The findings of Salam Watandar’s interviews with 60 married women in Kabul and several provinces indicate that marriage has brought a range of personal, social, economic, and psychological changes to their lives.
Although in Islamic jurisprudence—particularly within the Hanafi jurisprudence —any form of oppression, insult, beating, or deprivation of a woman’s legitimate rights is prohibited, women in Afghanistan are still occasionally exposed to domestic violence.
Meanwhile, women interviewed for this report say they were forced into marriage without their consent based on decisions made by their families. According to them, these marriages have resulted in psychological trauma, dissatisfaction, and emotional difficulties.
Kafa’ah (compatibility), also known as kufu (match) in marriage, is an important juristic and legal concept in Islam. It refers to the suitability and compatibility of a man and a woman in terms of features such as religion, moral character, conduct, culture, and economics. According to legal experts, juristic principles, statutory laws, and international law all emphasize equality and compatibility between spouses in marriage.
Although religious scholars state that the home serves as a hijab for women, and in the absence of non-mahram men in the home environment, a woman can wear clothing of her own choice within the framework of Sharia, a number of women interviewed by Salam Watandar in Herat say their fathers or husbands do not allow them to wear their preferred clothing inside the home.
Bilal Rozgani, spokesperson for the Uruzgan Police Command, says a man has been arrested in Uruzgan Province on charges of killing his wife.
25 female doctors, who in addition to their official regular daytime duties also take turns working night shifts in hospitals, say that due to the shortage of medical staff in healthcare centers, they are compelled to endure heavy and continuous workloads. According to them, this situation has led to severe fatigue and psychological stress.
Some women in Panjshir, Daikundi, and Kabul provinces, in interviews with Salam Watandar, say that their husbands have migrated to earn a living, but their husbands’ families ignore their rights. After their husbands’ migration, these women’s roles within the family are diminished, and the money sent by their husbands is spent without their knowledge or participation.
Salam Watandar’s interviews with 20 women who had independent incomes before becoming unemployed show that, besides covering their personal needs, they also contributed to their families’ expenses. They say unemployment has now pushed all of them toward a shared fate: dependence — a situation the interviewed women describe as difficult and worrying.
Despite this, some girls in Kunduz province told Salam Watandar that their brothers exercise control over them in an un-Islamic manner and interfere in matters ranging from marriage to education, work, and other affairs of their lives.
Findings from Salam Watandar, based on interviews with experts and 20 women who have experienced gender inequality within their families, show that this issue has had serious physical and psychological effects on women.
Giving women in baad — a practice aimed at settling disputes between families — remains a harmful and ongoing custom in some parts of Afghanistan.
