's shelter in Kabul where Afghan women fleeing violent homes can find safe shelter.

VIDEO: Afghan women fleeing violence find sanctuary in a shelter in Kabul 

MAIN PAGE

Email this EMAIL THIS

Comments

Thanks for this report.  I watched the video.  Well done, and I know this is the sort of subject that needs to be covered more and more all the time.

 Theoretically, all Muslims are supposed to be under Sharia (Islamic religious law for Shia and Sunni).  The more backwards economically the Muslim country is, the harsher the imposed Sharia law is, or at least it seems to be that way. In any event, what the Afghan women are going through is what women in other Muslim countries have already been through at one time or another.  Turkey comes to mind as a country where women have really been "emancipated" from Sharia law as such.  However, all the thanks goes to Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk) who founded modern Turkey and won full rights for women in that country, and would stand no interference from the religious authorities.  What every Muslim country needs is a Mustafa Kemal to liberate its women from the horrors of the dark side of Sharia law.  What we probably have now is a protest by Muslim women that will be allowed as long as there are some Americans around in Kabul, but that will be halted as soon as we leave.  What Afghanistan needs is the Afghan version of Mustafa Kemal - someone who really knows how to liberate a country from antiquated laws that suppress women.  In the end, it will have to be a liberated
Afghan man with a lot of power who will liberate Afghan women from the bondage that has been imposed upon them by a great many unliberated Afghan men.  That man will have to work closely with a lot of Afghan women who have already managed to liberate themselves.  Thanks again for paying attention to this problem.
Hi Richard, The report you did for Nightly News showed how horrible these women have been treated by the men. It is so very sad young daughters were forced to marry these men so much older and then be abused so much by them. It was heartwrenching to hear them speak about their lives and it was also heartwrenching to see the young woman cry about her missing sons. Simply horrible situation. I hope these women find peace in their lives and feel safe someday soon.
Excellent Reporting as Always Richard!
Please Stay Extra Safe Always!
Peace to You and To All!
Lisa


SEND A COMMENT

PLEASE READ: All comments must be approved before appearing in the thread; time and space constraints prevent all comments from appearing. We will only approve comments that are directly related to the blog, use appropriate language and are not attacking the comments of others.

Message (please, no HTML tags. Web addresses will be hyperlinked):

TRACKBACKS

Trackbacks are links to weblogs that reference this post. Like comments, trackbacks do not appear until approved by us. The trackback URL for this post is: http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/trackback.aspx?PostID=1895011

Syndicate This Site

Add World Blog to your news reader:
live.com xml
myyahoo msn
bloglines newsgator
google

Interactive

Fight for Iraq
Learn more about the ethnic, religious and political power plays in and around Iraq during a briefing of the region led by NBC’s Richard Engel.